Hello. I am very new to this game. So lets see how I get on. I understand that everyone is different.

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Stew Bailey

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I was diagnosed with T2 Diabetes 3 weeks ago. I am male aged 75. I am on medication to get my levels down. I have my first appointment with the Diabetic Clinic in 2 weeks. As yet I am not testing anything as I will wait until my first hospital appointment. My diet has changed, I am usually active for my age. I am over weight but this is being addressed. The physical side of matters is under control and we (my wife and I) are learning something new each day. I have had no alcohol for 3 weeks. So this side of things is reasonably under control.
My present worry is my mental state of mind. I can come to terms with the health situation, we all have to. My problem, shared by my wife, is the dramatic change to our life style. We have been married for 52 years and enjoyed our social life. We used to say "somewhere there is a little cafe with a table and two chairs just around the corner with our names on it". We have drunk regularly, steadily and pleasantly together all our married life. Its what we did. We were OK with it and we enjoyed it. It was our life. We have done well so far and we do look after ourselves. Now I understand that has all to change. No alcohol (OK they do say have a glass of red wine now and then). When someone has being following a pattern for over 50 years and is then asked to dramatically alter that pattern, for what-ever reason, then there probably will be consequences affecting the mental well being of that person. Which is where I am now. I am well aware of all the good reasons for not going out to drink ( we are not ones for drinking at home) but a couple of hours just nattering or on another plan to spend our Lottery winnings or plan the next holiday of a lifetime (in our dreams!) is our ideal. As yet I have not seen or read anything to alleviate my worries. There is a lot left in me yet I believe, but what to do with it is a challenge that I was not expecting nor, at the moment, know how to tackle.
Thank you for taking the time to read this as all of you will have your own problems to deal with.
Yours
Stew Bailey
 
Alcohol isn't a problem - more the sugar that is often added to it.
I have a diet mixer with rum or vodka once in a while and it doesn't seem to cause problems.
In the hot weather, though, I have soda water with lime to keep hydrated.
I am 72 years old now and feel so much better for going onto a low carb diet.
 
Hi @Stew Bailey and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear you've been quite recently diagnosed, as this type of news can feel very overwhelming and challenging!

As time goes on, you will adjust to your new way of life and you’ll become more confident in your ability to cope with the demands that diabetes can throw at you.

This part of our website is very helpful for coping with a diabetes diagnosis, and hope it can help to alleviate your worries - https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/emotions/coping-diagnosis

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns, we're here to support! 🙂
 
Hi I'm not the expert on this but I reckon you'll find there are a load of drinks you can still have. Gin and diet tonic, red wine, in fact I think a lot of spirits are OK too

Agree with you, life is for the living. There's a way to modify things and still enjoy yourselves
 
Stew Bailey said:
I was diagnosed with T2 Diabetes 3 weeks ago. I am male aged 75. I am on medication to get my levels down. I have my first appointment with the Diabetic Clinic in 2 weeks. As yet I am not testing anything as I will wait until my first hospital appointment. My diet has changed, I am usually active for my age. I am over weight but this is being addressed. The physical side of matters is under control and we (my wife and I) are learning something new each day. I have had no alcohol for 3 weeks. So this side of things is reasonably under control.
My present worry is my mental state of mind. I can come to terms with the health situation, we all have to. My problem, shared by my wife, is the dramatic change to our life style. We have been married for 52 years and enjoyed our social life. We used to say "somewhere there is a little cafe with a table and two chairs just around the corner with our names on it". We have drunk regularly, steadily and pleasantly together all our married life. Its what we did. We were OK with it and we enjoyed it. It was our life. We have done well so far and we do look after ourselves. Now I understand that has all to change. No alcohol (OK they do say have a glass of red wine now and then). When someone has being following a pattern for over 50 years and is then asked to dramatically alter that pattern, for what-ever reason, then there probably will be consequences affecting the mental well being of that person. Which is where I am now. I am well aware of all the good reasons for not going out to drink ( we are not ones for drinking at home) but a couple of hours just nattering or on another plan to spend our Lottery winnings or plan the next holiday of a lifetime (in our dreams!) is our ideal. As yet I have not seen or read anything to alleviate my worries. There is a lot left in me yet I believe, but what to do with it is a challenge that I was not expecting nor, at the moment, know how to tackle.
Thank you for taking the time to read this as all of you will have your own problems to deal with.
Yours
Stew Bailey
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You'll be surprised what you can achieve and obstacles you can overcome, if you have to. I get severe anxiety but at the end of the day it's not worth worrying about. Easier said than done as I had to quit a well paying job with the civil service last year due to the anxiety so I don't want to play it down. Good luck.
 
