diabetes anyone

[spuddleduck]

ive posted this before but there are lots of new people since then. anyone out there have diabetes. im type 1 insulin dependant. as far as i know there are only 2 of us here with diabetes which i find amazing for such a large international site. i can only presume that other diabetics are a damn site more sensible than us and dont drink.... or did drink and are now living (or not) with the consequences.
it would be great to have feedback from others in the same situations... coping with the blood sugar highs and lows while drinking or should i say trying not to drink. thanks

[sick of being sick]

diabetes anyone

Hey, Spuddle! I have been an insulin dependent diabetic for 48 years now. It is a very difficult thing to stay level with my blood sugars going below zero, when I have to get a glucagon shot to 500 and that sometimes happens in a day. So many things effect diabetes. There is no one solution that fixes all. It is a day by day ordeal to keep my blood sugars level. I found drinking alcohol makes your blood sugar drop really low, which is very dangerous, because most diabetics die from low blood sugar than high. So it is best recommended not to drink alcohol if you are a diabetic. So how are you keeping your blood sugars normal and how's that going for you? Thanks for the thread. Love, Vicki

[spuddleduck]

diabetes anyone

hi sobs.. looks like its still just the 2 of us diabetics here. since ive cut down on drinking my levels have been much better. when im drinking i take much less care of how my levels are.im actually looking at buying a wrist held constant monitor which tests levels every 15 minutes. it is expensive but what price is health. i will let you know if i get it. one thing that interests me is the affect of blood sugar levels on cravings. there is a lot of talk here about keeping blood sugar levels good as highs and lows can bring on alcohol cravings. with us, highs and lows are an everyday thing. even the best diabetic has trouble keeping as level as a 'normal' person. i guess its still just the 2 of us here with diabetes. diabetic partners in crime

[Kimberley]

diabetes anyone

Not sure yet Spuds- I have been having what appear to be blood sugar issues. Went for the fasting glucose test and now they want to send me for a glucose tolerance test so i am assuming the first test was either abnormal or borderline. Been off the sauce over 4 months now but it's only now that I seem to be getting issues. Rah! I only have a third of my pancreas left due to drinking so i guess i had to expect some falllout....

I have to wait anohter 10 days for the second test - any tips until then for the crippling headaches, dizziness etc? I can't have pure sugar as if i start I can NOT stop, just like alcohol. My diabetic friend suggested low GI foods so i don't hit the spikes.
K x

[spuddleduck]

diabetes anyone

hi kim. i doubt it is diabetes as the doc can do a simple finger prick blood test. when i was suspected to have diabetes she did that there and then and it was a high reading. it was only after that that i had further tests. there are lots of other problems associated with the pancreas so its most likely to be something else. i dont know much about these other things but i would agree with your friend, low GI foods and no sugar or sweet stuff, its the spikes that will be causing the problem. at least take heart that whatever it is it will almost certainly be controllable. i know i was devestated when i was diagnosed with diabetes but you learn to live with it. in fact it just encourages a healthy way of eating which is no bad thing. hope the tests go ok and the outcome is sunny. it will be handy having a diabetic friend.

[Kimberley]

diabetes anyone

Thanks Spuds, I almost don't care what it is at the moment - i just want to know what it is and therefore how to manage it! I felt truly awful yesterday. I don't tend to eat sugar at all on a daily basis but I do have a history of massive binges if I have cravings.

Today I have eaten every hour or so to try to keep my blood sugar even - a couple of strawberries, a teaspoon of peanut butter or a bit of cheese on top of some small meals. I haven't felt great but i have felt ok and able to function, which I was very far from yesterday. Guess i'll keep doing similar until I know what's what.

K x

[spuddleduck]

diabetes anyone

just a thought kimbo... im sure your diabetic friend will have the same montitor stuff that i have. can she do a finger prick test for you. im always testing people to see how they are

[Kimberley]

diabetes anyone

Hey Spuds,

Funny you say that - she did want to test me when I was feeling wobbly, but the battery ran out!

K x

[username1]

diabetes anyone

well i guess you can count me in , i "quit" drinking after 8 years daily about 2 weeks ago and I say "quit" since i switched to non-alcoholic beer (which still has .5% alcohol) but, I haven't had a "real beer" since. well i was pretty excited and motivated about this. my liver has always been my concern, well i had a blood test done on friday and my blood sugar level came out to 270 and i'm only 30 yrs old.

i don't know if after your drinking that much alcohol for so long and quit if your blood sugar levels can drop after some time. I'm supposed to go back in for a test in 3 months and he said he's going to do more tests. he was quite alarmed and so am i, he started talking about diabetes and insulin shots, and i hate needles i dont even know how i can check myself daily if i start having to. i just immediately started excersing today and will continue every day until my next test in 3 months and completely cut out sweets, candy etc. unfortunately i doubt i will do anything about the NA beer intake, which I know has carbs as much as the real stuff, not sure what to do. I guess this is it for me pretty soon..

