Drinking

I am 27, who used to social drink, now that I found out that I have Hep. C.  Are their any alternatives for me when I go out with my husband and friends?  Or anything that I can buy at the store or make at home that is like a IPA (beer) or apple martini etc...i know this shouldn't be a concern but I used to go  out 2-3 a week with friends after work. Now it's very hard for me to go out with friends bc they drink and I can't.   Now I find myself being anti-social bc I can't drink.

[jmjm530]

In general, many liver specialists will allow women one drink per day (men two drinks) even if they have Hepatitis C as long as they are not treating. My doctors fit into that camp. That said, many doctors say no alcohol at all. You will soon find that the members here are as divided as the doctors on this point. BTW if you want to be kind to your liver, perhaps more important (IMO) is to watch your carb intake and glucose/insulin levels and keep a good BMI, i.e. get down to an ideal weight. My doc talks more against high-fructose corn syrup than alcohol cause fatty liver can accelerate fibrosis (liver damage to scaring) even faster than the virus itself. So, eat well and drink light, if you choose to drink at all.

-- Jim

[Marcia2202]

Welcome to  the forum!

I just wanted to share my own experience with you. I stopped drinking alcohol about 9-10 years ago. No special reason for that. I still went out with my friends and had fun, just that I was drinking non alcoholic drinks. You can have apple juice with soda, or long drinks without the alcohol and still have a good time.

[jmjm530]

You can have apple juice with soda,
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Fruit juices can call steatosis and not just in rats :)
http://64.233.169.132/search?q=cache:1ieH-w4tj7wJ:tipbilimleri.turkiyeklinikleri.com/download_pdf.php%3Fid%3D47480+fruit+juices+steatosis&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us

[Marcia2202]

:-)

I don't think that a few glasses of apple juice with soda water once or twice a week is going to harm someone, unless they have a certain kind of illness, where they have to watch juices. The soda water waters down the apple juice. My husband usually drinks that when we're out. It 'waters' down the sweetness of the apple juice and adds a little fizz to the drink.

[jmjm530]

Yes, watering down the juice is a good idea -- and while photo dx is often inaccurate, it appears that neither you nor your husband has too much of an issue with weight and some of the accompanying issues...but for those that do...

[Marcia2202]

My bad! The factor I always oversee... photo dx quite accurate here, both our bmi's are 20.4. And since we seldom eat cakes and sweets and don't consume sugar, the occasional juice is okay. (Actually, since on tx... I only drink water.)

But back to t27, she wants to have some alternative drink ideas, as she has given up drinking. So what non alcoholic drinks can we suggest to her to have while she is out 'painting the town red', as they say in Danish... :-)

[jmjm530]

Rooibos tea. Natually decafinated because it's not really a "tea". Serves well, hot or cold. Add a touch of raw ginger or perhaps some soy milk. And btw it's got a red hue for painting the town! Goes by the name "Red Bush Tea" at Starbucks.

[Marcia2202]

Rooibos is delicious! With a touch of lemon, too. In SA it is even given to small children with milk. It is even good to use in cooking stews etc.

[eureka254]

Some non-alcoholic alternatives you can easily order at any bar and still look like you're partying along:

Diet coke w/a lemon wedge... only you and the bartender know there's no rum in it :) ...
Orange/Grapefruit juice w/a splash of soda (or water), ask for the cherry on top...
Ginger ale w/a splash of cranberry juice...
Tomato juice w/slice of lemon... club soda w/slice of lemon, etc...

You can still 'look the part' and have a good time without the alcohol ... besides, your friends will probably appreciate having a "designated driver" ;).

Best wishes,
~eureka

[Rockerforlife]

Your drinking days are over...until you clear the virus....UNLESS you want to die faster.

[Rockerforlife]

My doc talks more against high-fructose corn syrup than alcohol



ALCOHOL IS A POISON...those are the FACTS...no ifs ands or buts...

sugar is not...come on jimbo....one doc does not make it ok

[Rockerforlife]

I should shut my trap before i speak....sorry Jimbo


“Alcohol is a Poison”
by David J. Hanson, Ph.D.

A poison is any substance that is capable of causing injury, illness or death to an organism. 1 Salt, water and oxygen are all poisons because in high enough quantities they can harm people. Too much salt in a diet can cause serious health problems, hyper hydration can kill athletes, and too much oxygen given to a premature infant can cause permanent blindness.

Toxicologists emphasize that “the dosage makes the poison.” Although salt, water, oxygen, aspirin, alcohol beverages, and many other substances can cause poisoning in excessive amounts, it makes no sense to call them poisons.

ETHYL ALCOHOL IS A POISON
“ETHYL ALCOHOL IS A POISON. No intelligent person knowingly ingests poison unless they want to die prematurely.” 4
So why do so many groups and organizations insist on calling alcohol a poison? Apparently to stigmatize alcoholic beverages and frighten people into alcohol abstinence. The tactic was first used effectively by the Anti-Saloon League, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the KKK and other anti-alcohol groups. 2 The technique is still widely used today. 3

Honest communication doesn’t mislead or deceive. Calling alcohol a poison is misleading and deceptive.

[Rockerforlife]

Alchol is a touchy topic i must admit...its very personal...logic tells me tho to stay away...for now

[eureka254]

t27ertwine said:
" used to social drink, now that I found out that I have Hep. C... I find myself being anti-social bc I can't drink."

I think t27 deserves credit for being willing to give up the alcohol where so many have not.  As I read it, I think she's having a hard time giving up the time shared with friends who drink, not the drinking itself.

