I was just wondering if it’s OK to have a small cocktail before dinner if I just took Byetta, so I looked up ‘Byetta & alcohol’ online and read this interesting information:
“There is no specific warning against drinking alcohol while taking Byetta. However, alcohol can cause problems for people with diabetes. Although alcohol contains carbohydrates, it can increase your risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). This is due to alcohol’s effects on the liver. Normally, the liver can respond to correct low blood sugar by making more glucose. However, alcohol can inhibit this process, decreasing the liver’s ability to increase blood sugar.”
Alcohol lowers blood sugar? I’ll drink to that!
Obviously this would not be the case for people who have hypoglycemia, but for those of us with the opposite problem, could a cocktail before dinner be a good thing?
Hi Sophie,
There are so many variables for each of us. We have had several really good discusions about alcohol and how it affects us. For me, different things have different reactions. Wine and alcohol will usually drop me, while beer raises me. But I can never judge accurately how much for either one. I use insulin, but just don’t have as much as I used to . That wasn’t much in any case, but is just less now. (UHHHHMMMM We aren’t counting Super Bowl are we???)
Yeah, I agree with Saundra. Beer always raises my BS. I try to drink a Mich Ultra if I’m going to drink beer. Problem is I like beer that is sweet - like a pale ale or hefeweissen - tells you what I like! Wine and really hard whisky - like a Jack and Coke - is ok with my BS. I have never gotten that low while drinking, but being on insulin and/or Byettta or a sulfonurea tends to curb my merry-making because I’m too chicken to tempt fate.
They made a really general statement about alchohol having carbs. Distilled alcohol has no carbs–martini, anyone? Wine has few (as long as it’s not sweet desert wine), beer has carbs, but it depends on the kind.
I can’t drink wine because it triggers migraines for me. I had 1 oz. of Grey Goose vodka with about 2 oz. apple juice and filled the rest of the glass with seltzer. It tasted sort of like sparkling cider. It didn’t seem to change my blood sugar level, either high or low, but it tasted good!
That sounds great! I’ve been meaning to try some of the Da Vinci flavored syrups with vodka. Their hazelnut syrup is good. They have one that’s Kahlua & another that’s a B52. I tend to stay away from artificial sweeteners, but a splash in some vodka–yum.
