how does alcohol affect me and how should i take care of it

[footballplr024]

i am 17 years old and the few times i have drank alcohol my blood sugar has just gone really high. i have heard that it tends to drop and want to know how i can drink with my friends and still be safe. i use the insulin pump which i think makes it easier to control my blood sugar levels. im very active and play 3 sports so lots of times i dont even need to give myself insulin to keep it in a good range. all my friends know about my diabeties and i have a twin brother who never leaves my side and makes sure i am okay when i have drank. what is the best way of being safe while still being able to drink? and is it different because i use the insulin pump?

[JDRF-Team-dm]

Dear footballplr024,

Thanks you so much for reaching out to JFRF. While i am not a doctor but a mom with a 27-year-old son with diabetes I can speak of our own experience.

As you kow you are underage for drinking alcohol at all and legal issues aside are endangering yourself with any substance that impairs your judgement to notice low blood sugars. Normally when you have a low bs your liver (which stores glycogen) will release glucose to bring your bd up. However your liver will deal with toxins first, alcohol for example. Because your judgement is impaired or you might be asleep your bs could fall to such a low that may cause a trip to E.R. or worse.

I have seen too many teens trying to safely deal with drinking and diabetes and ended up in trouble, including my own son.

I know peer pressure can be very intense but please don't allow this to influence your decisions. My son also had good friends and he became the designated driver. He was older when he started drinking but you could do the same. He recieves alot of respect from his friends for his attitude and know that they will not drink and drive.

Your brother has every right to be afraid. He loves you very much and wants you to stay healthy. He aslo has to sleep so he cannot watch you 24/7. This is not a burden to put on him because we are all responsible for our own actions.

I am happy to hear that you have only drank a few times. Remember,your friends are only friends if they wish you to stay healthy and respect your decision not to drink.

Please let us know how you are doing and I'm sure there will be more posts to follow.

Wishing you the Best of Luck,

dm

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

I agree with what dm has written.

I was diagnosed as a teen and can relate to the interest in fitting in with our peer group.  As a student athlete (which I wasn't) you risk the public humiliation of being kicked off those teams if you are caught.  I've seen the unhappy folks in my community who endured that pain.

Please add to your reasons to not drink that you are flagrantly violating the commitment you've made to your coaches & team mates.  Usually high school athletes are among the folks that everyone else in school envies and tries to noticed by.  More than any "regular" high schooler, you can play it very very cool ... when you ask for a diet soft drink ... and those around you will not ridicule, but rather will admire.  The server can even put in a "mixer straw" so it looks like you're drinking something exotic.

The few jerks who will loudly or publicly try to "shame" you into drinking can usually be stopped with a simple response from you along the lines of, "Thank you very much for your opinion.  I'll do what I want."  It's polite, but blunt and makes it clear that you're in the driver's seat and that you won't be bullied.  That's very cool ... and let me also add that any young women in your group will take a very positive notice, too ;-)

[JDRF Team SGG]

Legal issues aside, we all know that many underage folks like to try to drink at parties. While I personally (a type 1 diabetic for 34 years) decided that there are enough risks to being diabetic without adding the risks of having to figure out how alcohol affects my body, some folks seem to not be able to have that self-control. So I must agree with the first two comments that it is smarter to drink a diet soda at a social gathering (that's what I do, and there are many military social events that I must go to because of my station in life, most of which involve a "social hour" in which most people drink alcohol). Nobody even notices.

But if you feel you must drink, here is a web site that gives some good guidelines for diabetes concerning alcohol intake.
http://diabetes.about.com/cs/alcoholdiabetes/a/alcohol_basics_2.htm
Also, you must know how many carbs the particular drink you are interested in downing has and build the carb content into your insulin dose. Some alcoholic drinks have zero carbs while others have as many as 15 or even 24. So you must know and adjust for those carbs. But realize that because your body is not going to be operating as it normally does, producing small amounts of sugar, and you really don't KNOW when that production of sugar stops exactly, it will always be a bit of a guessing game. I personally find guessing dangerous, for I am tightly cotrolled and cannot make a misjudgment by even a tiny bit. And of course your athletics also affect glucose numbers, sometimes for several days after extreme activity (I was a USTA tennnis player and white water raft guide, so I am well-aquainted with athletics and blood sugar). It seems to me personally that an athlete should spend his time focusing on keeping the blood sugars as even as possible because highs and lows affect your coordination and ability of muscles to quickly respond to your wishes. Why add another possible detriment? The good news to tight control is that there is no damage from the disease after 34 years on insulin and I can still do my sports. So you must make some choices and be aware that there may be consequences. You are smart to write in and ask for information. Educate yourself and be smart about whether you imbibe or not, and how much.

