Effects of Alcohol on Diabetes Medications

If a diabetic chooses to drink, she needs to be aware that she will experience several side effects from the combination of her oral medication with alcohol. She needs to take several measures to ensure she can safely drink before she takes that first sip. She should consult with her doctor, measure her blood glucose before going out, limit her intake to no more than 2 drinks and combine her alcoholic drink with a meal.

Oral Diabetes Medication Actions

• Oral diabetes medications act to counteract the effect of glucose in the diabetic's body. Medications such as Diabinese, Glucotrol, DiaBeta, Glynase, Micronase, Orinase and Glucophage all work to remove glucose from the bloodstream of a diabetic. If he decides to drink, he needs to make sure his diabetes is under control and his blood glucose is at a healthy level.

Alcohol and Five Oral Medications

• If a diabetic is taking Diabinese (chlorpropamide), Glynase (glyburide), DiaBeta (glyburide), Micronase (glyburide) or Orinase (tolbutamide) and she combines the medication with alcohol, she will suffer the same kind of effect that occurs with the anti-alcoholism drug Antabuse (disulfiram) and alcohol: she will become flushed, nauseated and physically ill after drinking alcohol.

Alcohol and Metformin

• Combining alcohol and Glucophage (metformin) will cause a diabetic to have increased levels of lactic acid in his bloodstream. If the level of lactic acid gets high enough, lactic acidosis develops, which is potentially fatal to the diabetic. It is especially important for him to measure his blood glucose level before going out; if he chooses to drink alcohol, he needs to restrict his intake to no more than 2 drinks.

Alcohol and Blood Glucose Level

• The diabetic who chooses to consume alcohol while she is taking any of these oral diabetes medications runs the risk of a significantly lowered blood glucose level. She runs this risk because the medications work to remove glucose from her bloodstream; her liver will act to remove the alcohol, which it treats as a toxin, from her system before it releases any glucose, which she needs for her body to function normally. If she did not eat before ingesting the alcohol, this is a third cause of a low blood glucose level; she could end up needing emergency medical intervention to prevent her from slipping into a hypoglycemic coma.

Alcohol and Damage to the Body

• Every time a diabetic takes a drink of alcohol, he puts additional stress on his entire system. His liver has to excrete the alcohol, which causes him to suffer from a lowered blood glucose level. The consumption of alcohol can make it more difficult for him to control his blood sugar levels; if he is a heavy drinker, alcohol will cause his body to produce some acids in his blood, which could cause severe health issues down the road.