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.

[rita863]

I dont know what the medical advise would be, but after going through this tx, and keep in mind i never drank at all, i would not ever chance it.  Thats just me..

Once i am through with this and achieve SVR.....I will be living my life!!!  drinking socially for me was never something i did.


Good luck

peace
rita

[Fl_Gator]

I am in week 5 of tx...I am looking forward to SVR and resuming my life as well. I will drink again after SVR and ample time to heal with the advice of my doctor. I don't drink alot either some beer and wine usually with dinner.

Your liver will heal if you have no scaring. The less fibrosis you have the faster your liver will return to normal. It is not uncommon to drop one stage during tx...Please know what stage you are when you start tx...also make sure you give your liver ample time to heal and look into alternative supplements that promote healing. If you have cirrhosis don't drink.

There is no alternative meds that will cure HCV but there are a lot of things that you can take to heal.

Gator

[mar148]

I agree completely.

[Trinity4]

I don't advocate drinking for anyone who has this disease but an occasional drink has been discussed and seems many are in agreement that it will not hurt you.  However, anyone with stage 3 and above should avoid alcohol.   Too much damage to the liver to take any chances.
Trinity

[jmjm530]

After my SVR (cure) the doc suggested a glass of red wine with dinner to elevate my HDL cholesterol. He said there should be no liver issues. I was somewhere around stage 3 when I started treatment. YMMV and check with your own doctor who is familiar with your medical records. If you don't think your doc knows any more than you do, try and find a doctor who does know more.

-- Jim

[Andromedae]

There's obviously a lot of though both ways on the issue.  Check with a doctor or two and see what they say.  There are so many factors to consider.  Certainly if you have some degree of liver damage then alcohol may never be on the plate for you.  Only your doctor can tell you for sure and then only after reviewing your particular stats (blood work, liver biopsies, etc).

Certainly the overall safest course of action is to not drink at all.

[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

[jmjm530]

I"ve long since stopped taking things personally here even when directed at me :) and btw I did not feel your response was directed to me, but thanks anyway for the clarification.  It's just that since you brought up Dr. D's name, I thought it might be a better question (and more enlightening for the group)  addressed to him since he answers them in the professional forum. At the end of the day, I don'tg believe his comments and your docs opinions would be that far apart, but I could be wrong because docs do disagree on their advice.

[Rockerforlife]

I believe i went to far in saying ill party like an animal...i guess its just that i would like too,but now after reading a few peoples opinions....i think i may have jumped the gun here,sorry...i bet we all would like to have a wild party after SVR....after reading NYG`s.post ...ive smarten up...thank you...just feelin anxious proberly knowing that im good to go starting tx july 25....i may even change to a later date...what i should have said was i wiill celebrate with a glass off wine...actually my life is a lot better since i stopped boozing 3 years ago this Aug 20....my name is Ron im  alcoholic.

[Rockerforlife]

Maybe the liver will totally repair itself years after SVR,who knows...with all this stem cells research,growing new organs and stuff i know some people out think im a health nut quack,BUT....im a firm believer in stem cell research...ive mentioned here before too that i take a stem cell product that boosts my own adult stem cells from my own bone marrow....i know...sounds too far fetched...but i have prove it works...my friends and family take it and there artiritis ...sore joints etc...all disappeared...i just wish some people out there wound give this a chance....even taking a weeks supply you will see a big change...they have sample packs too...works for me...im a happy camper.

I WANT FEEDBACK ON THIS.

[jmjm530]

Hopefully we can untangle the "repair" issue from the more emotional "alcohol" issue.

From all I've read and heard, the SVR liver will most probably repair itself to a state that is "normal" for all practical purposes. As to *totally* repair itself, that may be too much to ask of any liver over the age of 20 -- HCV or not -- given all of the daily insults, including diet, pharmaceuticals, cleaning fluids, environemental toxins, etc. Fortunatly, the liver seems to function quite well in most cases except with decompensated cirrhosis, so a "totally" repaired liver is somewhat mute. What SVR confers in most cases is a stoppage or regression of fibrosis. And assuming you're not decompensated, this should be a result we all should be happy and live normally with. My liver specialist said I have no restrictions, period, as compared to if I never had HCV. YMMV and your physician may vary.

-- Jim

-- Jim

[Rockerforlife]

Jim...with you saying this makes one want to party like Jim Belushi...but i will control my self.

[mikesimon]

Alcoholism should probably preclude any drinking - SVR or not.... and with or without any stem cell supplementation. Mike

[jdwithhcv]

You make an excellent point.

[jmjm530]

I agree with the above posters. If you are really an alcoholic, then even an occasional drink can put you in danger of going over the "safe" limit, which has been quantified in various studies if you want to research it. At least that's my impression from the little I've read on the subject. On a personal note, I used to be addicted to cigarettes and smoked 1-2 packs per day. Believe me, if I could have a cigarette now and then -- after dinner for example -- I would. But I don't, because I know that even having one cigarette would put me back at 1-2 packs per day within a month or so. Know your limits and act accordingly.

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

Another example would be after *** except that smoking has become so socially unacceptable these days that you'd probably have to have *** with yourself in order to get permission :)

[jdwithhcv]

I can't believe they filtered out the word "$ex"  This censorship has become egregiously offensive, in my opinion.

I'm another former 2 pack/day smoker and I agree, I would not dare light one up.  Worked way too hard kicking that habit to ever take the risk.

jd

[mikesimon]

You've really raised some very intriguing points.Perhaps an elaboration or an elucidation   would be helpful here. Mike

[mikesimon]

I see now. The censorship obscured the meaning. Mike