[liamquan]

I think you all need to look at teenage diabetics drinking realistically! There is no way that a 17 year old is going to go to a party and not drink, kids need to experience fun while they are still close to home... honestly would you rather them get wasted while they're off in university and you cant come and save them? No of course not...people you have to let your kids grow up and expreience drinking!
   The smart thing to do is drink smirnoff ice because it has sugar in it the after effects of your kids blood sugar raising and then dropping wont be as big, there blood sugar wont go low!! And if your on a pump take your pump off while your drinking and put it back on before you pass out!

     Seriosly parents I'm a 17 year old and drinking is what most teenagers do to forget about all the nagging they get from their parents! If your going to bug your kids about drinking they're gonna get more tanked then you ever imagined... so yeah they might throw up and be sick but get smart... we're teenagers!! No one is gonna sit home on a friday night and read...and we wont go to a party and not drink... id ont care if you think your kids are angels... they're not!

[mikejl29]

Straight off, I am 16 years old and living in the UK where the law on myself drinking is pretty shady, but I still do it more than once a month, sometimes up to 4 times.

A night will usually begin around 8:00pm after I have finished dinner and done all insulin normally up until this point. Around 8 I will take enough units to cover two beers (Smirnoff is a sissy drink although it tastes somewhat good). Around 11:00 and 3 beers later I am still pretty much aware of what's going on around me so I test and take my long-lasting insulin that will last me through the night.

Close to 12:00 I am still drinking and usually feel a low coming on and everyone knows drinking on an empty stomach makes you feel like **** the next morning so I grab 2 glasses of orange juice followed by a bunch of cookies or a few slices of pizza. The night ends around 3:30 when I have completed my six pack, not puked (never have), and test my blood one last time before going to bed. My blood is usually JUST above my range by now which is perfect because I will only wake up for two minutes the next morning to take my insulin and go back to sleep until lunch.

Kids will drink no matter how hard you try and stop them. If they get over the effects of it in high school, they are likely to become better off in university because they will be well aware of it's effects and their tolerance levels. They will also have a safe drinking regime so that you can feel comfortable sleeping at night knowing that the teenager is well aware of what they are doing.

It's not rocket science and if you're still pretty new to it... it's better to run your blood sugars a bit higher than normal. Also make sure atleast 3 people know what's going on with your diabetes so they can help you incase their is an emergency.

[jdrf team dm]

While I appreciate all of the comments of teens and drinking, I can't stress enough the fact that for anyone young or old with type 1, drinking can effect your ability to feel low bs coming on. It can affect your control of your blood sugars and put you in a very dangerous situation. I understand that there is going to be underage drinking and I would not presume to judge others. However I do know alot of teens with type 1 that don't drink and hope anyone who is to take note. There is no way I can condone drinking underage, especially with type one diabetes. The complications can lead to very unpleasant hospital stays.
dm

[mikejl29]

In that case my comment still remains. Drinking is going to happen and you must learn to know your own personal limits. First time drinking you should have possibly one or two drinks and see how that affects you. Then gradually progress from there if you must. Make sure there are people around with knowledge of how to help you if you do get into a low state, and if you are drinking something you know will send your blood sugar low, drink and eat some long acting carbs at the same time to help out your BG. It's not that hard and if you use some common sense you will manage it easily.

[JDRF Team SGG]

While instructing your friends about what to do if a low happens is a smart thing to do, you are also smart enough to realize that the symptoms of low and drunk can be IDENTICAL! I would positively NOT put the burden on friends to be able to tell fhe difference by behavior so as to help you or possibly even save your life if a severe low happens. If they misjudge your behavior, thinking you have simply had too much to drink, and then you pass out, they may again attribute it to alcohol and not to low blood sugar. if death or brain damage occurs, what an awful guilt trip to lay on your friends, whose ability to judge from your behavior may also be impaired if they are drinking. The ONLY way to tell positively if you are hypoglycemic or drunk is a blood test.

[mikejl29]

Well as I said in the earlier post... I don't pass out from drinking as I do it responsibly as everyone should. I test my blood before going to sleep around 4am, and then when I do insulin at 9am. I have made sure I have had plenty to eat in that time period aswell so as to avoid a low.

A good number of the people I drink all know how to test my blood as they think it's "cool" and I let them all test themselves on occasion. I put more faith in the friends I have that don't drink though. They also know how to use the Glucagon kit incase there is an emergency.

Just be responsible and it's better to run yourself high if you are drinking so you don't drop overly low by the morning.

[JDRF Team SGG]

Well-written, Mike. I was not doubting what you had written earlier, but simply making a strong point in case somebody else uses your suggestions but simply tells friends what behavior to look out for. If you have friends who are able to do a blood test for you, terrific. This is what responsibility is all about... thinking things through and not drinking to the point of unconsciousness (which poisons your system and is not smart for ANYONE). While I have to reiterate that I believe all young adults should follow whatever laws are in place about the age of drinking for , when legal, if a young adult chooses to consume alcohol, it should be done as a well-educated and well-planned activity. And in moderation, as the web site I mentioned earlier suggests.