Many do find it hard to adapt to a new way of eating and drinking when diagnosed at a more mature age but it can depend on how versatile you previous diet was as with some substitutions for some of the higher carb foods you can still enjoy meals and drinks. As mentioned dry wines, spirits with diet mixers are pretty low carb, things to avoid are beers, cider and liqueurs. Just keep within the alcohol limits suggested for a non diabetic unless of course it conflicts with the medication you have been prescribed.
Your HbA1C must have been high to have been prescribed medication but were you told what it was as that gives an indication of how much work you need to do, what medication have you been prescribed as that may affect what dietary approach may be suitable.
I am 72 and found it easy to make changes to my diet and by following the principals in this link https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/ managed to reduce my HbA1C and it is now my new way of eating.
If you would like to post the sort of meals you have then people may be able to suggest some swaps for the problem foods.
 
Stew Bailey said:
I was diagnosed with T2 Diabetes 3 weeks ago. I am male aged 75. I am on medication to get my levels down. I have my first appointment with the Diabetic Clinic in 2 weeks. As yet I am not testing anything as I will wait until my first hospital appointment. My diet has changed, I am usually active for my age. I am over weight but this is being addressed. The physical side of matters is under control and we (my wife and I) are learning something new each day. I have had no alcohol for 3 weeks. So this side of things is reasonably under control.
My present worry is my mental state of mind. I can come to terms with the health situation, we all have to. My problem, shared by my wife, is the dramatic change to our life style. We have been married for 52 years and enjoyed our social life. We used to say "somewhere there is a little cafe with a table and two chairs just around the corner with our names on it". We have drunk regularly, steadily and pleasantly together all our married life. Its what we did. We were OK with it and we enjoyed it. It was our life. We have done well so far and we do look after ourselves. Now I understand that has all to change. No alcohol (OK they do say have a glass of red wine now and then). When someone has being following a pattern for over 50 years and is then asked to dramatically alter that pattern, for what-ever reason, then there probably will be consequences affecting the mental well being of that person. Which is where I am now. I am well aware of all the good reasons for not going out to drink ( we are not ones for drinking at home) but a couple of hours just nattering or on another plan to spend our Lottery winnings or plan the next holiday of a lifetime (in our dreams!) is our ideal. As yet I have not seen or read anything to alleviate my worries. There is a lot left in me yet I believe, but what to do with it is a challenge that I was not expecting nor, at the moment, know how to tackle.
Thank you for taking the time to read this as all of you will have your own problems to deal with.
Yours
Stew Bailey
Click to expand...
Just take it slowly and at your own pace. Giving up the drink was a big one for me too; as was 'dutch courage' in most cases. Now I don't drink! I reduced down to bitter shandy and then nothing, yes due to diabetes. But found something delicious to drink Thatchers zero! Is 0% alcohol. There is also a peroni 0% alcohol. Not tried that one.
 
It's difficult to adjust @Stew Bailey, but believe me it can happen. I still have a glass or two of red wine most nights, and enjoy going out with my partner for a meal. If I know it's going to be a carb heavy meal (eg pizza and a bottle of red) I just compensate by making sure my other meals that day are very low carb. Other times I'll opt for a low carb option, it depends where we are going. When I was diagnosed I thought life would never be the same again, but here I am still enjoying life with my loved one! Very best wishes to you.
 
