Crohn's and Booze

So I'm getting my degree conferred on June 9th, which is coincidentally 5 days after I run out of Flagyl. I've talked to my doctor about how I want to celebrate it the right way, and he says that if I wanted to have a few drinks I could wait a few days before starting to take it again, so I guess I have a few questions.

In your experience, what kind of alcohol is the least hard on your gut? I've got a bottle of scotch that I've had saved up for ages that I've been waiting to open for this special occasion, but I've heard that it can be pretty tough on your body. I've also heard that vodka isn't as bad, but I'm not sure why - is there any truth to that?

I think I'm going to stay away from beer just because it usually takes quite a bit of it to get the job done and I'd rather not be gulping it down constantly. That said, is a pint here or there going to cause trouble?

This will be my first time seriously drinking since my diagnosis and I just want to go about it in as safe and painless a way as possible.

By the way, I'm not planning on going off my meds entirely, I'm just stopping with the flagyl for about a week and then it's up to my doc to see if I should go on it again. I'll still be taking cipro and pred throughout all this.

pred and alcohol do not mix. You can get some very serious side efftects if you mix the two.

"Predisone and alcohol consumption is considered to be a dubious and controversial issue. Consuming prednisone and alcohol can be harmful, but it depends on the individual's health and situation. For example, if a person is suffering from ulcerative colitis, he should not consume alcohol as it may worsen his situation. Doctors recommend not to consume alcohol while on medication due to the reactions it can have in the body. Prednisone and alcohol consumption can have adverse effects on the liver and cause gastrointestinal (affecting stomach and intestines) inflammation, which can lead to stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding. Prednisone and alcohol side effects can be severe, hence, it is better to avoid predisone and alcohol consumption.

Some of the conditions which occur due to the intake of alcohol or alcoholism can be cured with the help of prednisone. It is better to consult a doctor if you want to know what effect prednisone and alcohol interaction will have on your body. It is also possible that your body might not have any adverse reaction if you consume both. But, it is necessary to undergo some tests and follow the doctor's instructions. Prednisone has a number of side effects like any other medicine, so you need to be careful or you may have to face some adverse reactions.

Thus, prednisone and alcohol side effects can differ from individual to individual. Prednisone and alcohol interaction can affect some people in an adverse way and not affect others at all. However, there is prednisone and alcohol use because some percentage of alcohol is used in prednisone.

Prednisone and alcohol reactions can be different in the case of different drugs. Predinsone and alcohol use can lower the energy level in your body and your resistance power. Hence, it will take more time to get cured in case you are suffering from any disease. Therefore, it is better to avoid the consumption of prednisone and alcohol.

Prednisone and alcohol interaction can be harmful to the liver as both are broken down in the liver. People suffering from diseases like hepatitis A and B, HIV or tuberculosis can face serious prednisone and alcohol side effects in the long run.

Therefore, it is advised to reduce prednisone and alcohol use to avoid its ill effects. As we all know, a healthy lifestyle is a very important factor for success in life. So, avoid prednisone and alcohol consumption and live a healthy and successful life! "

Copied from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/prednisone-and-alcohol.html

As an aside, I was told by my doctor not to drink at all when on Prednisone, Cipro, and Flagyl. It's not worth the possible side effects.

Hope this has been helpful and congrats on the degree!

Thanks for the info! I had no idea that pred and alcohol didn't mix. That kind of sucks. I think I'll give my doc a call today to see what he thinks.

EDIT: At least the side effects of mixing them differ from person to person... part me says to just try it and see what happens. If it doesn't go well, then I know not to mess with it, but I don't want to miss out in case it doesn't affect me badly!

Hm... me neither and I was on pred for 8 years and drank all through that. I was never a heavy drinker but the first time in my life I got completely hammered I was on pred. In fact...... the few times in my life I got very drunk I've always been on pred. That was a long time ago.

BUT.... like you said, it will affect different people in different ways. That was just my experience with it.

Sorry Brizzyce, I have to agree with Nyx. Crohn's can be irritated just from the alcohol and sugar in it alone. Having said that, I have read that 1 glass of acohol a week with food is moderate. I think one night isnt going to do alot to you . You are right about the Flagyl, never drink with it. I missed how much pred you are on, but still it is a strain. I am not a big alcohol fan, but once every 6 months I have a glass of wine with food. I know it's not fun to join in the festivities but a warning not to drink too much, besides I would want to remember it lol. If you drink too much you may end up paying the pauper.

Congrats on your degree.. have fun and let us know how you managed :thumright:

Thanks for the advice everyone. When the ninth rolls around I'll be on 40mg of pred, but I will only be a few days removed from 45mg. Either way, it's still quite a bit.

