• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Alcohol

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
kevin sweet

kevin sweet

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
When diagnosed being diabetic 6 months ago the first thing I did was to cut alcohol out almost completely , but to my surprise I find my levels are at my lowest when I do have around 5/6 pints on a night, how can this be correct ?
 
Alcohol can lower the bg levels.
 
For every unit of alcohol, the liver stops trickling out background glucose for an hour while it deals with the alcohol. That's what my Diabetes nurse told me, anyway.
 
5/6 pints? I would be flat on my back these days by number 3 lol :D
 
Our livers are like most men. They can't multi-task.🙂 When it sees alcohol entering the body, it thinks to itself 'sod making glucose, I need to get this alcohol out of the body!'. So. whilst processing alcohol, it is not converting carbs to glucose. Hence lower BS. Beer is very carby & will initially raise levels but once the alcohol kicks in, levels will start to lower. Dry wine & spirits are low carb so they will just lower BS.
 
Magic news , I never did look up Alcohol and diabetes , I just assumed it would be bad.
 
If you are on meds that can cause hypos or on insulin, you have to be careful you don't go too low.
 
Is this really true?.....DN said drinking alcohol was the worst this to do?!

We enjoy a few glasses of red wine on a weekend - so can we continue with this as well as doing the low carb thing?

thank you
 
Alcohol can stay in my system for up to 12 hours continuing to lower sugars. I found that out the hard way. I used to only drink a lttle alcohol on special occassions. One christmas when staying with my brother I had a little Baileys, little liquers glass, at his urging. I spent the whole night & until lunch time the next day VERY hungry & eating biscuits, snacks etc. My brother woke before lunch to find vitually all of his snacks eaten by me. That was about 10 years ago. I don’t drink alcohol at all now.
 
A couple of glasses of red are my supplementary medicine. 🙂
 
I have a cupboard shelf full of lovely, lovely cider but I'm too scared to touch any of it :(
 
Beck S said:
I have a cupboard shelf full of lovely, lovely cider but I'm too scared to touch any of it :(
Click to expand...

I’m no expert but I believe cider can be quite high in sugar and calories ....... shame, because I used to love cider.:(
 
Beck S said:
I have a cupboard shelf full of lovely, lovely cider but I'm too scared to touch any of it :(
Click to expand...
I also have 50, 2 litre bottles but have been afraid to touch them but I'm going to start drinking them again and see how my sugars go.
 
They're certainly high in sugar. I think I'm saving them for a special occasion now.
 
I'm ok with a very dry cider as long as it's strong, but I don't drink it often.
 
LUPIN said:
Is this really true?.....DN said drinking alcohol was the worst this to do?!

We enjoy a few glasses of red wine on a weekend - so can we continue with this as well as doing the low carb thing?

thank you
Click to expand...
It's old fashioned thinking. When my brother was diagnosed with type 2 15 years ago, he was told to stop drinking. I was told it was fine in moderation, but cut back on the beer. I have a couple of glasses of wine or a few G&T's at the weekend.🙂
Over a year ago, we were staying with the mother-in-law up in Yorkshire & went to the local pub for a drink or two, which turned out being the whole night & a few more drinks. I was totally bladdered! The next day, I could eat anything I wanted & my BG never went above 5.2. I wouldn't recommend this as a cure, though.
 
I still have a double Bourbon when I get in from work now and again and I drink ale in my local micropub at weekend lunchtimes, not gonna go crazy in the evening as I don't trust what the meds will do to me. I miss 4-5 pints in the evening but hey, more important things.
 
I am currently drinking Jim Beam Red Stag dark cherry. It is very nice. Thank God for auto correct.🙂
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top