alcohol

[catsrule]

I've heard that drinking alcohol all the time is not good for diabetes what happens if the person doesn't stop drinking

[Pete919usa]

Alcohol is tricky for diabetics.  Heck, it's tricky for folks without (or who at least think they are without) any medical issues... news programs, newspapers, magazines, all in the past decade have given conflicting evidence about alcohol (red wine is good for you... or, no it's not, etc etc).

Even the ADA (American Diabetes Association) hasn't really come out with any really useful guidelines for diabetics, but they at least *have* let us know the risks and told us what diabetic symptoms and conditions mean that a diabetic should NOT drink alcohol...

--If a diabetic is on metformin or similar pills to control blood sugar, drinking alcohol increases the risk of hypoglycemia and lactic acidosis (both serious and potentially fatal)
--Any diabetic with vision problems (retinopathy or recently decreased vision) should not consume alcohol as it worsens the symptoms and can cause more damage to vision
--Any diabetic with peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage... tingling, pain, numbness in fingers, hands, feet, lower legs) MUST NOT drink alcohol as even moderate drinking (2 drinks per WEEK) can cause nerve damage
--Any diabetic with high blood pressure should NOT drink alcohol as alcohol can increase blood pressure (and folks with high blood pressure who stop drinking can lower their blood pressure, *and* some blood pressure meds when combined with alcohol actually make blood pressure fall way too low)
--Any diabetic with high cholesterol, especially high triglycerides, should not drink alcohol as it causes increased triglycerides...  remember that as a diabetic, we already have the cardiac risk factors of someone who already had a heart attack.

Now then... if, and I mean  IF  a diabetic is under really good control and has talked to their doc about it, the ADA states that one drink a day (up to two for men) is *probably* ok... but remember that good control means that you are on a regular routine with diet, meals, exercise, with essentially normal blood glucose readings, normal/low triglycerides, normal blood pressure, and no signs nor symptoms of any other diabetic complications (nerve damage, vision problems, liver or kidney problems)

Here's a website from ADA... I personally think all the info isn't that great, but it's a start...

http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/alcohol.jsp

[often]

LLWB is right...this is definitely self destructive.  Based on the questions you have posted here, your friend is not treating his disease at all and is headed for major trouble unless he starts to listen to his docs and do as they say.

[LLWB]

No, it's not okay to drink lots of bottled wine, or other alcohol when you have diabetes. My dr recommends no more than 1-2 drinks a day. Does he test his blood sugar? If so, have him test after 15min or so to see what his blood sugar is doing. Maybe if he sees the results you can help him stop being destructive to himself. Good luck.

[catsrule]

no I don't have diabetes my friend does he says it's ok to drink lots of bottle wine all the time I keep telling him no

[often]

do you have diabetes?  Or is it someone close to you?  alcohol contains a lot of sugar....a lot!.  Diabetes can cause heart problems, blindness, loss of limb.....oh yeh, death...  If a diabetic does  not manage their disease, that is what can happen.