Partner is drinking and on Methotrexate. What will happen

colly22

My partner has PA, and has been on Methotrexate for about a month. He has always been a heavy drinker, but promised to stop when he started the Methotrexate, He is however still drinking about 4 cans of stella 4 nights a week.
Ise from other posts that this is well over the recommended intake, especially as PA suffers are affected more.
Can anyone tell me what may happen in the long term to him as he seems to think the doctors just want to stop his drinking for the hell of it.
I have 2 young kids with him and I'm worried about the long term health effects.

joanlawson

Hello
I'm sorry you are having this worry about your partner. I can't answer your question but my guess is that it can't be healthy to do what he is doing. It seems that he is blaming the doctors instead of taking responsibility himself. I think he needs help to accept responsibility for his actions, for the sake of you and the children. It isn't fair on you or them, and he could be seriously damaging his health.

Would he agree to contacting Alcoholics Anonymous? They would help him, but it has to come from him.

Joan

colinone

Hi
I have Pa and Ra and on methotrexate although coming off it soon i have been on methotrexate for over three years. I have a social in my home town and for some years was a heavey drinker.
Couple of bottles of Brandy a week and 5 or 6 pints a day. I had tried many drugs none of them worked. Rheumy tried for some time to get me on the Metho but i would not do it as i drank 7 days a week it was part of my life. In the end the Rheumy refused to treat me and i had no choice but go on the Metho. The rule is no alcohol
I have not had a drink from that day to this and doubt i will ever drink again. The reason why you cant drink
Methotrexate forces you liver and kidneys to work at a higher and faster rate thats why you have to keep having blood tests. So your liver and kidneys are working lets say 3 times faster than normal.
When you drink alcohol it can double or trebble the rate your liver and kidneys function.
With both Methotrexate and alcohol you can only guess at the speed your liver and kidneys are functioning but its not good and it is very Dangerouse He needs help. is he on tablets or injections if he is being injected ask the Rheumy nurse to have a chat with him
but he needs to stop. Take care and keep your chin up. If you look at the forum you can write to one of the nurses and ask there advise but he needs sorting out before he gets ill.
Colin

jeannie2

I’d like everyone who reads this posting to consider that we are all different and react to medication differently … that is why our rheumys and their nurses keep such a close watch on us whilst we are taking these drugs.

Hello Colly,

I don’t drink now – I gave up having any booze at all (although I only had the odd glass of wine or half a lager) the minute I went on Metho. I did this for the simple reason that I could not see the logic of mixing drink with drugs, as this would only corrupt the results of tests which would tell the doctors how the medication was controlling the disease. Probably this would have resulted in unnecessarily high dosages, would be extremely dangerous, and destroy the benefits of taking the medication.

I stress – I am ME – and it will probably not happen to others. Not so many months ago (not due to alcohol) I suffered the effects – but probably to a far lesser extent - which he will if he continues. It was not pleasant … I have never felt so ill in my life. I am not going to explain any further but tell him I beg him to go and discuss the situation with the rheumy nurse and get someone to help him do away with alcohol.
Best wishes to both of you … sort it out together – life will be better for it.
Jeannie S
(not the moderator)

elnafinn

Hi colly

I have read time and time again on the forum that metho and alcohol is a very dangerous cocktail. You are obviously and quite rightly very concerned for him. Who would not be?

It must be difficult for you and your partner. If he likes a drink it is very difficult to stop instantly. If he is attending his regular checkups it will soon be noted what he is doing. It will show in his liver and kidneys.

I have never taken metho but from being on this forum for around two years it is one of the messages that appears over and over again - if you are on metho do not drink alcohol.

Perhaps you could show your partner all the replies you get on this thread. It may sway his way of thinking.

I can well appreciate your anxiousness and concern about your partner's health. If he cannot stop drinking he must come off the metho. I wonder if his gp is aware of how much he drinks. You can phone your gp and talk over your concerns about him.

I hope things sort themselves out soon, one way or another.

Luv
Elna x

noeltone

Hi all I have been quite addicted to both drink and drugs as some say it gives confidence and nulls the pain breifly and have had to go to counselling seek help to dry out and come clean whilst being on several tablets over many years for arthuritis however since being on mtx my GP had warned me it would not work this combination and the drugs would not work and the booze would harm me even more and so I gave up excet for a pint before gfootie once a fortnight or so although I fight the urge not to go back to old ways and still suffer the shakess etc and if the mtx ever stops being effective I dread the temptauon coming back stopping is not easy and it takes courage and belief to change such habits but it must be done for my health if not my joints would be even more rubbish let alone my liver which is OK despite off ????


been to dry out courses and palces som etimes

elnafinn wrote:

Hi colly

I have read time and time again on the forum that metho and alcohol is a very dangerous cocktail. You are obviously and quite rightly very concerned for him. Who would not be?