~eureka

[geterdone]

Well, if you don’t drink anymore, feeling secluded, alienated from your friends and don’t know how to fit in, only one thing left to do and it may not be what you want to hear but given the holidays upon us this year you may want to start thinking about treating and getting it over with and then next year will be a festive time.

geterdone

[lapis]

Curious, what do you folks think about the non-alcoholic beers?  Becks, St. Pauli Girl, and others have come out with them.  They're in the same type bottling as regular beers.  No one would ever know you weren't drinking a beer, if that matters to you.

lapis

[Marcia2202]

I had some made in Holland while I was tracking across Mali in the beginning of the year. It was hot as heck and we had been driving for hours. We were dusty and yucky and stopped at a little restaurant in Ségou. It was like heaven to drink that stuff, so refreshing!

[GreatBird]

Non-alcoholic beers can be okay (Haake Becks is one of the better i've tried) but there's something slightly off about the taste. I really love beer and I miss it a lot. I never drank very much (usu about 1/2 a beer when I'd have one) but non-a beers don't substitute well for me unless I'm desperate.

But you might like them more than I do. :)

[Kristina538]

Clear apple juice or cranberry in a wine glass, and your friends won't know the difference.

Lime and gingerale,  Lime and soda,  or at a pinch, lemonade & bitters (n.b. bitters is alcoholic but makes your lemonade look like pink champagne and is served with a slice of lemon also)...  I actually changed many of my friends to drinking it  (although I did stop drinking lemonade a few years ago also and now just do the lime and soda).

[epiphiny]

I had to attend a work function the other night, it would have been rude not to and very poor form.  Everyone was drinking champagne, mohitos, brandy alexanders, wine.  I really didn't want to stand there, sipping on orange juice because I knew people would ask me questions about why I wasn't sampling the cocktails.  

My friend thoughtfully made me a drink of apple juice with soda water in a champers glass and it looked just like the champagne everyone was drinking, bubbles and all!  I didn't feel like I stood out, and I felt like part of the group, it was all good.

Usually I don't have a problem being the only non drinker in a group, I gave up drinking when I first found out I had HCV.  But I still wanted to socialise with people, go to parties etc.  At first I felt uncomfortable and then I realised that everyone feels uncomfortable before the first drink kicks in and after that they generally don't notice whether anyone else is drinking or not cos they are too busy getting tipsy.  After a while I actually started to enjoy watching other people in various stages of inebriation and I never woke up with a hangover again!  Yes!

[GreatBird]

It's real easy to just say "I don't drink." It requires no explanation. Actually, drinking--while socially acceptable--isn't good for anyone, even people who don't have hep. JMHO.

[nygirl7]

I always put salt, extra sugar and fruit juice into my vodka.......figure I might as well go out with a big bang.

No........not throwing any gasoline OR mojitos this time if I can help it (but I'm weak dear God help me, I'm weak!)!

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On a serious note: I would love to answer your question but I have a BIG mouth and have been down this road many, many too many times before. As such, I will let the others respond and then duke it out if they want to.

My best advice to you is to use common sense. In the end after everyone makes their opinion known, it is the best thing you have to use and only can be your decision.

[can-do-man]

No........not throwing any gasoline OR mojitos this time if I can help it (but I'm weak dear God help me, I'm weak!)!
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Come on girl, you can do it. How about "just one more for the road?"   :)

[fretboard]

I would go with that suggestion up there to drink cranberry juice in a wine glass, don't even trip about not having any fun because you will have plenty.  I've been both a non-drinker and an outright lush, so I've been in both houses.  At times when I recently went to party's I felt like a complete drag, but you have to roll with it.  After you gather a few times and compare wine or whatever vs alcohol-free you will see right off what you're missing and I think you will agree that it's truly not much.  There's alot of fun watching ppl drink, it's even more fun if you compare notes with someone else.lol  You will grow tired of it quickly, I'm certain of it.  Your other choice is to continue going and adjust your drinking to 1 drink a session.  You will find that so truly boring, and you will quit.  Honestly at 27, I think you're gonna have to do what works for you.  The fact that you know you're not supposed to drink is already a step in the right direction.  Personally I still used to drink until just a few years ago, but I never drank more than 2 drinks.  At your age it would be completely awkward, be sure you don't tell too many ppl that you can't drink.  Even more important, don't tell them why.  good luck

[Marcia2202]

It is funny you mention that. I remember going to those Xmas dinners from my office. It is a tradition in Denmark, all the various Xmas dinners with friends, collegues, etc. Many dinners to attend. They are usually placed in restaurants and are several course dinners with all the different wines and booze. Afterward some always go on to 'paint the town red', as they say here. I used to make it a sport to watch the changes in people, especially some of the usually reserved people turning into total flirts. I think I had more fun then they did and at least I remembered the whole evening clearly the next day.

[Marcia2202]

I did not stop drinking because of HCV, as I didn't know I had it then. People asked me why I stopped and I told them that I had decided that I didn't want to drink anymore. One can always tell people that one doesn't want to drink, which is the truth anyway.

[lalapple]

another alcohol topic!  tell me when the debate gets intense, i will go and hide

[Rockerforlife]

The drug alcohol, kills more people than all the other drugs combined....FACT

[t27ertwine]

Thanks for all the support and advice....I didn't think I could drink the non-alcoholic beers and wines bc they had alcohol in it.....    .5%  Is that true?  

[desrt]

Means you'd have to be able to hold onto a whole six pack without using the restroom to have the effect of one beer.