Can you still drink if you have hepaitis C?

Can you still drink alcohol if you have Hepatitis C?

[nygirl7]

If you do a search on this question in here you will get more threads than you can handle on this issue.

Generally it starts a brawl on the forum - it would be much wiser to just look up those threads than have anyone answer it on here.

That is the BEST advice I can give anyone on this issue.  :)

[portann]

The textbook answer is no, I believe. It hastens the liver's deterioration, which is already engaged in a full-time struggle with the virus.

That said, many people in this forum lived for decades with HCV before being diagnosed with it, so we had no awareness that it was contraindicated.  I personally drank occasionally over the decades I had it and on diagnosis, my liver wasn't that bad based on a biopsy.

Generally, promoting a healthy lifestyle that taxes your liver the least is your best bet.

[jmjm530]

In general, yes, but not more than one drink a day if a woman, or two if a man. In specific, see a good board certified hepatologist (liver specialist)  -- not your family doctor or gastro -- and ask him or her. You can also do further independent research either here or elsewhere.

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

Somewhat related, I just read that alcohol can shrink the brain but those that "google" alot have better functioning brains. Hopefully, at least in my case, things have balanced out since I've spent a lot of time googling to make sure it is OK to drink in moderation :)

-- Jim

[Trinity4]

Where as Jim's hepatologist advised one drink for a woman, two for a man - mine indicated that even if I clear the virus no drinking for the rest of my life unless it's a very special occassion.  Then only a glass of wine.  Two top hep docs with very different opinions.  Jim and I started with the same degree of liver damage also.  So you see how controversial this topic can be
Trinity

[jmjm530]

You might have more fun if you switch to my doc :)

-- Jim

[Trinity4]

You're right -  and surely I can find something special in each every day :)

[FlGuy]

I have come to believe that doctors, used car salespeople, thirteen year old daughters and politicians have one thing in common, they dramatically exaggerate on both the upside and downside on almost every topic. Before a sound reaches your ears there should be a little mental buzzer that's reminds you 'here it comes'. Although I choose not to drink alcohol (I get spontaneous headaches), I would not hesitate if I wanted. See, your doc planted an easy direction for you to observe - 'None'.  That's a whole lot easier to quantify than 'in moderation'.

[Kathy73]

What about alcohol during SOC?

[Isobella]

As a former wine lover (yummy!!)  I could not even imagine having a drink while on tx.  (I am doing #12 tonight.)

While I am looking forward to resuming drinking my occasional glass of wine when I am done and SVR (i was stage1/grade0), I could not imagine having any alcohol while txing..the thought turns my stomach and makes me even more tired than the usual exhaustion.

Just my thoughts, tho :-)

Isobella

[Kathy73]

Thanks for the info. I'm starting in two weeks and like an occasional drink or wine. It will be good to give my liver whatever rest I possibly can.

[nygirl7]

"Where as Jim's hepatologist advised one drink for a woman, two for a man - mine indicated that even if I clear the virus no drinking for the rest of my life unless it's a very special occassion.  Then only a glass of wine. "

Exactly what mine said too and is common sense logic.

***********However remember ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO ALCOHOL WHILE ON TREATMENT IF YOU WANT A CHANCE AT CLEARING THE VIRUS.*****************

(I didn't want to post but somehow that needs to be brought up big time so people don't misunderstand in any way how crucial it is to be alcohol free during SOC)

[jmjm530]

NYGirl: I didn't want to post
---------------------------------
We all know you tried to resist but that pull from the dark side can be mighty strong :)

[nygirl7]

HA As you know........I've been there on the dark side too long - I've been REALLY good lately and just wanted to show that I wasn't as perfect as people think!  ;-P

[jmjm530]

NYG: just wanted to show that I wasn't as perfect as people think!  
---------
Thanks for clearing up the confusion :)

[FlGuy]

With the decreasing price of gasoline it's once again almost afforable to throw some gas on a fire.

[Wilful1]

Thank goodness for the sense of humor that most of you retain in the midst of such misery while tx at times.  It keeps me going forward, and I miss my wine at times too.
Wilful

[Debbie223]

Well as petty as this might sound I have had a really tough time thinking that I can never have wine again. I enjoyed that part of my life. I have never had a drinking problem and would never ever drink on tx...how foolish that would be. I do hope to someday be able to have a glass of wine..... accepting not being able to will be hard but not the end of the world.....

Peace

[eureka254]

Some like to throw gasoline... but some like to throw crude oil.  

[Rockerforlife]

Why stop with the drinking....may as well slam some coke and heroin too...dont forget the crystal meth.

[springfever]

stop wining

[GoofyDad]

I was scrolling down to the text window to commend you on your silence when there at number 12  it was. SPLAT.

