Alcohol and Diabetes type 2, Diabetes Specifics, Risks, Diabetes-Related Health Conditions & Alcoholism Treatment

Diabetes is a chronic disease that makes it challenging to control your blood sugar, or blood glucose levels. When you eat, certain types of food are broken down into glucose, which is released into the bloodstream. As your blood glucose levels rise, the pancreas reacts by releasing insulin, which helps your body use glucose as energy at a cellular level. People with diabetes have problems either making their own insulin or being able to utilize insulin efficiently; this can result in a rise in blood glucose levels which over time can lead to major health problems, like heart and kidney disease or vision loss.

There are a few different types of diabetes. Many cases of type 1 diabetes are thought to result from an autoimmune condition that targets and destroys pancreatic cells that normally make insulin, resulting in profound insulin deficiency. Type 1 diabetes is sometimes referred to as juvenile diabetes because many people are diagnosed with the disease as children or adolescents, however, it can affect individuals of any age. Both genetic and environmental factors are thought to contribute to the development of type 1 diabetes. If you have a parent with type 1 diabetes, you may be at an increased risk of developing this chronic disease yourself. Around 5-10% of all people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.

People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin in order to survive. Serious warning signs of undiagnosed or unmanaged type 1 diabetes can develop rapidly. and may include signs and symptoms such as:

Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, develops in people who either don’t make enough insulin or whose tissues are unable to efficiently use insulin to utilize blood sugar as energy. You can develop type 2 diabetes at any time throughout your life, but it most commonly develops in middle- and older-aged people. People who are overweight or obese, aren’t physically active, or have certain genetic factors may be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes.

If you have diabetes, alcohol can make controlling your blood sugar more difficult in different ways. For example, people with diabetes who drink alcohol and are otherwise well-fed can develop dangerously high blood sugar levels. On the other hand, people with diabetes who drink alcohol and are undernourished can develop dangerously low blood sugar levels.

Chronic heavy drinking can disrupt various metabolic processes (including those involved with blood glucose homeostasis) and could itself be a risk factor for developing 2 diabetes throughout life.

Drinking can also increase the risks of a range of other diabetes-related health conditions, including serious cardiovascular and neurological issues. Remember, if you or a loved one are experiencing an alcohol overdose, call 911 immediately.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Ketoacidosis is a serious and life-threatening complication of diabetes. Characterized by excessive levels of certain acids called ketone bodies (such as acetone, acetoacetate, and β-hydroxybutyrate) in the blood, this condition can develop when your body doesn’t have an adequate amount of insulin to allow blood sugar into your cells to use as energy.

• Past results from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) suggest that nearly 46% of people with diabetes currently drink.
• 4% of people with diabetes reported that they were binge drinkers (defined for the purposes of this survey by 5 or more drinks on one day), compared to 36.6% of those without diabetes.
• In general, people with diabetes consume less alcohol than those without diabetes.

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2015 through 2018, nearly 16% of U.S. adults aged 20 and older are estimated to have type 1 or 2 diabetes.
• 3% of these people have physician-diagnosed diabetes.
• 6% have undiagnosed diabetes.
• 27 million doctor visits are for patients with diabetes as their primary diagnosis.

• Appearing intoxicated more regularly
• Appearing tired, unwell or irritable
• An inability to say no to alcohol
• Becoming secretive or dishonest
• Drinking more, or longer than one intended
• Wanting to cut down or stop drinking, or tried to, but haven’t been able to do so 
• Spending a lot of time drinking, being sick or getting over the aftereffects
• Experiencing craving, a strong need, or urge to drink
• Founding that drinking, or being sick from drinking, often interferes with taking care of your home or family, job troubles or school problems
• Continuing drinking even though it was causing trouble with family or friends
• Giving up or cutting back on activities that are important or interesting to you, in order to drink

• More than once gotten into situations while or after drinking that increased your chances of getting hurt (such as driving, swimming, using machinery, walking in a dangerous area, or having unsafe sex)
• Continuing to drink even though it was making you feel depressed, anxious, or adding to another health problem, or after having had a memory blackout
• Having to drink much more than you once did to get the effect you want. Or finding that your usual number of drinks have much less effect than before
• Finding that when the effects of alcohol are wearing off, you have withdrawal symptoms, such as trouble sleeping, shakiness, irritability, anxiety, depression, restlessness, nausea, or sweating.

Alcohol and diabetes type 2: When it comes to Alcoholism treatment, it is normal to think of 12-step programs or 28-day inpatient rehab, but it becomes difficult to think of more options of treatment for this condition. There are a variety of treatment methods currently available. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, there are three types of treatment: 

• Behavioral Treatments for alcoholism: are aimed at changing drinking behavior through counseling. They are led by health professionals and supported by studies showing they can be beneficial.
• Medications for alcoholism: Three medications are currently approved in the United States to help people stop or reduce their drinking and prevent relapse. They are prescribed by a primary care physician or other health professional and may be used alone or in combination with counseling.
• Peer-Support Groups for alcoholism: Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step programs provide peer support for people quitting or cutting back on their drinking. Combined with treatment led by health professionals, mutual-support groups can offer a valuable added layer of support. Due to the anonymous nature of mutual-support groups, it is difficult for researchers to determine their success rates compared with those led by health professionals.