drinkin during treatment

[cory187]

i was wondering if i could drink before treatment i was told i should quit six months before starting treatment but i was wondering if its that nesaccary? and my second question can you drink diring treatment? and better yet can i drink after i finish treatment?

[Willy50]

Cory..... just as if you went to an AA meeting and asked if you could drink a little.  
What do you expect from *this* forum?  

Your original post asked about drinking before, during and after TX.  You seem have your mind made up.  : )

People in this forum have had this virus for years, seen what it can do, know the prices that the disease and treatment can make some people pay.  They have seen the outcomes..... the threads from family members asking how to save someone that is past that point of being saved.

You've only been infected for weeks or months; how could you know?

My advice is to NOT treat.  I am waiting myself, so I am not being sarcastic.

I would not waste the time and put in a half effort or risk blowing it mid point and failing.  The newer forms of treatment will be less sensitive to immune response and so the diminished immune response from someone who drinks may play less of a part of success as it does now.  If you are newly infected (I'm not sure that is established, but quite possible) and have minimal damage you should be able to wait a while.  Understand, we all progress at different rates and a person who drinks .......statistically speaking.... will progress at a faster rate than someone who doesn't.

Good luck with whatever you decide.  I believe in time if you were to read this thread again....over and over..... you'll come to believe that these people were trying to provide you good advice and perspective....... something that you yourself seem to be lacking this moment.

best,
Willy

[suezeeque]

Depends on what your idea of "drinking socially" is.  

Quitting a 6 beer, 3 or 4 days a week habit ONE month before starting treatment is unrealistic.  Yes, many here have been where you are and speak from a place of experience.

Anyone who is an alcoholic (and I consider 6 beer, 3 or 4 days a week to be exactly that) will tell you...  When you finally make the decision to stop you will sometimes take one step forward only to take two steps back.  Just the nature of the beast.

It would be a far better idea to quit drinking before even contemplating treatment.  The treatment drugs are serious drugs.  Many (not all) have terrible side effects.  Dealing with those side effects while also trying to quit drinking (one month clean isn't "quit", I don't think) could be BRUTAL.

Is your problem with previous posters that you didn't get the response you wanted?  I really doubt anyone here will tell you that it's okay to drink during treatment.  So you've said you'll "find help somewhere else".

The only person who will tell you it's okay to drink during treatment will be sitting on a bar stool.

You asked a question, you got answers.  They may not be the answers you want but it's my opinion, you simply aren't ready for treatment until you quit drinking.

[nygirl7]

You have to remember there are lots of addicts on this support forum - which is how a whole bunch of us got this disease in the first place. So yes, we do know how hard it is but no you can't drink before or during treatment and afterwards as long as your liver is OK you could occassionally IF you weren't an alcoholic who would just start plowing them back all the time again.

So really, not sure what other answer there is to give except it sounds in your case like it's better not to.  Believe me I could knock them back as well as any fellow but on treatment no.........nothing........I wanted to do this treatment oncee and never ever again.

[willbb]

You come here and ask whether or not you can drink before during and after treatment ..then when we take time to tell you  "no"    (albeit some of us in a bit of an off handed manner ,you thank us by  telling us it  "is hard to quit"   and why don"t we understand.

Ok..."it is hard to quit"     You are not the first person here that quit drinking  so spare us the lecture about how we don't  understand

Drinking is terribly bad for the liver...before ..during and after treatment..

your choice to help your liver or not.
Will.

[Anne1717]

Cory,  I was lucky and caught the virus in the acute stage before any damage to my liver was done.  Many people on this forum have lived unknowingly with this virus for 25-30 years and have significant liver damage.  Some people have addictive issues and some don't.  What I said earlier, that I am not a hard nosed, black or white sort of girl means that generally I don't like hard and fast rules and usually read between the lines.

There is a difference between someone without addiction issues and no liver involvement having a glass of wine with dinner post treatment, and someone who struggles with addiction with significant liver damage doing the same.  Only you know what category you fit into.  Many folks on this forum are scared to death, as they should be, of further compromising their livers. Many of us have seen end stage liver disease and it isn't pretty.

If you struggle with addiction, it is a good time to make better choices and use treatment as a catalyst to propel yourself into a healthier lifestyle.  If not, then it is important to follow suggestions and not drink while treating if for no other reason than to stay as healthy as possible while your body is already being challenged.

