Alcohol and Crohns

Hi,
I am new to this site !!!! Never used a forum before and have been suffering for 12 years so nice to be able to talk to people in the same boat at last. Please can anyone tell me if I am the only person that still drinks with my crohns ???? I am really struggling to give it up but I know it will help my stomach. I am 29 and bit of a party animal so going to find this really hard. :sign0085:

I still manage to drink some, never was much more than a beer or wine drinker anyway so I don't know what whiskey/gin/etc would do to me. When I was on Imuran I would get massive hangovers the next day after only even a couple drinks. That med is hard on your liver, then adding alcohol on top of it...

Interesting you should say that as I am on the same drug and have never been told by my consultant not to drink I am just guessing that I shouldn't I have been on these drugs for a long time and this has never come up on an issue. I mainly drink vodka or wine, but after a recent relapse my nutrisionist suggested cutting it out of my diet totally but I know I am going to struggle with this.

I have read of others on this board who react badly to alcohol, hopefully more people will give you some insight. Personally though, a couple drinks won't send me into a flare. Cutting back slowly might make it easier. When younger (and childless!) I used to drink quite a bit. Nowadays, I try to keep it to a minimum.

Yes that's it, because I am young and don't have children, me and partner enjoy having a few drinks at the weekend. Thanks for the reply.

I rarely drink anymore. Maybe one drink a month for a special occasion, but it is really just not worth it for me anymore. With the Imuran, one drink and I'm drunk which is really not fun. I would go with what your doctor says.

Hi Reidy

yup, you're heading for a bit of trouble there with the aza and alcohol, this drug screws up your liver with or without the alcohol, and I can't believe your quack didn't warn you! WTF?
everything in moderation as the saying goes!
I was a party animal too for donkey's years, but haven't had a drink for 9 months, and the difference is astounding! it really has improved my symptoms, no D or pain.

I cut it out for 7 months completely. Now I have a glass of wine now and then - I max out at 3 glasses and that is on a rare occasion anymore. I just figure that a tempermental gut that is inflammed doesn't need booze going into it, anymore than it needs junk food or fast food going into.

Try to take it easy. It's hard but your gut (and your head) will thank you. You will come to realize how productive you can now be on a Saturday morning!

- Amy

Hey, Thanks for all the encouragement. Sounds like knocking the booze on the head will do me massive favours, so the next 6 weeks will be tough but I am going to do it and I am sure I will notice the different. Like you guys say aza already screws up my liver, I need a good telling off for drinking so much in the past. Let the test begin. Thanks guys x

hi & welcome, Reidyjo

like the others who've already posted, i hardly drink alcohol these days either. i think, because of that, when i do have a drink i get drunk really quickly! wine especially - one glass and i'm looking for somewhere to go to sleep lol. not so bad with spirits, but i still limit it to one, and that's only occasionally.

i'm not on any drugs which warn not to consume alcohol - i just choose not to drink it very much.

good luck with weaning off it - i know it will be hard, but you can do it - and you have all the best reasons to get there.

HI Dingbat,

Sorry I think you have read my message wrong, sorry its probably the lingo I am using, apologies. I just meant I love to have a drink in a social way and going out with friends and partying which usually involves a lot of drinking. Its nothing that serious. SOrry for confusion there.

Jo

Hi reidyjo81,

I think I addressed your "drinking" in my post to "Your Story".

Alcohol can be a lot of things to a lot of different people. For me, it was something that I did to "fit in". It made me feel sociable and less inhibited. I enjoyed the buzz. I prided myself as a "party animal", too. I could drink most of my friends under the table.

First I drank alcohol because it made me feel good. Then it became a habit. Then I drank because, if I didn't drink, I didn't feel good. Then I drank to feel normal. Then it became a dependency - a habit that no human power could break. When I had the willpower to stop drinking, I never did because I never saw it as harmful. But when I wanted to stop drinking, I was far beyond the point where willpower could help me.

I know men and women who are alcoholics that have Crohn's Disease. In those instances, the amount of alcohol they drink makes the disease and diarrhea much worse. It also interferes with their treatment. Certain drug therapy can be fatal if people continue to drink heavy or regularly. Most medications we take are complete hell on our livers without the added stress and damage of alcohol.

As you can tell from the posts on this thread...sometimes certain things are not worth the investment. I believe alcohol use and abuse (read: getting drunk - not necessarily "alcoholism") and Crohn's Disease is one of them. But that's just been my experience - it might not be the same for you.

Alcohol and me...

Sounds like you are heading in the right direction reidyjo81. It definitely can't hurt to drop the alcohol at least for awhile while you figure this thing out. I know for me, I have not been a heavy social drinker for years and I do like to have a beer or two now and then. It does not seem to be a problem for me but I am relatively new to this hole thing so I do not know for sure yet. I just go with what makes my stomach turn or not, know what I mean???


Oh, and one question... What is "AZA"? Is that short for something or is it a med I have not heard of yet?

AZA is short for Azathioprine aka Imuran. I think.

What about drinking with Pentasa? Anyone had any experience, good or bad?

I've had no problems with Pentasa and drinking, it's relatively mild compared to the big guns!

Drinking can make diarrhea worse, but I do drink from time to time.
Flight to quality. Avoid beer. Have a couple of glasses of red wine or some aged rum.

Thanks Astra, that's what I figured but thought I'd ask you guys first! Only it looks like I'll be going on aza soon, so best get the drinks in while I can!

For me the wine makes me so sick now especially red wine. I love to have a drink as well but its just not worth feeling sick anymore :-( Ive given it up for the most part, its sad when its fun to have a few now and again

Yeah, I can only handle around 2 beers before it does murder to my insides. (which SUCKS because when I turned 21, beer was AMAZING) If I do any hard liquor it doesn't really send me into a flare as much as I instantly turn into a 70 year old man and want to drop down and take a nap.

If I do have a drink, I'll only drink pure vodka, nothing coloured, no beer or wine, they're full of crap!

Blech, vodka Joan, really? Why not go with Pure grain moonshine, nothing added but a guaranteed hangover.

Astra101 said:

If I do have a drink, I'll only drink pure vodka, nothing coloured, no beer or wine, they're full of crap!

Click to expand...

lol:
What is the difference between Vodka and Rubbing alcohol?