Diabetes - are u allowed to drink alcohol?

well, this may sound strange, but i thought that diabetic people shouldn't drink alcohol and yet the other day this friend of mine who's diabetic came with us to a "botellón", as we call it in spain, and nearly swallowed a whole bottle of malibu...

the strange thing is she also drank coke (normal coke, not light), which has sugars in it (duh!) and in theory... that could kill her couldnt it????!!!??! :confused:

Reply 1

Knogle

16

Candy-Kills

well, this may sound strange, but i thought that diabetic people shouldn't drink alcohol and yet the other day this friend of mine who's diabetic came with us to a "botellón", as we call it in spain, and nearly swallowed a whole bottle of malibu...

the strange thing is she also drank coke (normal coke, not light), which has sugars in it (duh!) and in theory... that could kill her couldnt it????!!!??! :confused:

http://www.diabetes.org/nutrition-and-recipes/nutrition/alcohol.jsp

Reply 2

Candy-Kills

OP

1

ok.. that still doesnt explain how she survived that but its good to know the basics

Reply 3

JadedHippy

11

Of course you can drink alchohol. My dad was an avid wine maker and drinker for years before he found out he had diabetes. He still drinks beer and things.

Jaded

Reply 4

username47781

20

Well by the sounds of it you wouldn't want to get wasted if your a diabetic.

Reply 5

Nocturnalia

1

Mm.. my boyfriend is type 1 diabetic (where he has to inject himself) and he still comes out on a Friday night and "binge drinks" - at least that's what the docs would call it, basically he has a good night out! I don't mean drinking so much he's sick, but certainly to get drunk.

He suffers the next morning like the rest of us, but he has to watch his sugar levels. Also it depends what kind of alcohol you drink. Lager is one of the worst as it has a lot of carbs. Something like whisky & diet coke is better.

Remember that type 1 diabetics can modify how much insulin they take (within reason) depending on how much sugar/carbs they're gonna have at that point.

Hope that helps a bit.. :smile:

Reply 6

Helenia

20

JadedHippy

Of course you can drink alchohol. My dad was an avid wine maker and drinker for years before he found out he had diabetes. He still drinks beer and things.

Jaded

Different type of diabetes.

Reply 7

Nocturnalia

1

Well, I suppose the OP's friend could have been Type 2..

Reply 8

Helenia

20

If they're our age and have type 2, I'd be extremely surprised.

As for whether it's safe or not - probably not, but we all know that people don't always follow doctors' instructions. My understanding is that alcohol is ok in moderation as long as it's not too sugary, but the coke is what I was surprised at!

Reply 9

JadedHippy

11

Helenia

Different type of diabetes.

Ahh good point.

Jaded

Reply 10

xoxo_GossipGirl

11

My friends type 1, and she drinks the same as I do, she should probably be more careful than she is, but it hasn't caused her any harm so far, she's had it from quite a young age though so she knows when she needs something even when she's drunk.

Reply 11

Wonderboy Blue

1

My sister is type 2. She has been in hospital and on a drip around three, maybe four times because of her drinking and missing injections etc.

She drinks sugar free alcopops, and probably some full of sugar too. Ideally though, a diabetic person should drink sugar free drinks or lagers etc.

Reply 12

satyricon

I have type one. I can drink regular coke, etc, though I shouldn't. With alcohol, you mostly have to be worried about the sugar content of the beverage which can wreak havoc on your body but certainly wouldn't kill you after one time. For diabetics, it's more an accumulative thing where if you enjoy too many Friday nights you just might wake up one day blind and with a pickled liver.

Also, though I'm sure it's not particularly healthy, I'll just take extra insulin or an extra injection if I know I'm going to be having a lot of sugar. Diabetics are always warned against drinking, but I've not had any actual problems yet.

If a diabetic is partaking in any festivities (birthday cake could be fatal, too!) they should of course make sure not to miss any injections or other medication, and preferably make sure to check their blood sugar levels regularly... which I never do. There goes 10 years off my life expectancy. :eek:

But like a poster above said, if you've had it a while you can feel when your sugars are too high or too low.

Reply 13

Revenged

15

Helenia

If they're our age and have type 2, I'd be extremely surprised.

As for whether it's safe or not - probably not, but we all know that people don't always follow doctors' instructions. My understanding is that alcohol is ok in moderation as long as it's not too sugary, but the coke is what I was surprised at!

Coz alcohol cause hypoglycaemia... The sugar in the coke is to counter the effect

Reply 14

looking_fr_SomeOne

how much sugar does a glass of alcohol actually has ?

Reply 15

lucky 13

the thing is that diabetes can not drink alcohol but majority of them cant say no to it and still keep on drinking....
my father is diabetic and he still drinks every friday or saturday night.

Reply 16

belis

17

the strange thing is she also drank coke (normal coke, not light), which has sugars in it (duh!) and in theory... that could kill her couldnt it????!!!??!

Dear me, lol... Most foods have sugar in them. It is not possible to totaly avoid sugar and it is not even desirable for diabetics. The trick basicly is to maintain a balance between isulin you injest and sugar you consume. Drinking a can of coke is not going to kill a diabetic person. It is going to make their sugar levels go high realy quickly (which makes it very useful in case of hypo, when sugar levels in the blood are to low). Drinking normal coke with alcohol is actualy a good idea if diabetic person knows that alcohol makes their sugar level drop.

Drinking to much could in theory make blood sugar levels go high enough to couse major hyperglycemia and coma in result but it take a very stupid/uninformed/suicidal/under the age of 5 (delate as appropriate) diabetic to just sit and drink that much without any attempt to correct sugar levels.

With regards to alcohol there is a difference between can and should. Diabetic people should avoid binge drinking for two resons. First of all alcohol can realy mess with blood sugar levels. Secondly when they are drunk it is hard for themselves and people around to recognise sign of hypo (which often look very similar to being drunk), and that can result in those going untreated untill they end up unconcious having convulsions. (Suprazing how quickly you can get sobber seeing a friend in this sort of state...) That is main reason why people with diabetes are worned against drinking. Such extreme situations can be avoided though as long as they check blood sugar levels from time to time and snack when appropriate. Then there is liver and other organs damage but that is something that we should all worry about.

Diabetes - are u allowed to drink alcohol?

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