My Dad has been in AA for 45 years and as they say - "Take what you like and leave the rest."  We offer "experience, strength and hope."  I choose to learn from those who have walked the walk and if the suggestions don't apply to me then I leave it.  Yes, post treatment and given my situation, I will have wine with dinner again.  But was I thinking about it?  No.

Best of luck and it's good to work these issues out before you venture further.
Anne

[dointime]

I think you wanted to hear -

- oh I understand how hard it is, I've been there, and here's how I negotiated with myself to make it OK to drink and get away with it.  I'm cured now, and if you manage your drinking like I did it won't do you any harm. -

Well you didn't get that.  People here have told you to bite the bullet on the alcohol or forget about the tx.  There's good people here who gave you their time and effort to tell you the truth.  If you can't handle the truth then don't ask the question.  

dointime        
  

[Marcia2202]

I'm sure no one meant to judge you or to be unsupportive. They just want you to really understand that alcohol is very hard on the liver and could seriously damage your liver. Once you have hep c, the damage alcohol can inflict to your liver is much greater than if you had a healthy liver. We only have one liver and it is vital to our life. So why damage it more?

It's great that you've stopped the drugs and I understand that it might be hard to stop drinking all together, but I hope you find the strength and will power to stop completely. And that's also what the others are trying to say!

Don't leave this forum, because of this incident. Everyone just means well and this is the best hep c forum I know.

Good luck with everything!

[cory187]

its me again i do want to thank some of you for your advice it was really helpful i didnt mean to direct that last message to you im sure u know who u r thanks again:)

[cory187]

first of all. all u guys are looking at me like Im retarded I know I shouldn't drink i was actually looking for some constructive criticism. Most of you guys should know how hard it to stay completely sober, thats why they have AA and NA. I really do want to quit drinkin and complete treatment obviously all of you have been where im at so none of u are any better than me to sit there and judge me.1 day or fifty years sober were all only one drink away. call it minimizing or wut ever but this is my story...... about 2 and 1/2 years ago I used heroin for a couple of months and made a wrong decision by sharing a needle a couple of time and contracted hep c I've been clean from all drugs except alcohol for over two years now and finnaly had the chance to get tested and it came back positive and they offered me  treatment and depending on the type it could be cureable. Im scheduled to go back in 4 months to see my progress on my situation and i was hoping someone could give me some sound empathetic and sympathetic advice on wether or not i could drink up untill i start treatment;;; """"meaning would it affect my treatment from being successful""""? As of right now i drink at most 6 beers 3-4 days a week i plan on quiting about a month before treatment. I KNOW BECAUSE I HAVE IT I SHOULDNT DRINK AT ALL but its hard i would think u guys would understand i guess i made a mistake by reaching out thanks for your input i'll try finding understanding and help somewhere else i also think that if i were to cure it, (if i have no damage to my liver) shouldnt i be physically able to drink "socially" after treatment? thanks for ur time and please responding w/o being cynical thanks Sicerely, someone needing help!!!!!!!!!!

[printze]

Boggles my mind, if you were told you have lung cancer from smoking and if you quit you stand a chance , would you still smoke ?  It's the sme thing. Your liver is already damaged to some degree, anything further damage will cause even more serious damage . How you value your life is what this allcomes down to. If drinking is more important than living, then go right ahead.I think yo need some help getting your priorities straight . Good luck.    

[dointime]

nygirl7 & Bali05 - you do make me LOL!  My day is off to a good start now, thanks.

dointime

[Bali05]

How about smoking while on chemo for lung cancer ?

[nygirl7]

If your goal is to fail treatment and to get to end stage liver disease then yes it's a great and dandy idea.

[gonnabhepcfree]

what was told to me that stuck with me..drinking with hep c is like pouring gasoline on a fire..

[willbb]

Drink before ,during and after treatment??

Seems kinda like hittin your head against the wall to get id of a headache.....

[Anne1717]

oops - first line correction - or ALL or nothing sort of gal

[Anne1717]

CAN OF WORMS OPENED!!!!  

If you are asking then you should probably not drink and I am not a hard nose, or or nothing sort of gal.  I also was told before treatment it would be occasionally okay to have a glass of wine with dinner - I didn't ask.  However, I have absolutely no liver involvement since I was acute and I have no drinking issues.  Everyone else is right - How is your liver?  And why compromise it further? Before treating, I would make sure you can go the distance without drinking since it may make you not follow the protocol the way you should and put you in worse physical condition than you will already be.


