Alcohol

My personal feelings are that you must be careful of alcohol.  It can interact with other medications for diabetes.  I don't use alcohol because I chose to make a healthy choices in my life style - because I have enough trouble keeping my blood sugars under control without throwing a monkey wrench into the mix. I am not preaching - just saying it isn't a good choice for a diabetic to make. You really should ask your doctor perhaps he/she can give you some ideas on how to subsitute the sugar in your alcoholic beverages. 

Teresa

Alcohol puts a huge burden on your liver and guess where glucose synthethesis occurs that you need to keep your blood sugar under control!!  You guessed it; in your liver.  Liver disease associated with diabetes is usually insidious, asymptomatic and goes undetected until a severe condition, such as liver cancer, occurs. It is a well known fact that diabetes can damage your liver. Now couple this with the added pressure that your meds are putting on your kidneys and liver . . . drinking for someone that has diabetic tendencies is just plain stupid.

Warren

I agree with Warren 100%- but I was afraid to put it so strong. Diabetes is such a scary disease when you really educate yourself on what could happen if you don't take care of yourself, AND your heart, AND your kidneys,AND your liver,AND your eyes. I am just a granny woman from the South and don't understand anyone risking their health for a drink. I myself want to see my babies and babie's babies grow up and grow old. I do declare I was floored when I saw the question this is a very serious issue and should not be taken lightly.

If you want to know about alcohol and diabetes just talk to a pharmacist... They will make Warren look like a kitty cat! Metformin, avandia, glucotrol and all the rest of the diabetic meds should come with "Do Not Drink Alcohol with this Medication" stickers on them. If your pill bottles don't have those stickers.. get a new drugstore!

Drinking with diabetes will lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a progressive disease that is fatal. Unfortunately by the time the jaundice and yellow eyes show up it's too late to save you without a liver transplant. But we digress...

Vegas, you wanted to know what to drink... I choose not to drink alcohol and instead have water with lemon or lime, diet soda, mint sun tea, or crystal light. It's difficult when you first find out that you can't drink at all... I sometimes felt a little left out with our friends when everyone was tying one on.. But I have come to grips with my disease and choose to try to hang on to my liver. Bartenders can goof up regular vs. diet sodas but they can't screw up water with lemon!

I too was under the impression that alcohol was bad for diabetics, but I recently found out that it was not for the reasons I thought.  I was sitting in the doctors office a few months ago and was reading a health magazine and there in black and white it said that alcohol LOWERS blood sugar level.  That's right it LOWERS it.  When I went in to the doctor he verified it.  So that is the reason one should not take alcohol with the BS meds - your bs level might go too low!!!

So I'm happily drinking my glass of red wine with dinner.    Other than that, though, I do not drink alcohol.

Warren, you bring up an interesting point - one of my "reasons for hating the medical profession." Drug companies say that you should be tested every so often for possible liver diamage. In the 18 or so months I have been on these meds, my doctor has not once told me to rescehedule for any testing. I on my own picked 3 months fo rthe first year and then 6 months. Even then he dose not automatically do the tests - I have to ask him to run them.

I take care of my wifes 88 year old aunt, with her. She has been on these meds for years and has never been tested again for liver damage. Oh, maybe she has when she has gone in for some other problem and they run a blood test, who knows. They don't say. That retest for ppssible liver damage really is a "CYA" for the drug companies and the doctors don't really seem to care.

Change doctors, you say? Not practical, considering the insurance we both have. Besides, i dont really think it is an isolated case.

Off topic a little.....

Jeannie,

I get my test done at my doctors office. I have to wait 2 weeks for result, which is probably typical. Their policy is to have the doctor see me before giving me the results. I am not charged for this visit but it sure is a pain. I have got them once without seeing the doctor - one result was out of range and I wanted to know why. That was the time the doctor(not my doctor) told me that I was cured. A wasted visit for sure.

When I see the doctor they don't tell me the results. They only tell me that they are "Ok" or they are "In range." For some reason they don't think the numbers would mean anything to me. Even to this day he acts surpirsed when I ask for a copy. Having the printed results in front of me makes a big difference later when my memory has failed me. Besides, he does not tell me where in range I am, and that does make a difference.

Hi there,

              the point is well taken that in diabetics with below par liver function and those on medicines (eg:Avandia) that can harm the liver,alcohol is a definite NO-NO.

              I again quote"Doll et al. (2005) published the results of a 23-year prospective study of 12,000 male British physicians aged 48-78, finding that overall mortality was significantly lower in the group consuming an average of 2-3 "units" (standard alcoholic drinks) per day than in the non-alcohol-drinking group (relative risk 0.81, confidence interval 0.76-0.87, P = 0.001).^[5] The authors noted that the causes of death that are already known to be augmentable by alcohol accounted for only 5% of the deaths (1% liver disease, 2% cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, or oesophagus, and 2% external causes of death) and were significantly elevated only among men consuming >2 units/day"THIS STUDY IS CALLED THE "PHYSICIANS HEALTH STUDY".

Quote"

In a 1996 American Heart Association scientific statement, Thomas A. Pearson, MD, Ph.D noted, "A large number of observational studies have consistently demonstrated a J-shaped relation between alcohol consumption and total mortality. This relation appears to hold in men and women who are middle aged or older. The lowest mortality occurs in those who consume one or two drinks per day. In teetotalers or occasional drinkers, the rates are higher than in those consuming one or two drinks per day. In persons who consume three or more drinks per day, total mortality climbs rapidly with increasing numbers of drinks per day."

                                             I hope this adds some spice to the on-going discussion!