Stew Bailey said:
We have done well so far and we do look after ourselves. Now I understand that has all to change. No alcohol (OK they do say have a glass of red wine now and then). When someone has being following a pattern for over 50 years and is then asked to dramatically alter that pattern, for what-ever reason, then there probably will be consequences affecting the mental well being of that person. Which is where I am now. I am well aware of all the good reasons for not going out to drink ( we are not ones for drinking at home) but a couple of hours just nattering or on another plan to spend our Lottery winnings or plan the next holiday of a lifetime (in our dreams!) is our ideal. As yet I have not seen or read anything to alleviate my worries. There is a lot left in me yet I believe, but what to do with it is a challenge that I was not expecting nor, at the moment, know how to tackle.
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I think the suggestion to avoid alcohol is general health advice, rather than specifically related to a diagnosis with diabetes?

My Grandad used to joke: I said to my Dr, ‘If I give up the drink will I live longer?’ And he said, ‘No. But it will feel like it!’

The latest medical advice seems to be that there is no real ‘safe’ lower limit for alcohol consumption. The lower the better. And people with diabetes are statistically more at risk of various ailments (heart disease, kidney problems, circulation, blah blah blah), so being careful with alcohol consumption is certainly prudent.

But my feeling is that you also have to look after your whole self. Especially if an occasional glass of something gives you great pleasure, and is part of social occasions you enjoy (though you may find you can still enjoy these without too!).

I still drink relatively regularly. I try to keep an eye on total intake, and aim for below 14units, with at least a couple of dry days a week where possible.

As others have said, there are drink options that are relatively easy on blood glucose (eg red wine, spirits with diet mixers), so if you decide you do still want to drink occasionally then avoiding things like beers, lagers and ciders will help reduce the impact on BG levels.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Mumpie_olgran said:
Hi I'm not the expert on this but I reckon you'll find there are a load of drinks you can still have. Gin and diet tonic, red wine, in fact I think a lot of spirits are OK too

Agree with you, life is for the living. There's a way to modify things and still enjoy yourselves
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Thank you for your reply. We are looking at G and T and Red wine but twice a week. Take care.. Stewart
 
Vonny said:
It's difficult to adjust @Stew Bailey, but believe me it can happen. I still have a glass or two of red wine most nights, and enjoy going out with my partner for a meal. If I know it's going to be a carb heavy meal (eg pizza and a bottle of red) I just compensate by making sure my other meals that day are very low carb. Other times I'll opt for a low carb option, it depends where we are going. When I was diagnosed I thought life would never be the same again, but here I am still enjoying life with my loved one! Very best wishes to you.
Click to expand...
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my message and kind thoughts. We are trying to formulate a plan around G and T and Red wine once I have had my initial Hospital appointment and start to do some readings. Take Care
 
If you pick the right wine, it will have very little residual sugar. The ones with the most sugar are made from grapes grown in warm to hot climates, because they ripen better (which means the grapes have both more sugar and more alcohol). So popular red wines from Australia, California and the South of France will have higher levels of sugar. Big brand wines often have grape must added for extra sweetness, so wines like Apothic can have extremely high levels of sugar.

But wines from cooler climates have less. Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire Valley, northern Italy, Germany and Austria all (generally) have lower sugar. A white wine like Muscadet can be bone dry, with less than 2 grams of sugar per Litre.

You can also check. Any time you know a wine's name, just Google "wine name" and "sugar". The producers are obliged to provide their importer with a technical sheet that has everything from sugar and acid levels to alcohol levels, and this is easy to find online.

Gin & Tonic can be very, very high in sugar, because there's a lot of sugar added to the tonic water to mask the bitterness. A good tonic water will have the bitterness and sugar in perfect balance, so it won't taste sweet, which can fool you into thinking it's free of lots of sugar.
 
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