:)

[mikesimon]

Resveratrol May Help Treat Fatty Liver
from WebMD —

Kelley Colihan

October 16, 2008 — Scientists looking for ways to help treat fatty livers have discovered that an ingredient in red wine can help protect from -- and possibly even be used to treat -- fat buildup in the liver that goes hand-in-hand with chronic alcohol use.

This study zoned in on resveratrol.

You've likely heard about the antioxidant found in red wine, grapes, berries, and peanuts. Resveratrol has previously been linked to health benefits for cancer and heart disease.

It may seem counterintuitive to think that a main ingredient in something like red wine could actually help to protect the liver from damage, but that was one of the key findings.

The study, led by Joanne M. Ajmo at the University of South Florida Health Sciences Center in Tampa, looked at the effects of resveratrol in alcoholic fatty livers of mice.

Researchers found that alcohol-fed mice given resveratrol had less fat in their livers and the fat broke down more quickly than alcohol-fed mice not give resveratrol.

The researchers note that resveratrol has been shown to activate molecules that are also important in fat metabolism in the liver. Chronic alcohol abuse inhibits these molecules.

In this study, alcohol-fed mice treated with resveratrol also had enhanced activity of these molecules.

"Collectively, these results demonstrate that resveratrol treatment protected against the development of alcoholic [fatty liver] in mice," they write.

The authors write that alcohol along with "concentrated resveratrol could be a more potent and efficient way" of getting the health benefits of resveratrol alone.

The study appears in the October issue of The American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.

SOURCES:

Ajmo, J. The American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, October 2008; vol 295: pp 833-842.

News release, American Physiological Society.

[portann]

Hi Mike,

Glad you posted that.

Heart disease is something  to which so many people are prone, including people with a 'liver'  situation'. And it's almost mainstream thinking that a glass of wine a day may be better than none to protect your heart. It's tough to navigate between liver and heart, especially for me, since I have  hypertension.

Anyway, for now, I stick to red grape juice but it's hard to believe it's just as beneficial as wine. Heck, with your study to argue my case, I can now look forward to red wine after tx, even though I'm not a mouse.

[jdwithhcv]

At last someone has had the courage to break the silence.  We are faced with an epidemic of alcoholic mice.  I see them staggering around the barn, unkempt and disheveled.  Its heartbreaking!

[Marcia2202]

ROFL

[lalapple]

do it at your own risk.  i personally think that no alcohol is better than alcohol to my overall health.  i'm in college and hasn't touched a single drop of beer/ wine/ alcoholic bevs.  

[portann]

That's a Pandora's box, drinking at college and I commend you for abstaining . It doesn't take much to drop out of school due to the clarity and vision of an alcoholic stupour.

For me, though, at almost sixty, I do wonder if a glass of wine might lovingly open my clogged arteries without damaging my liver. There are different issues at my age than at yours.

I wish you such a wonderful outcome on treatment and at college.

[mikesimon]

Portann - the article didn't address the potential cardiac benefits of wine.
It was specifically addressing the potential benefit in the setting of a fatty liver.
There is a dearth of information out there regarding the potential cardiac benefit from moderate consumption of alcohol in general as well as wine in particular. There is also information that suggests alcohol might have some properties that make the development of diabetes less likely as well as lowering glucose levels in diabetics. The benefits are strictly limited to moderate consumption and once a person passes the moderate stage the advantages become liabilities in proportion to intake.
Michael

[Xenigma]

Can you still drink alcohol if you have Hepatitis C?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sure you can.  You hold it up to your mouth the same as
anyone who doesn't have the virus.  

SHOULD you still drink alcohol if you have Hepatitis C?...
In my opinion---------- NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Debbie223]

I have found by reading threads on this site when alcohol is mentioned, there are all kinds of different response...and I think the people out there who enjoyed the freedom to drink  ( of course if there is addiction that is a whole other issue) get slammed for voicing that. When you find out you have this virus you go thru all kinds of stages.. it is like a death in someways. You have to process thru all the emotions and the acceptance can be difficult. When someone asks the question about drinking I think it would be nice if there could be more understanding in why this questions gets asked... it is a lifestyle change that for some can be hard for whatever reason.

No alcohol when you have the virus..... No alcohol while on tx...... after the virus is gone.....that is your choice....you know the state of your liver and your Doctor will give you his opinion and you can chose to accept it or not.

Just my humble opinion.

[merryBe]

of course what the wine study Mike posted is concluding is it is the reservatol not the alcohol which give benfit. The alcohol is still known as the greatest inducer of fibrosis for anyone with HCV. Current research states that regular alcohol consumtion increase the rate at which fibrosis occurs tenfold. That means your liver will be destroyed a lot faster than if you don't drink.  
So buying a high qualily reservatol supplement good....
drinking wine to get that substance not good.

here's a 9 page primer on alcohol metabolism I found of use.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CXH/is_4_27/ai_n7636891

and this is good too

http://health.howstuffworks.com/hangover4.htm

[Rockerforlife]

NO!

