drinking after tx

[ilene341]

I haven't started tx yet but was told by one of the dr. that once tx was over and I was clear for a year I could drink again. My husband and I are not big drinkers but enjoy wine. Wine tasting and wine with dinner sort of thing. Has anyone heard that this may be possible? I hate that this disease is changing so much of my life. ( I have so little energy, aches and pains and I haven't even started tx) I'm hoping to get the tx over and get back to being me again.

[Rockerforlife]

I will admit that i do achieve SVR after a round of tx i will party like an animal...plain and simple....i do miss a glass of wine as i am a wine maker.

[frijole]

Welcome to the forum -- this looks like your first post. You found a good place for information.

Id say you need to be in tune with your liver.  Sounds corny, doesn't it?
How do you feel the morning after drinking?  To me, it is all about how your liver is processing the poisons you injest, and the alcohol is a poison. When I first tested positive for hep C in 1993 I quit all drinking -- for a year.  After that I decided that it really didn't seem to matter.  But somewhere in the past I noticed that I did not process hard liquour all that well -- maybe hangover is not a good word, but just felt sluggish the next day, so I quit those beloved margaritas but continued with my treasured coronas.  Long story short, after deciding to treat in 2005 I quit all drinking.  I am sure I could drink without ramifications, but why tax a liver under stress -- and my inflammation is only grade 1.  Yours is grade 2.  It is really just a personal choice.
frijole

[nygirl7]

"The less fibrosis you have the faster your liver will return to normal. It is not uncommon to drop one stage during tx..."

Agree with Andomadae-

There is no guarantee your liver will even go down one stage if you do treatment - please understand that once you have liver damage you are not considered a normal person and even moderate drinking CAN damage your liver even further.

Anyone who just complacently figures their hep is gone and their liver is all better is just fooling themself.

Obviously a glass of wine here or there isn't going to hurt anyone but moderate drinking for someone who's already got a damaged liver is no longer considered moderate.

That is only a LOGICAL conclusion.

[Trinity4]

I don't know why Dr. D made the statement on his forum that if you have mild (Childs A) cirrhosis or anything less in the fibrosis score, after SVR it should all go away.  Your liver should return to normal.  I do not agree with that statement and a lot of people on this forum have used that as a gauge when considering drinking and how it will effect them.  Even my doctor who is not a hepatologist made it very clear damage NEVER totally reverses itself.  His speciality is hepatology transplants and I believe he would know something about that.  As you said, logic is the prevailing factor in all of this.  The hell we all go through just to get rid of this disease is based primarily on preventing further damage to our liver - why anyone would want to take a chance of jeopardizing that is beyond me.
Trin

[jmjm530]

If I thought I'd be "jeopardizing" my liver by a daily glass of wine, I would not drink. Two leading hepatologists told me I would not. What they (or another liver specialist) might tell someone else I cannot say. Perhaps you should ask your question to Doctor Dieterich himself.

This gets to be a very emotional topic here for all the obvious reasons. If someone here posts they have a sweet tooth and love drinking Cola's, etc, they will probably get a lot of "me too" responses. Yet, such eating patterns,combined with being overweight, can lead to fatty liver which can potentially accelerate fibrosis more quickly than I'd say a glass of red wine could in an average fit and trim individual. The Sucrose (or is it fructose?) thing happens to be in the Dieterich pro-treatment video btw.

-- Jim

[Trinity4]

This was not directed towards you personally.  If you choose to drink a glass of wine daily so be it.  In the case of Rocker who preaches the "all natural healing lifestyle" to make such a bold statement that he will party like an animal if he achieves SVR is ridiculous.  I've been around long enough on this forum to know the sensitivity issues regarding drinking but I'm entitled to my opinion just as Rocker and everyone else. Your liver damage was the same as mine. You have chosen a different path.  I'm just not going to take any chances - period.    
Trin