As for during treatment - heck no.  I can't even imagine feeling well enough to do so.  

[flcyclist]

Of course.  Drinking additional water is important during trt to minimize the sx.  

Your first post and you ask 3 questions all related to drinking? alcohol i presume.  Are you serious?  Can you stop drinking now and during trt?

[hrsepwrguy]

"Why are you going to treat? If you don't want to follow your doctor's advice are you going to follow the treatment protocol as stated by your doctor? It does take come level of personal responsibility to take the meds on time and consistently. If you are not willing to do that, your treatment won't be successful anyway"

Well said

If drinking is that important to you, why bother, but we will still be here when you liver is on the ropes about to go down for the count to lend advice and compassion.

Have a nice day.

[JasmineT]

I have never heard you should quite 6 months before treatment.  I have always heard you should not drink at all while you have hep c.  I am told alcohol is like throwing fuel onto a fire, it will kill you much quicker.  You need to stop and you cannot drink during treatment either. A tough reality at first but you can adjust.  I miss my glass of wine.  Shortly after i found out i had hep c (likely for 12 to 30 years)' and before treatment I had a vacation and drank 1 to 2 drinks a night, thinking all those years of not knowing, I would have done so, one last time would be ok.  Came back pooping white, not a good sign for your liver. I am stage 1 but I see the effects and have had symptoms ( no diagnosis unfortunately) for years.  I am on treatment and looking forward to having an occasional glass of wine again without hep c.  

I have not asked the question whether I can drink when I am cured simply because I need to be cured or my life will be shorter and the quality of life will be less for me and my family.  Taking it one day at a time and will see what tomorrow brings.  It's only alcohol.  There is so much more to life.  

The choice is yours but think you already know better than to be asking if  you can continue drinking.  Not hard to find that on the Internet.  Maybe you just need to hear the words again.  Best wishes to you.  If we can do it you can do it.

[alagirl]

Holy cow.  I'm not really legalistic about most of these things, but my understanding is that studies show that alcohol actually helps hcv to spread in your liver.  So... why on earth would any sane person want to facilitate that occurrence before and during treatment?  Wouldn't you want to do EXACTLY the opposite?

Now, once you've reached SVR, then my feeling is that unless you have a terribly damaged liver which you are going to hurt much worse by continued alcohol use, then by all means, enjoy some alcohol.  And I say all this as a practical teetotaler.  It's just that, as long as you aren't letting drinking sabotage your treatment then I don't see that it's really that big of a deal.  Unless you're addicted or something.  And I guess that's something everyone kind of has to figure out on their own.  But if you're not, then cheers.

[HectorSF]

How damaged is your liver? What stage of fibrosis do you have?
Alcohol is toxic to the liver. Depending on how damaged you liver is, it will effect you liver to different degrees.

Why are you going to treat? If you don't want to follow your doctor's advice are you going to follow the treatment protocol as stated by your doctor? It does take come level of personal responsibility to take the meds on time and consistently. If you are not willing to do that, your treatment won't be successful anyway.

You don't appear ready to treat. If you have to drink before, during and after treatment. If you have an alcohol problem seek help now. Once you have that under control then you will be able to apply yourself to treating properly.

Good luck.
Hector

[katla]

Hey Cory-

Alcohol can interfere with treatment so you should ABSOLUTELY NEVER drink on treatment.

My guess would be that almost everyone here will tell you not to drink before treatment either. Alcohol is toxic to the liver. Oddly my hepatologist, who has an excellent reputation, told me I can drink now and then before I treat. But since my liver's not in good shape and I am not capable of stopping after one or two (or three...or four...) I decided to make all possible efforts to distance myself from alcohol. I have been mostly successful.

Drinking after treating is controversial, some doctors think it's find and some would advise not to. My personal feeling is that if your liver is in good shape and you can drink in moderation (I cannot) it's fine.

I'll just add that since this is your first post it seems that this is of significant  concern to you. If you tend to drink a lot (and I'm not saying you do) then perhaps trying to distance yourself may be best.

My life is empty without alcohol and I miss it dearly but as more time goes by the easier it gets.
Wishing you the best of luck!