RA, meth and alcohol

stickywicket

I know. And I don't much. Well, not half as much as I'd like. I have just one glass of wine with my evening meal most days. I aim not to have any on my meth day and try to get another alcohol-free day in sometime during the week. (My beloved Islay is a rare treat these days.) I don't always succeed in any of these worthy endeavours if friends are round for a meal but......I never miss a blood test and my ALT levels are always beautifully low.

However, I've been so good for so long (Where's the halo icon when you need it ) I'd completely forgotten that alcohol doesn't leave me with a sore head next day: it just heads straight for my joints. We were out with friends last night. 'Nuff said :oops:

Ah, the wages of sin

The trouble is, by a singular piece of inevitable mismanagement, we're having lunch today with more friends :shock: Mine will be fruit juice. Or water. And I'm just hoping that, as it's a leaving do, no-one insists on champagne. I dislike it at the best of times. This is not the best of times :oops:

Numptydumpty

Never fear, Numpty's here 8)
Just send any offending alcohol my way, I will dispose of it safely and cleanly. Champagne is my specialty
Hope the joints start to behave soon (((())))
Numpty

theresak

Oh dear, Sticky, I do so admire your willpower. I like a glass of wine too, and never gave it up completely while on MTX.Once free of that I indulged a fraction more, and nowadays, on humira, I have a glass three or four times a week with dinner.

I'm not a huge fan of champagne, nor of Islay I'm afraid - my choice of whisky would be the Glenlivet, but I save it for high days & holidays.

I hope you still enjoy lunch with your friends - good conversation is almost as good as fine wine.

dreamdaisy

The wages of sin can be tough but the trouble is that sin is always fun and one can get lost in the moment; I know because I often do. :oops: I hope that your lunch went well and that the joints improve soon. DD

LignumVitae

Hope you didn't have to imbibe champagne (life can be tough like that). Seriously though, I hope that things feel better soon. I also get joint head aches for hangovers and they are no fun

stickywicket

Thank you all for your kind words.

I had a lovely lunch with some lovely people. The three of us who were on the Pino Grigio last night all remained alcohol-free today while the rest didn't

I shall take my meth this evening. That should put enough distance between it and last night.

My joints are in recovery but slowly. I cannot complain :roll: I shall remember in future :oops:

Boomer13

I hope your evening was fun then, at least you can feel you earned your pain?

I will admit I'm envious. I can't drink at all, makes me vomit every time since I began MTX (sorry, likely too much information ) I love red wine and would like a glass now and then, like the old days, with an occasional over indulgence Now, I regularly have the hangover feeling without the fun of the over indulgence, and, the wonky liver.

Enjoy your fun, Sticky. When you are feeling better, please enjoy a nice glass of red for me. Only one needed

pot80

few years now.

stickywicket

That was a bit enigmatic, pot80 :? A few years of what? Meth? Total abstinence? Over-indulgence

Anna, I think it's the little things that arthritis (and its meds) rob us of that are most annoying. I don't drink much (usually :oops: ) but I love a convivial glass in company as, I'm sure, you did. I don't drink much red, possibly because I don't eat meat, but I like it with anything tomato based so, I shall toast you with my next lasagne

Today is one of my rare post-meth days. I woke up shattered. Three guests for a meal tonight (It's been an uterly crazy week :roll: ) so both cooking and cleaning will feature. Please, don't anyone ask, on Monday, what I did over the weekend. ****** all, I hope.

pot80

My reply seems to have been mangled up somewhere so here goes again:

My rheumatologist limited me to 10 units/wk and I work on a rolling week ie before I have a drink I need to know what my intake has been over the last 6 days before I start adding to it. I have given up on spirits and stick to wine which simplifies matters somewhat since the strength of spirits does not allow for much of a drink when 1 unit = 10ml pure alc. or in laymans terms 25mls spirits @ 40%. or half a standard (175ml) glass of wine, or
or 1/3 pint of beer ABV 5-6% (1/2pt @ 3.5%).
I tend to confine my alcohol to fri,sat,and sundays as I find it easier to fit into the social scene. Festive seasons do require a bit of juggling and a strength of will power, but gradually I have become used to doing without so the absence does not hurt so much nowadays.

stickywicket

I think I lack the maths skills for your method, pot80 :roll: , but we each work out what suits us best. I do agree about the spirits. My beloved Islay is now a treat when visiting our son in Scotland. I have been amazed at the alcoholic content of the kind of (dry) ciders which I like :shock: whereas the sweet ones which I dislike are low in alcohol

Well, my very social three days are over now. I fell asleep in the armchair before our guests arrived yesterday then just had a small – but lovely – CS/merlot/shiraz with my meal and, yes Anna, I did think of you.

The weekend will just be Mr SW and me. Bliss.

Boomer13

Ahhh, delicious. Thank you, Sticky.

stickywicket

Any time, Anna No problem

Pippa

Blimey!

Do you all drink alcohol still, despite being told it's a definite no-no while on methotrexate ? :shock:



Phew!
Glad it's not just me then.

dreamdaisy

It's no longer a definite no-no, the medical thinking on that has changed, well it has at my hospital. It's best not to partake during the first three months so liver figures are accurate and then, if wished, a little every now and again will be fine (as long as bloods regularly done to check the ALT). For some, however, they cannot drink at all, it's all down to one's physiology. DD

stickywicket

Oddly enough, no-one said anything to me about alcohol when I first started on meth - or afterwards - though it does say in my little blue bloods book to stay within the recommended limits. I think the USA have always been stricter than here.

pot80

You clearly never read the manufacturer's instructions !! I actually asked and then regretted doing so.My initial reaction was that at the level set I could only smell the cork. I thought that we were going to save a lot of money with reduced intake but the rationale said if we are drinking less we will drink better quality.

stickywicket

I also don't recall getting a manufacturers' instruction leaflet though I probably did. Mine always come decanted into a little pot.

pot80 wrote:

I thought that we were going to save a lot of money with reduced intake but the rationale said if we are drinking less we will drink better quality.

I like your positive way of thinking, pot80