Question:
Hey guys I'm a 22 year old guy. Recently my urine has been smelling
sweet and it's worrying me. I know it's a symptom of diabetes
mellitus... BUT, here are a few things I think you should know.
I've had the usual smelling urine in the past, but whenever I drink
alcohol, the next time I pee, it smells sweet. I think that is kind of
normal right? Urine smelling sweet after drinking a couple beers? But
the next time I pee (after not drinking), the urine would go back to
smelling normal. It's always been like this. But recently I haven't
been drinking and the urine has started to smell sweet again. It
doesn't happen every time, but every now and then it has a sugarish
smell. I've read up on the diabetes mellitues thing online and I
have the sugar-smelling urine symptom...but not much else. My appetite
hasn't changed, no vision changes, no extreme thirst..and all that.
I wonder if drinking alcohol has affected my liver/pancreas/ability to
produce sufficient insulin? I just have so many things going through
my head... I'm worried about what I eat now and that maybe any
moment something really bad will happen... I know I should get my
blood checked out and I will...but I was just wondering if you guys
have any idea of what's going on. And if sometimes urine smelling a
little sweet is perfectly normal? Also one last thing, do you know
of any other causes for sweet-smelling urine? Other than diabetes, or
alcohol (aka malnutrition, diet of ___, sleep deprivation, etc...)...
Thank you all a lot in advance. Very concerned

Answer:
Hey SonicSpeed, how are you doing? The ketoacidosis associated with
alcoholism responds rapidly to infusions of glucose and saline.
Insulin is not required, nor should alkali be given unless acidosis is
extreame. Severe ketoacidosis may occur in association with acute
or chronic alcoholism. Typically, patients have a history of prolonged
abstention from food, protracted vomiting, and appreciable alcohol
intake just before development of ketoacidosis. The presence of
these antibodies may indicate an increased risk of type 1 diabetes. A
GAD test can identify people at risk of type 1 diabetes years before a
diagnosis can be made. Best wishes,