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Avatar universal

energy shots/drinks and alcohol

Is energy shots and drinks okay when living with hep c?  I probably drink at least one energy drink or shot a day.  The most 4-6 energy shots or 2 drinks in a day.  I also drink beer, I know its not recommended.  Just can't seem to stay away from it.  On average, I drink 12-24 beers a week.  
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4896357 tn?1360670904
You must stop ALL alcohol consumption or you are going to die. Sorry for being blunt. After what your doctor told you, please stop drinking. :(
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am glad you asked me that question ceanothus...had to think...who did tell me that...it was my general practioner many years ago.  I am gullible...and was not as informed...but I didn't think much about it.  After you question I tried to find that old article in Vegetarian Times had a huge article about beer, wine & hard liquor.  So yesterday I went to about 20 websites...and after watching the Sam Adams website on how they make beer and going to Northern Brewer's and a few others I realized I wanted a glass of wine soooooo I went to the health sites and started looking there..

You were right about hops, they are just flavoring but added at least twice in different methods of beer making.  Along with yeast and grains.  In health.org found this:

Cirrhosis is a liver condition that is characterized by severe scarring of liver tissues. This condition results in decreased liver function, which impairs the ability of this organ to filter toxic wastes from your bloodstream, according to Phyllis Balch, author of "Prescription for Nutritional Healing." It also blocks the flow of bile to your intestines, which can decrease absorption of fat-soluble vitamins from food sources. Excess consumption of beer and other types of alcohol is a primary cause of cirrhosis

So seemingly one doesn't seem worse than the other but most beers are higher in calories... However I am not going to make a science of the sugars contents, etc. because I don't want to think about Ginness or a dark red wine....  Creewoman had some good points....
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3211536 tn?1359385569
Oh yeah with that much alcohol start drinking water tons of it and get some milk thistle and vitamins.Don't know if you eat but start with soup yogurt cottage cheese and you can have seizures so you may need to go to DeTox or get some librium or lorazepam(blood pressure goes up with terror of withdrawals.You drink enough that you may have already had them.If not they are not fun.They are terrifying.Go see the Doc 24 hours after you quit or sooner.I used to volunteer at  the Detox and I have seen alot of it.Love yourself you are special and have gifts that were given to you to share ,go find out what they are after you quit.
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3211536 tn?1359385569
Fortified beer is pretty nasty stuff I guess because of the additives.I wouldn't reaaly call it beer,just alcohol with a bad taste.
Many years ago i went to treatment but it was not AA nor did it teach AA priciples.It then was called "Control Theory reality Therapy"Now it is called "Choice Theory.... ...."It was developed and applied by Dr. William Glasser.He first used it on juvenile deliquent girls when nothing else worked.then he discovered it worked on Alcoholics and Addicts.It works for troubled children and can also help physical healing.What I learned was that every human has basic needs and when those are met eg.you can focus on the dreams in your life and how to get them.
If I hadnt been to that type of treatment center I would have died of Heroin addiction annd alcohol.I had nothing but bad experiences with AA.Now I am not putting them down but I am just saying there are treatment centers now that use different approaches to a clean and sober life.
Please get out the phone book.Once the damage is done you can't go back.I have nothing but love and support for the addict and alcoholic,they have a place close to my heart and Jesus so loves the sick and hurt folks suffering from this disease.
Love and Hugs to you "ON the wind"  Snow
Helpful - 0
1840891 tn?1431547793
I'm curious about your statement that beer is the worst because of the hops. Worst in what sense? Most beers have considerably lower alcohol content than wine or hard liquor, and what exactly is supposed to be wrong with hops? I haven't been drinking any alcohol for many years now, but I used to make a great variety of different types of ales, with different types of hops. Hops are simply intensely aromatic female flowers of the Humulus lupulus plant, added to beers for multiple reasons. They have antibacterial qualities and help keep the beer from being taken over by undesirable yeasts and bacterias. I miss the flavor of the different hops far more than I miss alcohol.
Helpful - 0
766573 tn?1365166466
Wow there are so many threads on here that have links to studies showing alcohol causes the virus to replicate.  I put a good one in a thread once. It is a cumbersome search since there are a bunch of articles dated 2005 to about 2009 that show it does not cause viral replication then articles with dates 2011 and forward show it does.

_________
Anywho, the reality is that I probably contracted the virus in the late 80s and drank for years before I finally stopped so I can't judge. I would like to think I would have stopped but I was addicted too so I guess I will never really know. I know it's not easy. It is one of those things you just have to stop when you are ready.

Until then we are here ♫
But man, alcohol is loaded in carbs.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Dear hippiechic7...keep working....of all the alcohols, beer is the worst because of the hops...wine, hard liquor are actually better than beer.  None is best of all.  Know it is hard...love, love, love that occassional glass of dark red wine...and a beer here or there but did I really need them...no. I use to do those monster drinks too and glad I stopped...started taking vitamins and excercising more.  Have almost completely kicked my coco-cola soda addition....and that is saying something.  As an ex bartender I use to stand there and drink constant cokes and kept the habit up with fountain cokes for years.....way too many.  Every one is surprised that I don't drink now, I am not obsessed with chocolate and fountain cokes....you can do it....it just takes some will and the want to to accomplish it and some time....cold turkey or wean yourself off of them.  I decided I'm the boss of me, not these stupid sugary confections.  

