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This subjet has probably been addressed but I am curious if any of you drink alcohol while on this journey. Last night, we went out with friends we haven't seen in a long time...everybody was having drinks so I had two glasses of wine. This morning, I feel awful and my liver is screaming at me, "you fool, why are you boozing it up?" (I have liver and lung mets). That being said, I had a great time and really felt relaxed as I sipped my vino.
Cancer Autoimmune diseases Tylenol Surgery Advil Ibuprofen Prostate cancer Breast cancer Pain Acetaminophen Methotrexate
I have lung & pleural mets. I am on Methotrexate for my autoimmune diseases. Alcohol is a no-no with Methotrexate.
However, I do on occasion have a glass of wine or ale. It's not every week or even every month. I do believe that once in a while it's permitted to indulge. I do it without guilt and so should you.
Best,
dj
I appreciate how you feel when you are out with friends for a fun evening, dinner, and wine. That said, I no longer drink anything because my liver has been irritated/somewhat damaged from all the chemo I have had over the 8 years of active treatment. My liver enzymes sometimes go up, depending on the chemo that I am on, and alcohol can add further damage to the liver. My oncologist has said many times over, we have to keep your liver as healthy as possible to keep going on chemo. The last thing I want to do is limit my options. I also saw the liver specialist at Mayo, who advised avoiding alcohol and Tylenol. I take the Tylenol as prescribed as a pre-med before chemo. Tylenol, as you have probably read recently, can cause serious liver damage, especially when consumed with alcohol. One really needs to read the labels carefully on all cold medicines, because they often contain Tylenol (acetaminophen). In summary, it has been recommended that I not consume alcohol or Tylenol because of the liver irritation caused from the numerous chemo protocols I have had over the years.
Better safe than sorry. Another cautionary note: Advil (Ibuprofen) should be used with caution if one is on a chemo that drops platelet counts. I did not know this and was told this when I casually mentioned that I took an Advil for a headache. I knew that Ibuprofen can affect clotting, but it can also apparently cause low platelet counts to drop to dangerously low levels. One more thing to add to our cautionary list.
If I go out to dinner, I will have a few glasses of wine -- without ANY guilt. And when I went on vacation to Daytona Beach, my sister and I made a container of margarita's to bring to the pool with us - DAILY! And again, I felt NO GUILT. With all that we go through, not only do we deserve to be able to have fun and relax and enjoy a cocktail on occasion, but the relaxation and the temporarily not thinking about cancer is healthy for us!!!
Obviously if you're on a chemo that you are told to not have any alcohol with, then that's a different story.
Whenever I go to a new doctor, I have to fill out the never-ending paperwork on my health history and always one of the last questions is, "do you drink alcohol"? And I answer "Yes". The next one is, "How Much"? And I always answer, "Not Nearly Enough!!!!"
Everything in moderation is the way to go! LOL. I was a health freak and eliminated everything I thought I had a toxin in it and the cancer still came back so I balance things. I eat lots of vegetables, lean meat, fish, drink lots of water but splurge on some ice cream, cake, candy bar on a rare occasion and a glass of wine on my week off and first week of chemo. However, i know what you mean about your liver going YUK. If I have a glass of red wine, I feel rough for 2 days afterwards. So, I drink tons of water. I would suggest you try Beringer white Zingandel regular or sparkly. It has a low alcohol content and you wont feel so bad after it.
Ha! I laughed out loud at Maxnan's reply to "how much alcohol?" And I love the pitchers of margs. Priceless.
I drink a couple of glasses of wine a night. I rarely drank before I was diagnosed, and it's, right now for me, something I look forward to in the evenings after hectic days with my kids. I don't have liver mets, however.
I also live in the microbrewery capital of the world (Fort Collins, Colorado) and am a huge fan of New Belgium beer.
Sometimes I worry that I'm giving the cancer it's sugar, and I weigh the benefits/downfalls of not abstaining altogether. I may choose to down the road, but for right now, I dearly love my red zinfandel out of the Bota Box.
