Risk Groups for Diabetes and Hypoglycemia
Certain people are at higher risk of getting Type 2 diabetes - if you fall into any of the following groups, you should be having annual checks of your blood glucose levels.
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Diabetes Monitoring - More Likely to Cause Depression
Studies have shown that if you have Type 2 diabetes and do not use insulin, then monitoring your own blood sugar levels is more likely to give you depression than provide any long-term health benefits.
Also see story on diabetes and antidepressants. [Read more →]
Diabetic Feeling Drunk
I’ve just read a story about how a passenger was removed from an Amtrak train recently after he allegedly became unruly - turned out he was a diabetic feeling drunk.
The family of the 65-year-old man claims he had experienced diabetic shock on the train, and that’s why he appeared to be intoxicated and was found four days later, dazed and disoriented.
In the same story, a former police officer, Las Vegas resident Bob Maxwell recalls the first time he encountered another diabetic feeling drunk.
"She was on the side of the road, pulled over, and fortunately her car was off. My partner and I pulled up and her face was flushed, she couldn’t talk.
"She just had that disoriented look on her face. And we finally got it out of her – she said one word and that was diabetes," said Maxwell."
"We were right by a gas station," said Maxwell. "My partner ran in and got some orange juice, gave that to her slowly. And by the time EMS got there, her faculties started coming back. She could talk."
Las Vegas endocrinologist, Fred Toffel says hypoglycemia occurs when blood sugar levels drop below a certain point for a sustained period of time. It can happen suddenly or in phases.
"And part of those phases that people go through is confusion. And one can basically be acting drunk or appearing drunk to the lay public if one does not know that they in fact have diabetes and in fact, having a low blood sugar," said Toffel.
No surprise that symptoms of hypoglycemia are similar to a diabetic feeling drunk. These symptoms may include:
- slurred speech
- staggering
- drowsiness
- confusion
The condition can also produce the smell of alcohol. At this point, a medical-alert bracelet would come in handy.
Usually, hypoglycemia is mild and easily treated by eating or drinking something with carbohydrate. But left untreated, it can be fatal.
Diabetes is not the only cause of hypoglycemia, for example, drinking alcohol on an empty stomach can bring on hypoglycemia.
Have you ever had the experience of being a diabetic feeling drunk? How did you feel - Leave a Comment below - we’d love to hear your story
