Monday, October 3, 2011

My Dad Collapsed In A Bart Train Yesterday. What Was The Cause?

396545384 My dad has diabetes. He went to a party yesterday and had some type of alcoholic drink or something. However, he only drinks maybe one or twice a year. After drinking, he went on the bart, and as he was holding the hand rail he collapsed. When he woke up, he was already on the floor and didn't know how he got there.

4 comments:

  1. buffalo - Probably just drunk. Or if type 1 he drank and didn't eat something.low blood sugar

    Buff

    ReplyDelete
  2. syl c. - If you're on insulin, or certain oral diabetes medications, such as a sulfonylurea (glipizide, glyburide) or meglitinide (Prandin) that stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin, drinking alcohol can cause a dangerous low blood sugar because your liver has to work to remove the alcohol from your blood instead of its main job to regulate your blood sugar. Buff, this can also affect type 2's on oral meds too.

    Monitor your blood sugar before, during, and after drinking alcohol. Remember to check before going to bed.
    Never drink alcohol on an empty stomach — food slows down the absorption of alcohol into the blood stream.
    Avoid binge drinking — The American Diabetes Association suggests men have no more than two drinks a day, and women one, the same guidelines as for those without diabetes.
    Be prepared — Always carry along glucose tablets or another source of sugar. Glucagon shots will not work in this case.

    The symptoms of too much alcohol and low blood sugar can be very similar, i.e. sleepiness, dizziness, and disorientation. You don't want others to mistakenly confuse hypoglycemia for drunkenness. Alcohol and diabetes is another reminder that it's always a good idea to wear a diabetes medical I.D. Your father had a reaction to the alcohol due to his medication, not eating on an empty stomach or both. When this happens, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) occurs and causes the symptoms such as collapsing and not recalling the event. This is very serious and your father has to either stop drinking alcohol, measure his blood while he is drinking, eating something before he drinks as he could easily have had a serious complication such as a seizure.

    Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  3. TheOrange Evil - I'm so sorry. That's very scary. I hope he's okay.

    Alcohol suppresses the liver's ability to produce glucose. Even non-diabetics can experience low blood sugar after drinking a lot of alcohol, but the effect of alcohol on the liver can be worse for diabetics because often diabetics will be on medication or insulin that can cause low blood sugar. Normally, when your blood sugar goes low, your pancreas releases glucagon, a hormone that sends a signal to your liver to start putting out more glucose to raise your blood sugar. If you are taking a medication that stimulates your pancreas to make more insulin, that interferes with the signaling and blood sugar can drop quite dramatically. The pancreas will just keep on producing more insulin even if blood sugar is already low. That's a big problem when the liver can't respond in kind by raising blood sugar.

    I also know that the weather has been a little warm in California. Was he dehydrated possibly? I collapsed about a month ago in a grocery store from dehydration. I'm from the Bay Area, actually, but I'm living in Chicago now and the humidity and heat really got to me.

    Even though he doesn't drink really, he has to take precautions. He should bring his glucose meter with him to test periodically after he drinks. He should carry glucose tablets, candy or something with simple sugars in case he needs to bring his blood sugar up. Also, if he can notify a friend he's with to watch for signs of hypoglycemia, that would be good, too.

    ReplyDelete