Alcohol Threads

[anafromtexas]

I had a glass of wine on vacation two weeks and lately the thoughts of a having a drink now and then have been entering my mind. I have Hep C - 1b - Grade 1, Stage 1-waiting for better drugs-could not complete treatment.  Anyway, I was doing a search for the alcohol threads to remind myself why social drinking is not acceptable and could not find them.  I am not nor have ever been an alcoholic or heavy drinker, but I so miss certain socials and good wine with good food!  In San Antonio, Texas there are so many festivals!  

[Dragonsly]

I was diagnosed almost 3 years ago. my grade and stage are about the same as yours. I drank beer and wine one or two glasses 3-4 times a year till I started tx...now nothing till I'm done...I want the tx to work so I can get back to being me....

Just like starting treatment...drinking is a very personal decision...I would not have drank one drop if my liver had been stage 2 or more or if I were going to put off treatment for any length of time.

I suggest that you educate yourself and weight the pros and cons carefully...you don't want to cause more damage to yourself...even the new drugs will be combined with SOC and maybe tx will be half the duration but not less harsh.

good luck

[jmjm530]

I was told a couple of drinks a day was OK both before and after treatment. Women are sometimes told to make that one drink because of lower weight, but there can be heavy women and light men, I suppose. I was around stage 3 just before I treated. Pretty soon someone will chime and and say "drinking alcohol is like putting gasoline on a fire". Sounds good but recent studies say otherwise. Being overweight with the risk of fatty liver is where more emphasis should be IMO. So....being overweight is like pouring fat on a fire. Hmmm doesn't have the same ring, so maybe someone will come up with something better :)

-- Jim

[Jacob43]

I can't drink because, unfortunately, I'm an addict.  If you're not, I'd say it was less benign to eat a fatty diet than a couple of drinks... just my opinion especially after reading the Bottomline Daily Health News... (just read this, this morning)  Here is an excerpt:

My wife and I are in the process of kicking the smoking habit but we've been abiding by a healthy diet plan for sometime now.  Actually cooking together has created an activity to do together that has drawn us closer.  (After this article - glad for that!)

It appears the American diet is killing and ailing more people... than other factors.

"New Epidemic in America: Fatty Liver Disease

There's a medical condition that is frightening physicians and patients alike because it is growing much more common. Called Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD or hepatic steatosis), it affects about a third of the American adult population (13% of children) and the numbers are rising. Many are unaware they have this problem, since in and of itself it rarely causes symptoms, but NAFLD can progress and, though it is rare, when it does it can lead to serious liver damage or even death.

INTEMPERANCE IS THE PROBLEM

A fatty liver has long been associated with long-term and excessive alcohol consumption, but this "non-alcoholic" version of the disease is not about drinking -- it's believed that its main cause is poor diet, notably, one loaded with simple sugars and complex carbohydrates. "

[nygirl7]

I don't want to throw any gasoline on this fire so I'm staying out of it.

Use your brains and think for yourself and do what you gotta do is my motto.  Four years or so of these type threads have taught me you're gonna do what your gonna do regardless of what anyone else says.

[jmjm530]

NY: I don't want to throw any gasoline on this fire so I'm staying out of it.
----------------
LOL. Some people learn from history. Others like myself are slow learners :).

Hope this finds you well,

-- Jim

[anafromtexas]

Thanks for your responses.  I have been averaging about one drink every two to three months.  I guess I will stay with that and see how my blood work turns out this December.  Thanks you all!!

[ladybug52]

I found out in 91 or 92 that I had hep C antibodies. I was really upset and crying and then the drs I saw said I had no evidence of active hepatitis. I was one of the 15 % that cured spontaneously!!!!
( I thought)
When I  was retested in 2006 I had a biopsy which revealed stage 1 grade 2.
I had been a social drinker for yrs, so I guess the alcohol didn't have that much of an impact on my liver.
Yes, I was probably stupid to drink, and I didn't quit completely till I started tx. Quitting was easy once I knew I was treating.
I'm not advocating alcohol, just telling my story.
Hope everything works out for you.
Also, probably killing my liver with fat the way I've been eating lately. When I had no kids at home I ate better. Now my two "boys" (23 and 20) have moved home and it's whoo-hoo! Lets have chicken-fried steak!
Bug

[meki]

I'm not a regular drinker - never have been - never will be...

I don't advocate alcohol - especially if you have a problem with it.

However - I have had a few glasses of wine in the last year --- but in all total --- LESS than 3 bottles of wine... (or Champagne)... And honestly I usually don't finish the glass off.

I did have a couple sex on the beach drinks --- I think one about 4 months ago --- and one last weekend...

I just can't drink - doesn't taste all that great --- it's more of a social thing to hold it in my hand and sip it until the ice melts or until it's time to go...

I'm usually the driver too - so that helps... LOL!

Anyhow - it really is a personal decision. Some doctors say fine - others say NO.

It's up to you - and how it makes your body feel. Alcohol over more than one drink gives me a hella hangover...

Much luck to you either way.

Meki

[jmjm530]

Meki: I did have a couple sex on the beach drinks
-----------------------------
I assume you mean "monkey sex on the beach" drinks :)

[meki]

You betcha... LMAO!

[Jacob43]

I guess the only way to ask is to dive in....

ah... what's this 'monkey sex' ?   Is this an inside joke... or just something I'm missing?

