Do you drink alcoholic beverages? Why or why not?

I drink wine a couple of times a week and some fortified wines, like port, sherry and brandy every once in a while. For me, the BG lowering effect of the alcohol in the port and sherry is outweighed by their sweetness, which can spend the BG up quickly. Wine does not seem to have much effect on my BG (perhaps my body is just immune to it at this point).

I find if I drink straight Scotch it has no effect on my BG. Perveresly if I have a couple of pints of Smithwicks (pronounced Smidicks) my BG is acually better an hour later. Go figure.

I’m glad this discussion is here. I’ve always avoided wine, I only would have the customary sip for religious observance or perhaps a champagne toast. The sweetness of it worries me. Plus, I guess I’ve lost my sweet tooth after all these years. I like Mollie’s 50% temp-basal suggestion posted earlier; I’d be curious to hear how it works for people.

Nowadays, I’ll only have a beer or two on rare occasions (once every month or two on average?). I generally don’t account for it with insulin until I have to correct it later.

This, of course, is during what I call my “adult life” (age 25+) which started a few years after graduating college. When I was in college from 1992-1996, on a Humulin and NPH regimen, all bets were off. I suppose I may have been among the most responsible drinkers in my fraternity, but that really doesn’t say much. Looking back on those days, I’m amazed that I got out of there alive.

I can’t drink beer at all. The carbs are not offset by the alcohol at all and my BG goes too high. The scotch and soda lowers my BG with food but I have never tried to drink it without food, I would love to drink it straight or on the rocks but, oddly, it gives me stupidly violent hiccups, without the soda or water. I only drink dry red and white wines and usuallly with a meal and both seem to lower my BG about 30 grams of carb worth… I have pretty given up port on a winter evening because the alcohol does not offset the high sugar content.

Marie

Hello! not much of a drinker even before diabeties!!! Always addicted to diet coke. Was looking at carb book the other day. And looking at alchol drinks does any one know whats in a drink called the DUCK FART LOL:) WAS JUST CURIOUS. diabeticidol94

I don’t drink at all now…but in college I drank very often and way too much. After a few too many mornings of waking up having to thank my diabetic roommate for taking care of me while I didn’t remember anything of then previous night, I knew I couldn’t go on like that and live the life that I knew that I wanted to. I didn’t like beer, champagne, mixed drinks or wine…the only thing I loved was hard alcohol - and once I started I couldn’t stop (not a good sign AT ALL). My wakeup call came after my dad went into rehab for alcoholism and I didn’t want to go down the same road.

In college I drank heavily. No particular reason just doing the fraternity thing. I typical Friday night would start out with bonging a 6 pack of bud ice followed by shots of whaterver people had around from Sisquo to 151 rum. Then we would head out to the bars for the night where my regiment was Capt. and diet coke :wink: and shots for the rest of the night. Can you believe my A1C was 12.6?!?!?! Needless to say that part of my life is behind me now and the occassional drinks with clients or friends is about the extent of it.

I never had any incredibly crazy reactions from alcohol, but the eye opening moment was taking 40 units of humalog instead of lantus one night. That was my what the f@%! am I doing moment. Luckily I lived a block away from the hospital and got there before I died. I was literally crawling into the ER at 3:30am, I’m sure I looked like a hot mess. You live and learn, I’ve learned now I’m living.

I have had some luck with low carb margaritas, but wonder about carbs in the Triple Sec or Grand Marnier?

Great topic, Marie. If I have a glass of wine with dinner, I either don’t bolus for it and let it balance out later, but that may cause a temporary BS spike, or I bolus for it, and compensate with some extra carbs before bed. I have found that if I eat 15 g’s of carbs before I go to bed, I will not go too low in the night after having a few drinks in the evening. The BS lowering effect of the alcohol doesn’t seem to hit me as quickly as some of you. The last time I drank more than usual, I had low episodes most of the next day. I was walking around NYC, though, so the exercise had something to do with it. Bad combo…

I hate it when someone asks, “Do you drink alcohol?” I normally say, “Hell, no, I drink Bud Lite; do you still beat your wife?” I went to a small amount of researching recently and found some answers to the amount of carbs in beers. Just Google, Carbs in Beer and see what you can find. I love Guinness Stout, now called Guinness Extra Stout, but I found that one bottle is 17.6 carbs. That’s too heavy, so I stick with two to three Bud Lites. Wines are pretty low, too, so having a few brews or a few wines is still in my life.

Hi Marie! I really like wine, champagne and spumante. Coming from a franco-italian family I’ve always enjoyed good italian and french wine during dinner. I found that It lowers my blood glucose. But for example, if I have Martini or Amaretto or any other more sugary alcohol, then the sugar levels tend to rise.
So when it happen that I have aperitif before dinner I must think of having a couple of units of insulin not to rise it too much.
Anywaa I know it’s better not to exaggerate, so i try always to have a glass or two but no more than that and to avoid hard alcohol or to have it rarely.

