We’ve been down this road before and it doesn’t lead anywhere beneficial or interesting. As a fellow member, I respectfully request that both sides take a break. It’s not necessary to sustain or escalate this.
I would say that our whole life as a type 1 diabetic is a desperate struggle to live as normal a life as possible. We control our diabetes, it doesn’t control us. Once we let diabetes take the fun out of life, we’ve lost.
So just sit back, relax, and have a drink…or two…or 3 like I did the other night, because, damn, that was a good bottle of wine.
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I have constantly in my posts on this topic emphasized my own perspective, such as by using the phrases ‘for me,’ or ‘I can’t see why,’ so I am clearly talking about my own views on the subject. I can’t forbid anyone to drink and I don’t want to, so don’t attribute imaginary attitudes to me.
But ‘FOR ME,’ ‘I CAN’T SEE WHY’ anyone would want as a type 1 diabetic to drink alcohol, since the problem we all struggle with is experiencing periods of diminished consciousness because of hypoglycemia. Every type 1 diabetic would like to reduce these periods to minimum, and yet the many of us who maintain strict control experience the well-documented phenomenon that this regimen triples the frequency of hypoglycemic episodes. So, given that, why would anyone in that situation want to go out and buy a liquid to drink which increases the number of diminished consciousness episodes by a mechanism other than hypoglycemia? Especially since we are all thrust into the role of being our own emergency physicians all the time, constantly monitoring the ‘patient’ for symptoms of low blood sugar and taking corrective action as and when necessary to avoid unconsciousness or death from it, why would we want that physician to become impaired in his judgment?
And add to that the fact that alcohol in any dose is a known carcinogen, a solvent for the myelin sheath that protects the nerves, and that it disturbs blood sugar levels, it seems counterintuitive that people with diabetes would want to take it. As type 1 diabetics we start off with a life expectancy reduced by about a decade, so why voluntarily further reduce our statistical life expectancy by increasing our risk of esophageal cancer by drinking alcohol? Your mind is designed by evolutionary processes to be vigilant and intelligent in order to cope with environmental challenges, and when you experience diminished consciousness because of alcohol consumption that is evidence of its toxicity damaging how your brain would normally function without that neurotoxin. Since we begin from a point where our health is catastrophically diminished by type 1 diabetes, for my part I can’t see the sense of consuming anything or doing anything that wouldn’t increase my health rather than threaten it.
So don’t drink and you will live forever, which is punishment enough.
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If you stop breathing right now I guarantee you won’t die from cancer.
I grew up in a wine making area, worked in a winery after school (age 17 - too young to drink there unfortunately), and have consumed alcohol socially (and to get blotto as a teen and young adult) since childhood.
In my 40s, I now enjoy 1 or 2 glasses with dinner occasionally. I do not find it messes with my blood sugar, and I do not constantly fight to stay conscious or anything dramatic like that.
I have a pleasant, varied lifestyle, and alcohol is a small part of that.
I do not consider my health to be “catastropically diminished” in any way, as I lead a full, healthy work and play life, with zero complications after 40 years of T1D.
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I try so very hard to stay out of this kind of, but I’m going to say my two cents worth here.
First- You must remember many people believe everything they read on the internet as fact. So we as a community must remember to be fair & open minded to topics being discussed. There is always 2 sides to every story. And the reality here is for every study supporting one side, there is more on the other side. So we must be careful what studies we are quoting.
Second- You must remember many people believe everything they read on the internet as fact. Your dark outlook on life and diabetes can be very scary for someone new to diabetes. We should be letting them know that things are so much better than they use to be. And while the disease is challenging, most of us lead very happy, successful & fulfilling life’s. My life is nothing like I was told it would be in 1970. And when one has a sad outlook on things, it is so much harder to manage things. The mental side of this disease is really the whole thing. So we as a community need to give hope not kill it.
Third- You must remember many people believe everything they read on the internet as fact. People come here for help & support. Your responses tend to be long winded, filled w/multiple study notations that many don’t understand, want to understand or need to understand. Many of these people are looking for answers & support, not a debate session on who is right or who is wrong. They may be scared, unsure, confused & instead of help & support, they get your long winded, scary and dark responses. You need to realize your audience.
I hope his doesn’t cause you to get darker and even more unhappy with your life. But you must realize it isn’t all about you. We all have the same issues. It it’s how we approach things. So please try and be happy and I hope you can find something fun to do vs finding 500 studies about whatever you feel you need to be right about. You’v been doing diabetes for a long time and you could have so much to add to the community but let’s have some fun and joy while we do it.
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The only material I cite which I recommend people should take seriously are the peer-reviewed studies published in scientific medical journals from PubMed. That is internet material which anyone with faith in the scientific method should believe.
