The demon drink?

Ladybrown

Happy new year everyone and I hope you are all managing this horrible wet weather as well as can be.

Someone may have raised this question before, and I rather fear the answer, but has anyone ever noticed that drinking alcohol brings on a pain flare?

I was surprised by how bad my OA was over the Christmas break, considering I was getting lots of rest and putting my feet up. I enjoyed a few glasses of wine and G&Ts over the weeks (certainly not dancing around the room quantities!! I dread to think what would happen if I did :shock: ) and I wonder if there is any correlation between booze and inflammation.

Any thoughts much appreciated

April60

For what it's worth, there is no connection with my Arthritis and Alcohol except on one rare occasion when I wondered if I had gout in my right large toe. Thankfully it went and I have not had a reacurrance.
Interesting topic

dreamdaisy

The only correlation I can think of is acidity. I find my joints worsen after eating chutney or pickles (and some fruits including tomatoes) but they are foods I enjoy which is how I know they're not good for me; I don't eat the things I don't enjoy so how I would I know they could be nasty? DD

[Deleted User]

April60 wrote:

For what it's worth, there is no connection with my Arthritis and Alcohol except on one rare occasion when I wondered if I had gout in my right large toe. Thankfully it went and I have not had a reacurrance.
Interesting topic

Apologies for hijacking this thread, but just want to welcome you April60 to the forums from the moderating team
Moderator AC

stickywicket

Interesting. I certainly used to find that anything more than one glass of wine did make my RA worse but that was before I acquired OA so nothing to do with it. I did wonder if it actually made the RA worse or the meds less effective.

These days, on methotrexate, I have to be abstemious anyway. I did overdo the New Year's Eve party and did pay for it next day but I still blame the home made garlic bread with its tons of garlic butter more than the wine.

I think the Christmas period is a time when many of us eat and drink badly. Maybe your OA was exacerbated by the alcohol but what about all the Christmas sugars and fats (chocolates, mince pies, crisps, biscuits etc)? They are a known cause of inflammation.

P.S. Hello April60 and welcome from me, too

Ladybrown

Thanks all and Welcome April60!

It did occur to me that food might have been an issue after a chat with one of the PE teachers at work today. I'm afraid my healthy diet was sacrificed on the altar of my OH's love for cocktail sausages and pigs in blankets! And I also wonder whether actually having time to relax made me more aware of it (not to mention I usually get a peak of pain at the end of the day when I put my feet up - I suspect the extra swelling I get while I'm at work is doing its job and cushioning everything a bit).

I shall experiment and have a glass of red this evening and hope it will be less disastrous than my recent experiment with capsaicin cream (my sensitive skin really didn't like that stuff! Had to get up and shower it off in the middle of the night :shock:). Or the time I panicked I was getting addicted to codeine so went without my codies - still that one reaffirmed that I really need them

Well, in the name of research a glass of red is calling my name!
Cheers!

Boomer13

I read a little in the medical literature about this a few years ago, so my knowledge is not all that current. The gist was that alcohol has many and, a wide range of effects on the immune system and can be an immune- suppressant as well as having other nastier effects. I don't know about the antioxidant effects of wine but I read that that resveratrol positive effect was now non-existent.

Some of the nasty effects of MTX on the liver are from the same chemicals produced when the body metabolizes alcohol.

I've noticed more achiness after having drunk alcohol. Mostly it makes me extremely nauseous so I don't drink much. Just an occasional apple cider which I seem to tolerate.

daffy2

I'm inclined to Sticky's view that a bit too much of the old fat and sugar, together with disrupted routines, is a lot for the body to cope with anyway and the alcohol may be the last straw rather than the prime contender.
It would certainly be worth trying to find out though, and keeping a note of what you've had and other factors that might be relevant such as food, fatigue, general health. You might then be better placed to make that judgement call about whether pleasure now may cause problems later!

Airwave!

I get more affected by the change in weather (change to low air pressure), often my OA 'feels' worse and includes more joints. OH often reminds me to take it into account.

bubbadog

Mine is weather effected not alcohol effected. I don't drink often but mostly on holiday and with the nice weather I don't find it effects my Arthritis but I do only need a couple before I'm tipsy!!