You ladies are terrific taking the time to address my question about alcohol. I am new to the boards so I spent time today perusing the discussions and find that diet & alcohol have been discussed a few times. I think the consensus is "everything in moderation" and "let's enjoy life as much as we can". I laughed too at maxnan's answer, "not nearly enough"...how funny is that!!! I also like the NO GUILT part because who needs guilt with everything else we are going through.
Thanks again...you are the best!
Well said by all. Why should we feel guilty if we imbibe a little BUT of course we should follow doctors orders. Mine said it is okay to have a cocktail/wine once in a while. So cheers to all and good luck.
I have started taking a sip or two of whatever my husband is drinking - beer, wine, etc. It seems that just that sip satisfies me and I can tell myself that I'm not really drinking alcohol! Just enjoying the taste occasionally.
I have wine (or sometimes a drink) when I go out to dinner with friends. It may be once a month or once every couple of months. I too believe that having a drink or two every once in awhile is fine.
My docs said no to alcohol & Tylenol because of my liver mets. I was drinking a couple of glasses of wine on special occassions.....but have decided to take their advice and stop.
I, also, don't have liver mets, and I indulge occasionally with a glass of wine or beer. I've never had my liver go YUK either, so I don't know if I could handle alcohol with liver mets. But that being said, I'm just repeating the general consensus---everything in moderation, unless your onco specifically says "no".
Good luck, and enjoy whatever you can whenever you can!!
I've heard a few differing opinions about alcohol and one of the chemo drugs I'm on. So I asked my onc if I could have some wine. His reply: "Only if it's really good wine." Sounds good to me!
Thanks again ladies. Jeanne...Your onc has great advice...from now on, a glass of wine but only the best!
Sounds like a plan. I have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner and drinks with friends when I go out. No liver mets and NED for 2 years. I believe that everything in moderation, including...at times...moderation.
Maybe you should discuss this with your onc. The liver mets probably mean that it can't process the alcohol and well as it would have done before. Ask the doc if there is anything that you could use to buffer the affect of the alcohol. I don't drink, because I just don't like the taste (I'm in training for Angel of Alchol First Class of course!) so it is not a problem and I don't have any experience of how to avoid feeling bad afterwards (won't admit to which level of Angel training I am on for chocolate, there probably isn't a category low enough).
I know that if you have wine with a meal your body can process the alcohol much better, so maybe only drink with a meal?
Wine and sugar aggravate my bone mets. The pain is TERRIBLE!
Hello Girls,
Lots of discussion on the wine and chemo! I weighed in earlier regarding my inability to drink alcohol because of the liver irritation due to all of the chemo I have had. I envy all of you who can indulge in a good glass of red wine :) I have had to replace wine with chocolate. Sure hope they don't take that away!
I think the best advise is to keep track of your liver enzymes, which are most indicative of your liver function and communicate with your oncologist. If your doc says it's ok to drink, please sip a nice glass of Merlot for me!
Hi...my onc did say it was ok to have a glass of wine "once in awhile". That question was on my very lengthy list of questions when I was first diagnosed. It certainly wasn't a priority but I have always enjoyed my wine so was just curious. My liver enzymes have always been normal even with liver mets. I have switched from chardonay to a red wine when I do indulge. I will think of you saraj if I do have a glass. Meanwhile, enjoy your chocolate!
i have mets to my lungs at this point.
when my son was dying 3 years ago i was drinking every night just to get through the horror.not wine, but liquor.
i love a glass or half a glass of wine with dinner and enjoy imbibing .it relaxes me.
asked my onc and he said to enjoy.
however with the liver problem you have to decide for yourself.
i love beer and wine, and i figure if i have cancer already what the heck:) not really, i do drink and the dr is ok with it. If i was getting drunk he might have more to say. If it begins to be a problem with chemo or mets ill stop. so far no issues though.
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