I'll let you all know how it works out - I'm planning on taking it relatively easy, especially since it will have been so long since I've drank and my tolerance probably went down a bit. And yes, that's true, I'll definitely want to remember it

concur with everything re: Pred
but if I do have a drink now, vodka and lemonade is my choice, it is ok on my gut, no problem, beer, wine, or any coloured alcohol cripples me!
congrats on your degree and have a great night!!

I personally love scotch but it kills my gut-and it doesn't matter how good the brand, either. Maybe just one shot of the good stuff to celebrate.

Congratulations! Yes alcohol affects people differently even without drugs like Pred. I did drink sometimes while I was taking Pred the last time I had to take that stuff, and I was drinking like a fish. This was before I was 21 so I was young and didn't really care what meds I was on. I was on doses of 65mg too. Best thing to do is to do as you said, ask your doc what they think and if you do decide to do it, just take it easy not only because of crohns and the meds but I'm sure your tolerance is super low. I had champagne for my graduation last year.

People drink Vodka because it's cleaner, or more pure (not the plastic bottle charcoal filtered stuff, we're talking top shelf here). So you're just ingesting alcohol and not a bunch of other sugars and crap that can lead to a mighty hangover and bowl irritation.

CrabbyRelish said:

People drink Vodka because it's cleaner, or more pure (not the plastic bottle charcoal filtered stuff, we're talking top shelf here). So you're just ingesting alcohol and not a bunch of other sugars and crap that can lead to a mighty hangover and bowl irritation.

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Interesting!! I wondered why it seems to be the only alcohol I can tolerate at the moment (just one - or two - ceasars a week is about all I can handle).

congrats on your degree!! that's awesome. I just finished my course of flagyl and cipro yesterday. I am still currently on prendisone and pentasa. I was planning on going out this weekend for some cocktails with some friends. I had never heard not to mix prendisone and alcohol so your post made me curious. I called my pharmacist and he said that it would be ok to drink while taking the prendisone.....he said he wouldn't go "hog crazy" with the drinking but a few wouldnt hurt. hope that helps!

Thanks everybody! Well, today is the last day that I'm on Flagyl. That's interesting about the more expensive vodka not being as hard on your gut... I'm a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to alcohol, but it might be worth trying that out just to see what happens.

Last time I drank when taking antibiotics I got very very drunk very very quickly. As in, one drink and I was picking fights and unable to stand up properly. Be warned...

Astra101 said:

but if I do have a drink now, vodka and lemonade is my choice

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Long Island Iced Tea...no colored booze and sour mix

I must say that I drank small amounts of alcohol while on pred, never warned of the probs.

I have also drank less than 48 hours after stopping flagyl - not good, I vomitted alot!

My favourite tipple again is vodka but with diet coke. Enjoy your grad celebrations!

I drank quite a bit about 2-3 days after I had stopped Flagyl before. I was drinking beer and doing shots of jagermeister. I was awful sick, my kidneys seriously hurt the next day. I have also been on prednisone and had some drinks, it didn't seem to bother me. Since my diagnosis and being on Apriso...I don't drink very often. But when I do alcohol seems to effect me in a different way. I get drunk super fast from liquor and I seem to have a hangover from just a few drinks. Anyway hope you have fun! Congratulations on graduating!

So in preparation for tomorrow night, I had a pint of Keith's Red with dinner yesterday and it went down really well. It obviously wasn't much, but hopefully it means that if I'm careful I should be alright for tomorrow!

Assuming you only have a couple drinks, alcohol and pred should have no serious effects on your body unless you are already in poor health. Pred is metabolized somewhat in the liver, but it isn't exactly hard on the liver either. Just be smart about how much you drink and you'll be fine. As far as flagyl goes, the general rule is 3 days on both sides of taking a drink to ensure the flagly and alcohol are cleared from your system.

Enjoy yourself tomorrow and don't be to worried. Just be smart about how much you drink and you'll be fine.

Good calls on the not drinking too much. I had a beer with dinner (steak, yeah I know haha) and soon after I was feeling really crampy and uncomfortable, so I decided to wait a while and see how I felt before making a decision about whether to keep drinking. I decided to have another beer about 3 hours after dinner, but it wasn't sitting well in my stomach either, so I called it quits on booze for the night.

I was kind of bummed out, but to be honest, after a long day of sitting in a hot room waiting to get a piece of paper, I was perfectly happy to forgo the partying and just head to bed. I still got to celebrate with all my friends, I just decided not to push my luck.

On the plus side, other than the pain (which is turning into more of a constant thing) I don't think the alcohol had any adverse side-effects with my prednisone. Plus, it's quite possible that the pain was totally unrelated to my drinking since it's been coming and going nonstop for a while. So hopefully this bodes well for me being able to have a few drinks sometime in the future when I'm not so inflamed.

Brizz...take heart.....I'm sitting here sipping a glass of wine....when I'm feeling good (or pretty good) - alcohol doesn't seem to bother me - I am bothered more by some foods instead.