Another logical reason for a person with type 1 diabetes avoiding alcohol entirely is the fact that we all face a life of potentially severe psychological stresses, such as becoming blind or dialysis-dependent, a condition which induces 25% of patients to choose death in preference to the treatment. If people facing such challenges have any experience at all with alcohol, they are likely to turn to drink to cope with the massive stresses that come from such catastrophically bad changes in lifestyle, and alcoholism will simply propel them downwards faster and farther than they would otherwise fall. Having familiarity with alcohol is like packing your cellar with dynamite, since it may well be too tempting to turn to overindulgence in drink once the stresses of life, which are all too likely to be overwhelming in diabetes, arise.
You’ve clearly had a rougher go of it with diabetes than I have. I agree, you should avoid alchohol.
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To paraphrase the late, great Bill Hicks, non-diabetics become alcoholics every day!
If you are truly trying to get a point across, I don’t think condescension is the way to go. Sticks and stones.
Interesting read as I enjoy my Captain and Diet Coke:)
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@Seydlitz, none of us know your history or your family’s history with alcohol, alcoholism, or diabetes, but it doesn’t sound like a very positive one. We are here to support each other, and phrases like “I can’t see why” are very judgmental. I can see lots of reasons why people choose to drink, and lots of reasons why they choose not to. It’s a personal choice, one that we all make, and there is no one correct choice.
All this being said, the main problems diabetics have isn’t alcohol consumption, it’s carbohydrate consumption. That’s our true poison. The most counterproductive thing a diabetic can do isn’t drink alcohol, it’s eat carbohydrates. If we all wanted to be as healthy as possible, we would eat 0 carbs. But where’s the fun in that? I love having pizza and a beer. Does that make me a bad diabetic? Absolutely not. What it does do, though, is makes me feel like a normal person.
You do realize that those horrible complications that you and I were told would happen, not might happen, have changed. With the new treatment options we have now and how much better we can manage our condition, those complications are much much less. Do I worry about my eye sight, sure but I don’t let those worries control my life. I do the best I can with the tools I have ( so much better than urine testing!). I don’t let those complications control how I live my life. I exercise when I want, I eat want I want and I have that glass of wine when I want. If I miss once in awhile (don’t we all) I correct it and move on with my life. You are so ,I have a downer about what life with diabetes is. It is no longer a death sentence. I am well past the age I was told I’d be dead. Wow, celebrate how long you been living with diabetes. I no longer worrying about every blood sugar that is out of target. I fix, try and learn from it and move on with life. As I stated before, you are sharing with others, let’s try and keep it in perspective.
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Fixed it for ya.
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Not me! I can have normal blood sugars despite diabetes, and even with the occasional drink. the most important component if reducing risk of complications in diabetes is having normal blood sugars! I’m 10 Years in with a1c of 5.1 and no complications. I mean to keep it this way!
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My family and personal history with alcohol was negative, since both my parents were non-drinkers and my automatic assumption when I was diagnosed with type 1 at age 14 was that alcohol was of course to be avoided, since there was no point in making things worse.
The complications are still with us. One third of type 1 diabetics develop renal failure, which is a truly devastating complication, and type 1 diabetic life expectancy is still a good decade less than that of healthy subjects, and this is due to diabetic complications. The causes of diabetic complications include genes inherited along with the package of genes that disposes people to develop diabetes in the first place, as well as the continuing autoimmunity which attacked the beta cells of the pancreas to cause the disease in the first place, and then continues to cause damage to the rest of the body for the patient’s lifespan.
I have no idea whether to trust this number or not. I highly doubt that 25% choose death as you said earlier, and doubt this too. However, from what I’ve seen and understand, most diabetics have A1Cs nowhere near normal and struggle to achieve A1Cs under or around 7 which is still above normal. I’m not trying to blame anyone, there are a million reasons why this is and I understand that complications can happen to anyone. However, I’d bet a diligent diabetic able to keep A1C below or well below 7 as many on this forum are able to do would be likely to suffer kidney failure or the majority of the most serious complications.
I’m wondering if this led you into an all or nothing mindset. I’m not sure you’re capable of understanding that plenty of people can healthily enjoy a glass of wine or two on the weekend, or dare I say a joint, without developing substance abuse issues.
I think that’s a fairly natural reaction. I grew up similarly in that no one in my family drank alcohol. I didn’t realize that there was a huge gap between drinking 1-2 drinks and being drunk all the time.
It’s funny to look back on that perception now, but if you’re never really exposed to anything else then it’s pretty natural to have that perception.
@Seydlitz, I’m not advocating for you to drink. However, times have changed quite a bit since you were first diagnosed, and I have yet to find any studies that show that 1 drink/day or 1-2 drinks a few times per week are correlated with an increased risk of complications from diabetes. As others have said, maintaining as close to normal blood sugar levels as possible is the priority, and also having fun and enjoying life 
.
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