ZeeMan - Alcohol Issues

I am in my 70's and have never been diagnosed as diabetic. On the contrary I have often been found to have low blood sugar. I have been drinking since I went to college, but rarely to excess. Until recently I had believed that two drinks a night was no big deal. Last year my attitude began to change. I had over indulged at a wedding the night before, slept well through the night and felt fine the next day. After a full day of sightseeing, I went out to dinner and had two beers with the meal. I got back to my hotel room and laid down on the bed and fell asleep rather quickly. So quickly that it caused my wife and sister, who has been a diabetic educator, to be alarmed. They tried to wake me but could not.

My sister called 911 and I awoke a with medic who looked more like a lumberjack kneeling over me and putting a IV line into my arm. As I became more alert he explained that my blood sugar had fallen to 21 and that is why I became unconscious. I was transferred to the local hospital and stayed there undergoing tests to determine if I had any contributing factors for the drop in blood sugar. After three hours, I was released with the prescriptions for blood sugar testing. The experience opened my eyes but only a bit. I cut back on alcohol consumption but did not eliminate it.

About 18 months later my wife and I were out to dinner with friends. We had a great meal and I had two glasses of wine during the meal over a period of three plus hours. After the meal ended, the other male in the group suggested we have an after dinner drink -- one that I particularly like. We consumed that and a sweet desert and were getting ready to leave the restaurant.

The next thing I know I am on a lying on a stretcher in the middle of the restaurant. Yes, I had done it again. This time by blood sugar was down to 18 by the time the medic pumped something into my arm. After I was stabilized I was taken to the hospital where I spent about three hours in the ER and then admitted for a 24 hour stay to monitor my blood sugar. Now I really understood

I have learned my lesson, at long last--alcohol could kill me. Now I do without --- well almost!