[mikesimon]

The article appears to limited to resveratrol "fatty liver" and stated:
"The authors write that alcohol along with "concentrated resveratrol could be a more potent and efficient way" of getting the health benefits of resveratrol alone."

Another article from yesterday stated:

"The study adds to previous research that suggested alcohol shuts off two molecules -- AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) -- that are key to initiating the breakdown of fats in the liver. Resveratrol, however, appears to do the opposite, switching on the molecules and helping to clear out fat. This stops fat from accumulating in the mouse liver by both reducing the production of fat and burning off the fat that is there.

Surprisingly, alcohol with resveratrol appears to enhance the positive effects of resveratrol alone, according to study senior author Min You.

"Our study suggests that resveratrol may serve as a promising agent for preventing or treating human alcoholic fatty liver disease," the authors concluded."

Now, the study cohort was mice and this isn't definitive, in my opinion. But, it says what it says and we can draw our own conclusions. I certainly would not suggest that people with HCV and fatty liver should start drinking wine. I simply found the article interesting and relevant.

Mike  

[jmjm530]

MB: he alcohol is still known as the greatest inducer of fibrosis for anyone with HCV. Current research states that regular alcohol consumption increase the rate at which fibrosis occurs tenfold.
---------------
Perhaps you'd like to share that "current research" with us and define what you mean by "regular alcohol consumption"?

Everything that I've read shows that one or two drinks a day (women and men respetively) does not further fibrosis progression even if you have HCV. And speaking of fatty liver, my NP said that fatty liver progresses fibrosis faster than the virus itself.

So...who do you think will have a faster progression of fibrosis? The Hep C person who is at an ideal body weight and drinks a glass or two of wine per day OR the Hep C person who is overweight with fatty liver and abstains from alcohol?

With all the energy here of the anti-alcohol at all costs folks, it's a shame that some of that energy isn't spent crusading against medical obsesity which is usually defined as being just over 20 per cent of a person's ideal weight. Obsesity, it's like pouring whipped cream on a cheese cake :)

-- Jim

[Rockerforlife]

HOW bout a glass of wine with that cheese cake?

[Rockerforlife]

The french eat lots of fatty foods and drink wine with everything and out live americians....who says ya cant have your cheesecake and it  too?

[Rockerforlife]

I meant to say............. who says ya cant have your cheesecake and  eat it  too?

[portann]

naa, fo me it's wine and cheese in Nice. It makes me slimmer to just think about it.

[jdwithhcv]

Just so you don't end up like those unfortunate mice!

[Marcia2202]

A nice....  Délice de St. Cyr (triple cream raw milk 75% cheese), but I'll have to pass on the wine... I'm such a party pooper, but I don't drink... But the thought of it IS nice... And it's nice in Nice... I grew up around there, on the Cote d'Azur, in Biot between Antibes and Cannes

[jmjm530]

I confess to a weakness for cheese cake. So yes, wine with cheese cake is very OK with me.Red wine, of course. BTW the French are thinner than us. Different theories on that but I think their food portions are smaller.

[Rockerforlife]

I just seen a movie called sicko...its about the health care system in the USA...it makes me mad at the govt...they are a sick bunch.

[rita3a]

NOPE!

[sfwandwow]

u can drink but if u do u are adding gasoline to the fire.. DONT DRINK!!!

[jonney4141]

i was told today by doctor that to drink would be my death

[nygirl7]

"At last someone has had the courage to break the silence.  We are faced with an epidemic of alcoholic mice.  I see them staggering around the barn, unkempt and disheveled.  Its heartbreaking! "

The name of my new band ALCOHOLIC MICE (as well as the new gang I'm starting) - perfect.  You are the smarty pants who would realize exactly what I needed today!

[Force]

I was watching a Video on you tube and the Doctor mention that drinking Alcohol when you have Hep C is like pouring Gasoline on a fire the virus thrives on it & duplicates like crazy immediately.

Have a toke and get some good munchies....lol

Don't kill yourself man!

[Magnum]

No

Magnum

[Rockerforlife]

CAN YOU STILL PLAY WITH FIRE IF YOUR SOAKED IN GASOLINE?

[springfever]

"Can u still drink alcohol if you have Hep c?"

we don't know.

[Force]

I like that one....lol

[selley87]

just think how awful you feel after a night of drinking why not try life with out it.  i have not quite succeeded i let stress be my trigger.  drinking does not make my life full of enjoyment i can say with out certaintity

[halbev]

I think it is like Russian roulette with a 6 shot revolver, and you put 6 shots in it, Out come not gonna be good

[James10500]

This thread is from 2008.

[his3707]

hahahah  love it. interesting read though,

[OC]

My doctor said, drinking would be the equivalent of throwing gasoline on a fire.

peace

[curiouslady1]

Can you still drink alcohol if you have Hepatitis C?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I can.  My arm ain't broke.  

But I don't.