Hi. I am new to this whole "situation." I just typed a really long story, but I lost it when I hit preview and apparently wasn't logged in. Here is my long story short:

I am looking for "real world" advice on getting drunk on weekends and having diabetes. I haven't been to an endocrinologist yet, but I have an appointment, and I know he is going to give me the company line.

I have just been put on medicine (Avandia and Glucophage). I haven't taken any yet. I am probably going to try and avoid Glucopahge alltogether, if possible, since I read the alcohol warnings. Admittedly I am in denial (my A1C results were a shock, I was exercising and trying to be good) and don't want to go on medicine. I want to try more exercise and eating better. However, if I have to go on medicine and want to drink (it is a big part of my social life), can I just not take it that day if I know I am going to drink? Is the only danger of alcohol use hypoglycemia?

If you have diabetes and still get drunk a couple times a week but have zero alcohol the other 5 days, please let me know how you handle it. Any other advice is really appreciated as well, but please don't call me an alcoholic or preach at me (not that you would, but I know how message boards can be ;)). Like I said, I am just new to this whole thing - honestly kind of depressed about it - and am looking for "realistic" advice and the path of least resistance - if there is one :D .

Thanks in advance for your responses. I'm really glad I found this board and look forward to participating in the future.

Tampa,

In some ways you sound like I once did, though I would substituted mass quantities of foods (prime rib, lobster and butter, etc.) in place of drinks. Even when diagnosed, I took my meds, ate as I wanted and just didn't drink, at least not until after the heart attack. I suppose if you want to pick the lesser of two evils, it would be drinking, provided you don't overconsume in calories, your liver holds out, and you do everything right to remove the diabetic symptoms.

I am looking for "real world" advice on getting drunk on weekends and having diabetes. I haven't been to an endocrinologist yet, but I have an appointment, and I know he is going to give me the company line.

Very well, now that I have zero diabetic symptoms, absolutely no trace of insulin resistance, and my post-prandial rise is as good as any non-diabetic, I do get blitzed at a party every once in a while. Sure, we all have to live, and I am only 38. Know of any 33 year old new type 2's? How about any 35 year old heart attack survivors? The former played a huge role in the MI. But I should get back to what you ask...


I have just been put on medicine (Avandia and Glucophage). I haven't taken any yet. I am probably going to try and avoid Glucopahge alltogether, if possible, since I read the alcohol warnings. Admittedly I am in denial (my A1C results were a shock, I was exercising and trying to be good) and don't want to go on medicine.

No time for denials if you want the real world advice. You just got to accept the fact that you already have insulin resistance, and that you will be lucky, like me, if your pancreatic function is still OK if you fix the problem now. Fixing it, perhaps temporary only, and how I did it, do it, and maintain it is below.

I want to try more exercise and eating better.

...and therein lies the solution to all that you asked.

If you have diabetes and still get drunk a couple times a week but have zero alcohol the other 5 days, please let me know how you handle it.

In undergrad, I did the 5-day per week party scene, then in grad school, at least I dropped it down to weekends. I am no longer a weekend warrior though, but I am going on a tangent.

OK the recipe to do this--and by this I am not saying I think this is the best way to handle diabetes. To eat better, lose the fats, restrict the calories. First you have to bring the weight down if you have excess, or in the least compensate for the alcohol calories by choosing better foods with high nutritional value.

As for exercise, large muscle groups, lots of cardio and consistent, which means everyday. Yes, that means when the bars close and you come in at 3 am--you will exercise that morning. I have even gotten home, put on my shorts and did my 5K run then. It was time to pay the piper. Hangover? No obstacle, roll out of bed sometime between 4-6 am and do a 5-10K run. Without fail, every day. If I was fine enough to get hammered the night before, then I am fine enough to get out there and pay the price in exercise.

But...that's not all. For an added bonus, and to make sure you keep those triglycerides and VLDL down (yes, too much alcohol will elevate those), you probably need an afterwork exercise session. For diabetics, you get better success if you exercise different muscle groups (as well as large), so here, biking is the choice. By this, I don't mean a 10 mph joyride, this is 30-60 min of interval training where you average about 200W, with a cadence of 100 rpm. It's not Lance Armstrong level, but suffice to say most of the population is not putting forth (or can't put forth so, because of age, etc.) that kind of effort to keep the balance and maintain an "unlimited" and "non-diabetic-like" lifestyle. It's the time to elevate exercise to a new level--as if being an athlete was your 2nd career.

Again, you don't want to be preached to, but (to sound like a broken record) I did not drink while I was on diabetes meds and while I had diabetic complications. Even now, I try to keep it moderate, but do understand the desire to go above. Every football season, for 6 games while at the tailgate parties, I am there too.

