It’s the weirdest damn thing; every since around Christmas or so, I can’t drink any more than a small amount—maybe one beer, or a single glass of wine, or a wee drop of Jamesons—without getting sleepy. I mean really, really, “I have to take a nap on the couch right now!” sleepy. This is a totally new phenomenon to me; I’m a proud Irishman (with a bit o’ Cherokee thrown in) and drinking is, and always has been, a part of my life. I seldom ever drink to the point of drunkeness, and I don’t drink every day, but it’s still off-putting to fall into a stupor after one goddamn drink.
I was sick as a dog (a horrible upper respiratory infection that just would not go away) from about a week before Thanksgiving until well after Christmas, so maybe all of the meds the doctor had me on did something screwy to my metabolism. Also, while sick for that period, I dropped about 10 pounds; maybe that had something to do with it. Any ideas, O Smartful Ones?
My cousin had something very similar happen, would just conk out with half a beer. Finally convinced him to go in after the third time I saw it happen. Tuned out he had diabetes, and the alcohol was making his blood sugar spike and crash (at least that was how it was explained to me, IANAD)
Yeah, your body chemistry might have changed. Mine did when I was in my thirties - I went from happily drinking a couple of drinks once a week to getting a wicked hangover from one beer. I just stopped drinking altogether - it isn’t part of my life any longer, and I don’t much care.
My dad has the same problem. In his case it’s actually a good thing, though. His father was an alcoholic, and my dad really lurves him some beer and has good reason to drink (crappy childhood). I think there’s a fair chance he’d be an alcoholic if he could actually stay awake long enough to get drunk. Nothing physically wrong with him, alcohol just makes him sleepy.
See a doctor anyway, though. Sudden physical change is always a potential warning sign.
Dammit, Wallflower & Avarie537, you were right on target. My weight is normally a burly, muscular 190 or so, but in the past month or two I’ve dropped over 10 pounds and, despite eating like a horse, haven’t gained any of it back. I was a little concerned, so I saw the doc this afternoon and (drumroll) I AM diabetic. Not terribly severe, but still…
I have to go on a low/no sugar diet, take oral meds, monitor my blood glucose twice daily and can only drink once in a while.
All alcohol doesn’t contain sugar, IIRC. Or much of it, anyway. 80 proof and above liquors generally don’t have much if any, right? Unless it’s added? Isn’t it all fermented/distilled out of it?
Is there some other issue alcohol presents to a diabetic that isn’t sugar-related?
I know that wines and beer can have some, as do sweet liquers, but I was referencing hard liquour in particular.
If you’re on insulin or a class of oral drugs called sulfonylureas, you risk low blood sugars at times. Alcohol also lowers the blood sugar, so between the two of them, it’s easy to mess up and go severely low.
That said, lots & lots of diabetics drink (including me). I haven’t had any problems with it at all, actually, but I make sure I don’t drink on an empty stomach and I check my blood glucose more often.
I’ve been told that alcohol is processed as fat, not as sugar. Fat blocks the insulin receptors on cells. Much merriment ensues. Diabetics are also more likely to be on various medications.
Not severely, in my case anyway, is not bad enough to cause permanant eye damage, numbness/nerve damage in the limbs, constant fatigue, mood swings, etc…the nastier diabetic symptoms. No need for insulin injections or near-religious, after-every-meal-or-snack monitoring of blood glucose; with a modified diet and oral meds (which the doctor says I’ll only need for a few months), it should be easily controlled.
The bitch is that the modified diet has to be permanant; meaning, until I get my ticket punched in 30-or-so years, very little sugar (goodbye Krispy Kreme…maybe forever), very litttle white flour, very little starch, and (sob) very little beer. I’ll have to monitor my blood at least once a day/every other day for the rest of my days as well.
I’m 43, not grossly overweight (although my six pack abs more closely resemble a pony keg these days); I’m 5’8" and average about 190-ish. I used to be a serious gym rat back in the day, so a large amount of my body mass is muscle. Picture a short, heavily-tattooed silverback gorilla…
Interesting. Does the doc think the oral meds will only be needed until you change your diet enough so that your seeing some weight loss? I’m just curious about what he/she thinks will change in a few months to get you off the meds.
They told me pretty much the opposite when they were thinking I was a Type 2. “You can eat anything, in moderation. No food is out-of-bounds; the important thing is eating a healthy, balanced diet and exercise.” As I learned more, I realized that low-carb was definitely easier, blood-sugar wise. But with the proper meds, a lot of Type 2s can eat a wide variety of foods - just not all at once
And some, of course, can control things totally with diet/exercise. Lucky bastards!
