JPA

I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this when drinking heavily. I’m a nutshell, if drink a reasonable amount, enough to be drunk but not necessarily paralytic, I start to experience what feels like low blood sugar / hypoglycaemia.

I get ravenously hungry, shaky, dizzy, sweaty, and faint. I suddenly come across as incredibly tired and sleepy, and have been known to pass out. This happened at the weekend, after a day of steady drinking by my own standards. I recall getting off a train, at which point I can recall holding conversations perfectly well, only next thing I know I’m coming to at the side of the road outside of the station in a pool of blood, where two ladies had called an ambulance as I had smashed my head / face on the concrete and knocked myself unconscious (how long for, I don’t know).

I definitely don’t believe it was because I was drunk - it had been a day of steady drinking but not much eating. I’ve fallen asleep at concerts etc when with my wife in the past after a moderate amount of booze, but way less than anything I could drink at my peak years ago. I don’t feel drunk in that state, just extremely, extremely tired.

This article suggests a link between poor liver performance and poor glucose management in alcoholics:

Google Why Alcohol Causes Hypoglycaemia by Keith Prance.

Has anyone experienced this? Why am I asking? Well, it’s because I know I need to stop drinking and I’m looking to use this moment as a reminder that it’s simply not ‘safe’ for me to drink as my body no longer handles alcohol like that of ‘normal’ people.

Thanks.

biminiblue

Well, the liver does reach a point...

Are you ready to stop? That's really the only solution.

FiveTries

Do you believe this frightening incident would have occurred had you been sober?

I have had blood sugar problems in the past induced by my heavy drinking, yes. Luckily I never passed out, but I was likely close to losing consciousness on two or three of those occasions. It was like diabetic shock. I couldn't move all of a sudden and I was DYING to get a sugary drink into my system. It always happened to me the morning after getting drunk.

Obviously this staying sober is very hard, I wish you the best and hope that we can both avoid situations like that going forward.

doggonecarl

Explains why you are asking us. Why are you NOT asking your doctor?

iAmSam

Drinking caused me both a nose dive in blood sugar and I also had it cause low blood pressure in the past. I used to drink heavily and not eat till evenings. I still only eat in the evening but have not had either the low blood sugar or low blood pressure happen again. It occurred to me after it happened several times in a row (after having it happen a few random times over the years) that 1+1+1+1=see a doctor or stop drinking all day while not eating while not drinking water while working hard/medium/light.
Sooo...either quit drinking or see a doctor is my suggestion.

Former 2 cases a week drinker

Dee74

I had to remove the link as its advertising a rehab.

Many of us find we are hypoglycaemic.
Honestly, I’ve never been hypoglycaemic to the point I fell and hurt myself tho.

Been drunk many times where coming outside made me feel very suddenly a whole lot drunker than I did inside tho?

Whether hypoglycaemia was the reason or not doesn’t change the fact the Universe is telling you in a multitude of ways you need to stop drinking and stay stopped JPA.

D

zjw

i read in the book the vitamin cure for alcoholism the author said something along the lines of 70% of alcoholics have this issue and use alcohol as a way to handle it much like someone else might reach for candy. He rambled on about how alcohol is another form of sugar etc.

when I got sober I started having sugar swings. In my case it’s good for me to always have a snack handy of sorts just in case my sugar dips.

sugarbear1

alcohol is a sugar. sugar problems lead to other problems........

Jack465

I had blood sugar problems while drinking and for a long time after quitting, which manifested as sugar cravings, mood swings, and lightheadedness.

It got better the longer I stayed sober.