... meki, men can be densed sometimes and need direction (and some explaining) so please elaborate - if you're so inclined, ma'am

J

[portann]

Have you ever tried safe sex on the beach drinks? Almost as good, though no alcohol.

[GoofyDad]

like dangling a porkchop in front of a terrier?

BTW - I think you're right. I've said this before - why the other poor lifestyle choices get a pass is a real mystery.

PS you forgot: "Having a drink is like playing russian roulette with your liver"

[meki]

Jacob ---- one time, in trying to explain that my husband (now ex) and I enjoyed a very good sex life while I was infected with HCV ---- and that he never caught it --- I described our sex life as "monkey sex"... It infuriated someone who was not willing to understand that sexuality and sex were a part of life ---- and a very serious part of a marriage --- and a very serious question that some people have here... Because of the possible ramifications (no pun intended).

So it's kinda stuck...

GRIN

[ladybug52]

"I did have a couple sex on the beach drinks"

So, should there be a comma in there somewhere? Or an of/or/and? I'm trying to understand what you mean. "
Couple sex on the beach, and drinks?"
A couple of 'sex on the beach' drinks?
Monkey sex I understand, this other statement needs some explaining, please!
Thanks,
Bug

[Jacob43]

lol

[jmjm530]

Bug: "I did have a couple sex
-----------------------------------------
Now, behave yourself Bug. Either that, or post the pictures.

Be well,

-- Jim

[CockSparrow]

Women are sometimes told to make that one drink because of lower weight, but there can be heavy women and light men, I suppose.

Not exactly true. Its because of the different liver size.

[CockSparrow]

"Meki - I described our sex life as "monkey sex"... "

You have gone and spoiled it now.
I thought it had something to do with a zoo.

CS

[mikesimon]

"In general, the liver is considered to be larger in males than in females. In the present study, data on liver weight from 728 legal autopsies were analyzed with respect to gender, age, body height (BH), body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), and body surface area (BSA). Descriptive statistics revealed that liver weight increases with age, reaching maximum values between 41 and 50 years in men and between 51 and 60 years in women. Thereafter, liver weight decreases again. Because this loss in liver weight starts earlier in men while liver weight continues to rise in women, the difference in liver weight between men and women is lost above the age of 50. Thus, this age defines a threshold value below which gender is expected to be a critical factor in the calculation of liver weight. When demographic data mentioned above were subjected to multiple stepwise linear regression analysis, liver weight (LW) was best predicted in younger people (16-50 years) by body weight, age, and gender: LW (g) = 452 + 16.34 × BW + 11.85 × age - 166 × gender (r2 = 0.381; gender: 1 = female, 0 = male). In contrast, in elderly people (51-70 years) LW was best predicted by BW and age only. Gender was not a significant factor. LW (g) = 1390 + 15.94 × BW - 12.86 × age (r2 = 0.35). When these formulas were applied to demographic data from 97 organ donors and compared to published formulas (which, however, do not consider the age-dependent effects of gender), the new formulas best predicted male to female liver weight ratios in younger and elderly donors. In conclusion, the new formulas might better predict liver weight in organ donors and transplant recipients to avoid liver size mismatch. (Liver Transpl 2004;10:678-685.)"

See:   http://tiny.cc/DrH12


"....It is a familiar refrain at parties and in bars: women just can't hold their liquor. They are quicker to get giddy, and they stay drunk longer than men matching them drink for drink. For years, the difference was attributed to gross anatomy: On average, women are smaller than men, and thus alcohol gets into their tissues more rapidly. And because they carry proportionately more fat and less water in their bodies, liquor is diluted more gradually, prolonging its heady effects.

But that explanation has never been completely convincing, either to scientists or to laymen. It fails to explain fully why when men and women of the same size have identical drinks, women tend to get tipsy faster. Scientists have long wondered if there might not be a more compelling biochemical explanation for the drinking puzzle. Last week a team of Italian and American researchers offered what looks to be the answer: women have far smaller quantities of the protective enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase that breaks down alcohol in the stomach.

The enzyme is crucial in curbing intoxication. When a shot of vodka or a beer is swallowed, it travels to the stomach and then to the intestine, where it passes through the organ's wall into the bloodstream. Once there it circulates to the brain, where it finally exerts its inebriating effect. Alcohol dehydrogenase breaks down spirits in the stomach, reducing the amount of pure alcohol that enters the bloodstream about 20%; the rest is eventually metabolized by similar enzymes in the liver.

According to a study of 43 men and women reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, women possess significantly less of the active stomach enzyme. The result is that they absorb about 30% more alcohol into their bloodstreams than men do -- and voila! Taking into account the weight difference between the average man and woman, a mere 2 oz. of liquor has about the same effect on a woman as 4 oz. would on a man. Just why there is such a discrepancy remains a mystery..."

See:  http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,969237,00.html

[jmjm530]

This no doubt accounts for what many of us men have known for some time --

"Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker".


Some more explanations here:
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/HealthIssues/1055861926.html

Bottom line seems to remain the same: 2 drinks for men are OK but only one for women. Sorry gals :)

[anafromtexas]

Interesting - monkey sex on the beach and one drink for women.  Got it!

[Joan19]

Great thread - LOL - thanks, I needed that!

Take care.