I prefer to have wine instead of beer, cause it contains too many calories, while wine, especially dry one, contains less.
But now I’m addicted to english tea :slight_smile: Ale x

I definitely do not drink like I used to. When I was 16 I had to be taken to the hospital for too much alcohol (possibly poisining) b/c I was unresponsive. They didn’t have to pump my stomach but I was out of it for quite a while. That stopped me cold turkey for a while but then of course we forget =0 Right out of college I went back to social drinking but I had so many next days where I was totally uncapable of doing anything but trying to recover on the couch or in bed. I paid another trip to the hospital the day after my (ex) sister-in-law’s bachelorette party a few years ago b/c I overdid it once again. They just gave me fluids & I was on my merry way. I have since learned my lesson the hard way that my body just can’t tolerate a lot of alcohol whether it is diabetes related or just getting older. I do drink occasionally but I don’t let myself have more than 4 - 5 light beers and that’s if I’m out all night long. I’m just too afraid of feeling ill! I also make sure I drink a ton of water … probably more than I really need. I don’t usually bolus for drinks unless I’m having a sweet drink like pina colada when vacationing. I had sangria not too long ago & I shot up to like 400 afterwards so I’m staying away from that! I’ve had many low episodes the day after drinking but not every single time so it’s almost like a hit or miss for me.

I’m an occassional beer drinker. Sometimes just gotta have a nice, cold light beer - usually out to dinner and letting my hair down from the stresses of work. I always eat when I have a drink- thats my first rule. So I’m carb counting and taking the right amount of insulin. In college when I was first diagnosed I met with the nutritionist and explained I will drink, so how do I compensate? Instead of the usual “don’t drink at all if you have the D.” message. I’m not a mixed drink, wine or fruity-drink drinker… just sadly sticking to my cold beer. :slight_smile:

I drink beer and wine, because it helps with my BS control…believe it or not. The bible says to drink wine for your many ill’s. When I was freshly out of the Air Force, I sampled every beer on the market in america but could not find anything as good as is available in england/europe. I do not drink distilled spirits. I don’t like feeling intoxicated. Anyway, I encountered a couple of professors at university who were making their own ale, and they taught me. Now, i can make a delightful doplebock and an english brown that I dearly love.
BTW, some years later, I met an archeologist specializing in ancient diseases, who informed me Ale was the first real medicine available to mankind. Cyclosporin among other good things is a byproduct of fermentatation. In ancient times, even tuberculosis responded to the antibiotics present in ale.

Cheers
danny

Hi there,
Funny, as I was pouring my bourbon and diet coke last nite I was thinking about starting a forum on this topic. I must admit I like to have a drink or two every so often. I have learned that for me a hypo seems to always happen the next day. So I just compensate on that day. I do always ensure that I have food in my tummy when drinking!!! I also enjoy a nice cold beer, here in Aus there is one called Pure Blonde, it is lower in carbs than others and it tastes good!!Cheers

Ditto Toni’s replyI

~Daniele

As a student at the number one party school in America I endulge in a few drinks here and there. One thing that I have noticed that you need to be careful when bolusing after drinking spirits of any sort, but definatly check your BG often and NEVER go to bed after drinking without checking it first.

My body is very inconsistent with the way it handles alcohol. I try and drink 0-carb booze drinks (gin and tonic, vodka tonic, etc), but I do drink whatever is around at times as well. Sometimes I get happy and drunk, but I often just get tired and slightly nauseous, and their seldom seems to be a clear reason as to why. I never get WASTED anymore… it’s just too much trouble and it usually ruins most of the next day. I also always test while drinking. Before I go out, multiple times while I’m out, when I get home. That way if I do get off I can usually correct for it before it gets too bad.

OTOH, I ended up Saturday night with a situation where the only thing available with carbs that might bring up a low was… beer… which I loathe. (Okay, I’ve just never acquired a taste for it.) Three sips and sobriety-wise, I felt as if I’d consumed the better part of a bottle of champagne :stuck_out_tongue: (For some reason, the alcohol in champagne affects me much more quickly than the alcohol in almost any other alcoholic beverage or mixed drink.) Fortunately in a group of people and not so bad off as to be unsafe, but I really don’t like the feeling of loss of equilibrium.

I have definatly had my share of alcohol. I miss those days…(somewhat.) I drank before I was a diabetic and now. But I have slowed down about 99% even as a early diabetic I would drink anything apple pucker- I don’t even want to think what that did to my bsugar… I rarely check it when I drink.
But now being a “little” smarter about it I will only drink diet coke and vodka or diet coke and bacardi. Though Bacardi came out with an alcohol that is 1/2 carbs it tastes very nice and I figured I could down the whole bottle and not go into shock! THAT DOESN"T MEAN I DID. Im just saying I compare most things to if I drink/eat this whole thing how many units would I have to give myself…