It must be difficult for you and your partner. If he likes a drink it is very difficult to stop instantly. If he is attending his regular checkups it will soon be noted what he is doing. It will show in his liver and kidneys.

I have never taken metho but from being on this forum for around two years it is one of the messages that appears over and over again - if you are on metho do not drink alcohol.

Perhaps you could show your partner all the replies you get on this thread. It may sway his way of thinking.

I can well appreciate your anxiousness and concern about your partner's health. If he cannot stop drinking he must come off the metho. I wonder if his gp is aware of how much he drinks. You can phone your gp and talk over your concerns about him.

I hope things sort themselves out soon, one way or another.

Luv
Elna x

woodbon

Hi,
I am sorry that you are carrying such a burden. My feeling is that its you who need help as well as your partner. If you have a sympathetic GP, I'm sure they would help and point you in the direction of getting assistance and support for you and your partner. Also, Al-anon families give support to the families and friends of drinkers. I have no personal experience of them, but I've heard they are very good.

At the moment, I think, I may well be wrong, so forgive me, but I think you're the one who needs support and reassurance. Your partner may well only be a social drinker, but with the medication, this could be harmful.

Good luck and I hope all turns out well in the end. Sue

lindalegs

Hi Colly22

I'm only on a small dose of Mtx being 10mg/week in tablet form I also drink wine at the weekends but not in great excesses. When I was first put on Mtx I asked my Rheumy about alcohol and he said don't stop the wine but if anything showed up in my regular blood tests then we'd talk again. That was nearly a year ago.

Your partner does sound as though he drinks to excess but if he's having regular blood tests (as we all should on Mtx) then any damage would show up on there.

Can you talk to your GP about it?

Luv Legs

debsmartin

Hi All

I take 20mg of methotrexate and my doctor said as long as I stayed with the recommended alcohol guidelines of 2-3 units per day and not to drink at all on the day I took my tablets it would be fine. I have my bloods checked monthly now and for the last year they have been fine. Must say I have never been a big drinker but do enyoy a glass of red wine which I have been told is good for RA and a couple of lagers at a weekend. Just quite scary really how the advise differs from doctor to doctor. I have just fetched my treatment book out to check the advise in it before making this post but its all very confusing.

debs

ramummy

I'm pretty sure in my MTX booklet it says if you have PA (the A with associated psoriasis) you should avoid drinking totally - I think the 'Ok if well within recommended units' advice applies only if you are being treated for RA...

Sorry to hear you are so worried - take care.

pussycat

I have the odd glass of wine and soda, my rheumy nurse advised drinking less than the recommended daily allowance and to mix where possible with a soft drink, tonic or soda.
I have had no problems but I think that in the first post that the partner is drinking far to heavily and I doubt he will be getting the full benefit of his medication. The other issue is as others have mentioned is the effect the high intake of booze is having on the liver and kidneys.
I think you should contact his rheumy nurse and tell her the situation, and hopefully she can discuss this with him .

ktl297

Hi Colly,

It sounds like you're having a tough time at the moment and I hope things get better for you and your partner. I take MTX and I drink occasionally (once a week max and I try to stick to no more than 3 units although sometimes don't manage that). I made the choice to do that knowing the risks but it helps me to enjoy a tiny part of my "old" life socialising with friends and to forget about the PA and how much it has stolen from me. The risks are that the MTX can affect your liver function and the alcohol combined with it can lead to liver damage. I reason that I have regular blood tests to monitor my liver function and that should pick up any major issues. This is just my way of dealing with it and your partner will make their own decision about it but maybe there are other issues to look at such as why your partner is drinking at that level? I don't know where you live but most areas have Alcohol services where you and your partner can get advice and information and your partner can access counselling. Where I live you can self-refer but in some places you need a GP referral which I am sure they would do in light of the issues with MTX.

I really hope that you can get some help with this, good luck.
KT

jimmy77

colly22 wrote:

My partner has PA, and has been on Methotrexate for about a month. He has always been a heavy drinker, but promised to stop when he started the Methotrexate, He is however still drinking about 4 cans of stella 4 nights a week.
Ise from other posts that this is well over the recommended intake, especially as PA suffers are affected more.
Can anyone tell me what may happen in the long term to him as he seems to think the doctors just want to stop his drinking for the hell of it.
I have 2 young kids with him and I'm worried about the long term health effects.

Hi,

Your partner should stop taking MTX until they are ready to stop consuming alcohol, they simply don't mix well. I'm sure your health care professionals will agree that it makes common sense.

Good luck.