I can't even tell my parents, my dr. wanted me to and bring one of them in to discuss it with them but, my dad doesnt like hearing this stuff he gets mad at me since it makes him depressed, so will my mom and last year my dr. called him about my blood test instead of me when my liver count was high and he got so upset. we pay an arm/leg for my mom's meds and her uptake (she's diabetic also but, she's 60 and yesterday her sugar level was only 180 and she was kind of shocked), coincidently there was a family meeting yesterday everybody was getting mad at my mom for how much she costs the family in medical bills, so she's filing for disability now.

i have other mental conditions that prevent me from even going outside, i don't know if it's schitozophrenia or what but, i can't even get a job, whenever i'm around people i feel like i'm going insane, even online (except for this forum for some reason) i don't know what's gonna happen. I guess my time is up, the sad part is that in the back of my mind I knew this day would come but, I just felt like there was another voice in me telling me it would be ok, and if i thought it would happen i thought it would be in my 60's or something and used to tell myself, "i don't really want to grow up to be a handicapped wrinkled fuck" so not living that long is fine with me but, so soon I didn't realize it would be.

the thing is that i'm so sick mentally, i mean i have no life, i live at my parents i'm 30 never had a girlfriend, i'm so insecure and i have no confidence, i'm so anti-social i can't speak to anybody. i mean i'm a loser and an embarrassment to my dad and everybody. drinking and watching tv and listening to music is all i've ever had and done for so many years, it's my only thing "to do".

i dont know why i feel bad about everything "ending" when I mention my problems above, I guess since i'm scared of it , if it was in my sleep i would never know but, i'm weak and i don't want to suffer. since i freaked out today about being diabetic i started googling and saw what happens with people diabetes they can lose kidney function, and go blind, comas, i don't remember what else. the suffering is what i don't want to have to go through.

the reason I made this drastic decision recently all of a sudden to quit "real beer" is since my aunt died a week before all of a sudden and they said alcohol abuse could have contributed to it, they said she has chirrosis. they were asking questions and her husband confirmed she was a regular drinker.

I was so concerned about alcohol and chirrosis now and it seems like all this time instead of doing blood checks on my liver from the drinking it should have been on the sugar.

i really hope that it's from all the drinking of the "real stuff" for so long in the past that my sugar levels raised and will lower in the next 3 months but, i don't know if that's possible, it sounds unlikely doesn't it?

[Cinders]

diabetes anyone

User,

Your post made me want to weep. You sound so alone.

First of all, do not let your father define you. You are you.

Secondly, diabetes and drinking are not good companions. :goodjob: on quitting.

Thirdly, diabetes is not a death warrant. My brother is a Type 1 diabetic and still going strong at 60.

What made me post to this, though, is that you are afraid, sad and alone.

You must get professional help. You must.

Your best bet in life is to get well. Mentally and physically.

Find help for the mental and find help for the physical.

You can tackle this. Do not let anyone deter you or make you feel badly about yourself.

Cindi

[Kimberley]

diabetes anyone

Hi there,

Congratulations on putting down the alcohol.I can relate to your post - I'm 31 and was diagnosed with reactive hypoglycaemia earlier this year - which the doc told me will likely turn into diabetes at some point. It's cos through my drinking I screwed my pancreas up. I quit drinking nearly 10 months ago for the second time.

I just wanted to mention in particular the mental condition you talked about. Have you ever heard of Social Phobia or Social Anxiety Disorder? I had that -it's not about shyness, it's about being afraid of doing thing in front of people. I became pretty much agoraphobic, was scared of eating in front of people, shopping etc. That was the whole reason I started drinking all day every day - just to function.

Luckily I was cured of that by NLP, hypnotherapy and EFT. I just wanted to mention that because I never would've have the courage to stop drinking if I'd still had that to face every day. Feel free to ask or PM me if you want more info.

Re the blood sugar issues, yeah it's a bummer but I have to avoid sugar now and all carbs. I am having massive cravings right now so it's very challenging. But I will find a way to do it.

Stay strong - you're worth it and you're not alone.

K x

[crimsons]

diabetes anyone

@Spuddle, first of all, your user name cracks me up! I think a lot of us are here because we fear giving ourselves Type 2, which is what killed my dad. (Although he was a vegetarian, his three favorite vegetables were peanut butter, breakfast cereal and ice cream...) I would bet there are quite a few posters with Type 2 or who are pre-Type 2. I know I'm fearful and it's one of the main reasons I'm cleaning up my act.