Anyway, as for the 2nd post--good movie, I enjoyed it.

Hi. I am new to this whole "situation." I just typed a really long story, but I lost it when I hit preview and apparently wasn't logged in. Here is my long story short:

I am looking for "real world" advice on getting drunk on weekends and having diabetes. I haven't been to an endocrinologist yet, but I have an appointment, and I know he is going to give me the company line.

I have just been put on medicine (Avandia and Glucophage). I haven't taken any yet. I am probably going to try and avoid Glucopahge alltogether, if possible, since I read the alcohol warnings. Admittedly I am in denial (my A1C results were a shock, I was exercising and trying to be good) and don't want to go on medicine. I want to try more exercise and eating better. However, if I have to go on medicine and want to drink (it is a big part of my social life), can I just not take it that day if I know I am going to drink? Is the only danger of alcohol use hypoglycemia?

If you have diabetes and still get drunk a couple times a week but have zero alcohol the other 5 days, please let me know how you handle it. Any other advice is really appreciated as well, but please don't call me an alcoholic or preach at me (not that you would, but I know how message boards can be ;)). Like I said, I am just new to this whole thing - honestly kind of depressed about it - and am looking for "realistic" advice and the path of least resistance - if there is one :D .

Thanks in advance for your responses. I'm really glad I found this board and look forward to participating in the future.
Anytime you have diabetes and drink alcohol, you are running a risk at putting your blood alcohol level at a higher intoxication effect than a person who is not a diabetic. The risks are that the effects are unpredicatable from one time to the next, not that it is immediate doom and gloom each time. The liver and pancreas are under fire from the diabetes, when you add any other drug you are giving your liver more work to do. The age old question still remains, how much do you care about your liver? If you care, you will follow nutrition as well as you can and will not put any unnecessary strain on it, because just aging will push things along faster than anyone would like. The biggest side effects of diabetes either Type one or type II is the silent organ damage to the liver, kidneys and heart.

Know of any 33 year old new type 2's?

I am 30 and a new type 2, I guess.

The former played a huge role in the MI

Maybe a silly question...what does MI mean?

The reason I asked my original question is that I am only 30 years old and started having "high-blood sugar issues" about a year and a half ago. I wasn't fat by any means, but I didn't exercise or eat that well. I started exercising regularly and trying to eat "better" once the Doc told me I needed to do something. I have since gotten back to within 5 pounds of my high-school weight, and everything was going great until mymost recent A1C. Basically, though, I am still trying to live somewhat of a college life - all my friends drink; we get drunk on weekends to have fun and unwind, and really everything "fun" we do involves alcohol (I know that sonds terrible). I was hoping to find someone that bucks the system and wanted to share their tricks of the trade (thanks, Cobalt) :D.

I do especially appreciate the talk of fats and stuff with regards to eating right. This is stuff I have read about on the Web but don't have the attention span to "learn" since I am mostly surfing at work. I am really looking forward to seeing an Endo and nutritionist to learn to take better care of myself. I mainly started watching carbs and went on an atkins-esque diet when I was first told of the potential problem. However, I now realize that I really need to learn all about what it takes to keep this under control - that it's not just carbs.

Right, so much more than carbs; although, carbs will indicate that you have a problem pretty quickly. Sorry about the abbreviation above (MI is myocardial infarction). I should have just left it at heart attack.

In my case, I was pushing the envelope by remaining obese, eating all I wanted and taking the meds to make my A1c's and fasting glucoses look "alright." Problem is that it was not alright. I ended up almost killing myself off at age 35.

I changed a great deal in my diet, and learned to enjoy life more. That means that I get out more, and learned to like it again. It's amazing what losing weight will do to self-esteem--that was part of what kept me out of the limelight for years. That was also what kept me unhealthy.

Anyway, because you are young, you might be able to up the exercise a bit and change the diet and still continue to have a blast on weekends. I am all for having as much out of life as possible. The problem is that I have to be a bit more careful, but I will endulge, here and there. I can't really say I binge drink, but I can and will binge eat from time to time (things like 1/2 bag of M&Ms, or 1/2 box of cereal). Fortunately, that can be compensated by the high level of exercise that I do, anyway.

Just remember, and I have to remember this also, that all this good fortune may only be temporary. One day, I won't be young enough to exercise at this level, my insulin resistance may increase again, and/or my ability to secrete enough insulin may come into play. Then, I will have to re-evaluate and modify the situation as needed.

Good luck. I am all for enjoying life, and try to do so at its fullest. Sounds like you have the same desire and hopefully you will be able to do so.