sleepie

Hi all Hope you are doing well and persevering in recovery.
I hope I am not breaking a rule with this question?

I am not asking for medical advice- I have already been to the dr. I was told I am prediabetic, and I quit drinking almost a month ago. I was told that by abstaining from drinking I might go back to normal, but nothing I have read supports this. Has anyone here had this experience? Quit and then had a return to non diabetic status? I was a beer drinker, and everything I read says beer does not raise blood sugar. But that hard liquors do.

ScottFromWI

I had a lot of physical problems towards the end of my drinking. Liver enzymes off, high cholesterol, high BP, low potassium, acid reflux just to name a few. Almost all of them got markedly better after sober time. Do you have a follow up with your doc to see if things have improved? Do you feel better after 30 days?

sleepie

I feel pretty much better and I have to go back in two months but I am way too scared to get my hopes up about this improving because everything else came back normal plus I have no risk factors for diabetes, I am not overweight, I bike and as far as I know it does not run in our family even though my maternal grandmother was obese. So that's why I was wondering if anyone else had this situation and if it improved. It was so hard to make myself go for those tests and now I can't put it behind me and live my life sober, I am so extremely worried.

Gargery

I'm hypoglycemic. I was hypoglycemic when I was drinking and still am. Although I've come to recognize the symptoms of low blood sugar without the need to measure it, I still took it often. Much depends on the beer you drink: more carbs means more blood sugar. I was a beer drinker too, and found that the heavy, high-alcohol brews I favored raised my blood sugar 30-40 - similar to a meal.

I find my blood sugar is easier to manage now that I'm not drinking, but it's because I have a clear mind, and not because of the effects of the beer on my glucose levels.

sleepie

I think mine would be hyperglycemic. Too much sugar not too little. thank you for your input people I appreciate it!

Chigirlxx

I was told my blood sugar was sky high and I'm diabetic, stopped drinking and it went right back down to normal ranges. They say they will take my diabetic diagnosis off in August if I keep it up.

sleepie

Wow Chigiirlxx that"s great I hope you will continue and return to good health. Stay strong! Can I ask, how long did it take for you to return to normal ranges? Did you happen to be a beer drinker also? I was.

Turtle82

If you're still borderline or Type 2 and haven't yet become a Type 1, then staying away from carbs will keep the blood sugar stable or at non-diabetic levels. Alcohol contains a lot of sugar (carbs.)

Seren

I'm a Type I diabetic (insulin dependent), and I use an insulin pump.

When I was first diagnosed, the nurse educator explained to me that alcohol works two ways in disrupting the normal production and use of glucose in the body.

1) Alcohol does contain a lot of simple sugar that can elevate blood sugar levels.
2) Glucose held in reserve for later use by the body is stored in the liver....the liver is also used to process alcohol. When drinking, our bodies are busy processing the liquor, so the liver is too busy to release any glucose if signaled to do so by the body. This can actually result in low blood sugars.

Again, not a doctor, just relaying what I was taught.

Chigirlxx

I bucked up very quickly once told about my diabetes and liver. I stopped all alcohol and researched diabetes and found a fantastic forum. I cut my carb intake right down and ate healthy meals with lots of salad or veg. Doing that pretty much reduced it within days. Then carrying on with it kept it within accepted ranges for a diabetic post meal. I used to test daily after meals. I had one or two readings that were over what they should be if say I had a treat like a chinese but that was ok according to my Nurse. Then when they re checked me in December they basically couldn't believe how low my BG was and said I had reversed it but they have to wait a full year to be able to take the diagnosis off. I can now eat the sugary things if I want and my levels stay normal. I was diagnosed in August 2014 and told it was basically gone by December.

I was freaked out by it. I didn't wanna be diabetic and I did everything they told me to do. My doctor said the alcohol was what was pushing my BG up so sky high.

sleepie

Here's a question, what did you eat when you absolutely had to have a snack? I was eating whatever I wanted while trying to abstain from alcohol- fast food and sometimes pie. Pizza. I had my salads too but right now I need some serious stress food and I cannot have it... it"s driving me nuts. Walnuts and fat free yogurt are not doing it.

Chigirlxx

Cheese is great or sliced meats. I love pickles so ate them. The do have recipes for fat bombs you can make and keep in the freezer but I never made any of them. I did allow myself low fat low cal crisps as a treat now and again.

sleepie

Pickles... brilliant! i love pickles. And salad peppers. Thanks!

grtgrandpa

When I stopped drinking 28 years ago, my craving switched to sugar and I have been prediabetic for the last 5 years trying to find the right medication. Currently on glimepiride.

I know a lot off alcoholics with diabetes. Most people take metformin which I can't take because it takes 5 or more days for a bowel movement.

Blood chemistry is very complicated, but we alcoholics are by definition very complicated people.

Thanks for the thread sleepie, and I welcome any suggestions.

zjw

I've seen so many stories of folks with type 2 diabetes totally reversing it through diet and exercise. So there is hope for sure.

In my own case I dunno if i had sugar issues. I might have I was 275lbs the day i quit I'm 150lbs now. I fixed up my diet and exercise. NOW all things are not perfect I do have to be careful to make sure I eat sugar swings in my case can cause me various issues. I'm not sure If i've always been sensitive to it or what. I do recall having issues back in my drinking days as well. So in my case I guess I have to make sure the food keeps coming.

grtgrandpa

What is a favorite pre-diabetic website?

sleepie

I dunno if we are allowed to say websites here grtgrandpa.

grtgrandpa

websites have been posted here on a number of threads to display music and other topics.

If I am wrong then thanks for the correction. step 10

Turtle82

Actually, as a T2 for about 45 years, this is kind of like a RA. I'm always going to be an alcoholic and I'm always going to be a T2. Since too many total calories at once as well as carbs are going to keep my BS high, in controlling those two, my symptoms go away or my BS stays in normal range. Their are no spikes in insulin levels if say 30 carbs or a low number of calories aren't repeated more often than every two or three hours. The consequence, if I'm over weight, is that I'm also going to loose weight eating that way. Its not the loosing weight that keeps BS down. Its that keeping the BS down causes me to loose weight. Saying here that if I start eating like a "normie" my BS is going to go up and I'm also going to gain weight. And I'm still a T2 whichever way.

zjw

Yeah to your point its not like you magically get cured one day. Your just more prone too or genetically predisposed to be T2 etc...

I'm prone to be obese but if watch my diet and exercise i'm fine. I'm prone to be drunk night after night but if I just dont have that first drink i'm fine. I'm also prone to high cholesterol but if i watch what I eat thats not an issue for me either. etc...

So yeah its not like you some how cure it I guess but it can be a non issue for many if they watch it.