Good luck...keep us posted on how you are doing.....you can drink coffee and tea.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for all the adivce.  I drink way more energy drinks than the shots.  As fo beer, I've tried cutting down and can go 1-2 days without craving for a beer.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
AA states that if you have to have one drink, generally at the same time every day...you are an alcoholic.  It does make a difference to YOUR physical state on the amount of what YOU intake.  Your liver has to filter all of that alcohol.  

If drinking in a bar or if you are a smoker it is also processing atleast 8 known poisons...plus coming from an alcoholic home they tend to be overeaters or not selective in what they are eating...so that puts another taxing load on your liver.  

What makes a person a holic of anything is mental and that mental state is what needs to be addressed. I didn't drink until I was almost 30 because of what I had to deal with at alcoholics at home and then only did so socially.

But I was a workaholic which has it's own physical perils.  Some people turn to food...some to drugs...there are many forms.  

As for energy drinks one of the girls that I supervised in our call center decided she had had a long night the night before and drank a small energy container drink and we ended up having to call medics because she went into heart arrest.  

In '96 when they confimed by Hep C and the possiblity of what it could do alone to my liver, I stopped socially drinking cold turkey.  Over the years I'd have a glass of dark red wine (good for your heart right? lol) or a few sips of beer.  Completely gave that up about 5 years ago.

You've only got one liver...without it you won't be able to drink at all...if you are a drinker they won't do a transplant if you need one...being a drinker will keep you off some clinicals too.  So love yourself...grab some water, lemonade, tea or coffee.  Boring I know...but living is good. If you can't cold turkey then ween yourself down to 0.  

I managed bars and restaurants locally and worked as an EMT in ER and sometime would have to help up in detox. I realized that I had to make the decision to eliminate myself from that job style and weed myself away from some of my drinker friends.
  
Figured I was more important than a beer. Still was a workaholic...then and exercise junky...from one extreme to another...that's me.  But sometimes you have to step back and re-evaluate what is important....your life or your friends....your life or your job....your body is the machine that allows you to be able to function....take care of it. Just a thought.
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163305 tn?1333668571
If you want to save your liver, stop drinking. If you can't stop, try AA. There are groups out there to help.
As stated above, alcohol and hep C, is like pouring gasoline on a fire.

Energy drinks aren't liver friendly, coffee is.
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180992 tn?1383374057
You are putting Gasoline on the Fire with all those beers.  Non-alcoholic beers would be a big improvement.  There are many good ones. There is a small trace of alcohol but a big improvement from the self destructive track you are on now.  Once in a while I will have a non-alcoholic beer with Mexican food.  Something about beer with Mexican food that just goes together. Becks, Clausthaler Amber or St Pauli Girl are my favorite. I hate O'douls.  You can continue with your self destructive life or get smart.  You ever read the book "Man against himself" by Karl Menniger? It's and informative analysis of self-destructive behavior and its damning cyclical pattern.
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Avatar universal
No, alcohol is not OK with hep C.
Advocate1955
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253566 tn?1219679699
p.s.s.

coffee, espresso without or just a bit of sugar would be a lot cheaper and healthier than those energy drinks - especially if you got an inexpensive stove top machine.

If you are interested you can ask away for suggestions on inexpensive machines.

Best of luck
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253566 tn?1219679699
"On average, I drink 12-24 beers a week"

Does that mean that sometimes you dream MORE?!?!?! *sometimes less (to be fare).

Oh my. Please stop. I do believe that most would define you as alcoholic and with HepC you and doing great damage to your liver. You should do some reading on how one dies from liver failure!

If I had your situation I would seek out some help. As soon as I learned that I had the C I nearly stopped all drinking and I usually had one beer a week, maybe two. I was lucky that I have never been interested in drinking.

If you can not stop immediately by yourself then please get some help.

p.s. you have taken a great first step by making a post here... dont just stop here.
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3093770 tn?1389739126
Do you know what stage your liver is in?

That is quite a bit of beer, alcohol can accelerate the liver damage. Might be a good idea to do some investigations and see where you are at this stage
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3230925 tn?1397615965
  Your energy drinks won't counter act whit what alcohol does to your liver,nothing will.
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1840891 tn?1431547793
I found it difficult to give up wine after my initial diagnosis with Hepatitis C. My doctor said an occasional drink on special occasions was okay, but then all kinds of little things turned into special occasions. I told myself it was okay because I wasn't drinking heavily and because all my tests pointed at very minimal activity. Then I had abdominal surgery for something else and when I woke up the surgeon informed me that my liver looked every bit as bad as the ones that are discarded during transplant surgery and the wedge biopsy he took confirmed cirrhosis, and he pretty much told me to get things together and make good use of my remaining days. I don't think any of that would have happened if I had not been drinking wine pretty regularly. They say adding alcohol to HCV is like adding gasoline to a fire. Your odds of cirrhosis and related problems are so much higher (and faster) if you are drinking. I've not had more than 3 or 4 mouthfuls of wine in the 9 years since my cirrhosis diagnosis, and I think that is why I've made it this long and am still compensated. BTW, it's much easier to quit it entirely than to try to keep it infrequent. Also, you are lucky that its beer you love rather than wine. There are no non-alcoholic wines that taste good, but there are several NA beers that are very good. I recommend the St.Pauli Girl NA!

I don't know about the energy drinks so I will leave that to someone else.
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