Alcohol consumption and Crohn's

[Kev]

Heres the thing.. Kossy announced his return and stated he'd imbibed a wee bit.. Then I sort of inadvertantly hijacked his 'hello, I'm back' thread to ask whether he experienced any difficulties (aside from the normal anyone would experience) post
imbibing due to Crohns. My apologies, both for implying kossy is an expert in that field and for hijacking the thread. OK? Clear? But my question now to everyone is:

Has anyone experienced a problem (flare-up, relapse, etc..) with their illness that they think has been brought about by the consumption of an alcoholic beverage?

And I don't mean the 'Oh, god, I drank so much that I need 2 bathrooms ASAP' OR
"WHATDAYA MEAN, OCCIFER. I'M NOT AS THINK AS YOU DRUNK I AM!" scenario....
Just subtle or not so subtle signs that moderate or slightly more than moderate consumption has aggravated your condition. Anybody have any insight on this?

 

[devildee(donna2005)LOL]

Hi Kev

touch wood since my ops ive been in remission, and i drink Vodka regular lol im not an alcholic lmao really, i know lots of people in our situation and they alllllllllllllllllll drink hehe , eh Elaine woohoo we do, just need to make sure you are rehydrated after because alchol dehydrates you (((hugs)))

 

[ElaineH]

Yes, well as Donna just pointed out I like a wee drinky or two LOL! Never done me any harm, no ill effects other than the odd hangover when I've imbibed a little too much hehe! :yrolleyes:

The only time it really affects me is if i drink red wine really.. having an ileostomy I find it rather affects the output and makes me quite dehyrated.. needless to say I avoid it like the plague lol!

Elaine x

 

[Kev]

Thanx Ladies for the feedback... I guess everyone else is a freakin teatotaler.. I've a passion for Red wine (spent time in California, grew quite fond of their Merlots).. Most of my modest wine cellar is Red... (go figure).. Anyway, intrigued that Vodka is in the list... Rumor has it that because of the way it's made, it wouldn't be as bad for
a person with IBD as some others... (except the de-hydrating effect common to alcohol).. I was in remission for a couple of months after my last op... (thought I was cured, or so the surgeon told me).. Relapse came along.. wondering since if my occasional glass of amber ale had something to do with it (hindsight can be blurry too).. Any tea totallers out there who have knowledge/insight on this???

 

[mikeyarmo]

Most of the meds in the past I have been on have made me avoid alcohol. Otherwise when I was allowed to have some it did not affect me adversly. Of course this was during a time when my CD was not too severe, so it is really hard to say for sure.

 

[DannyB]

I find that Jack Daniels affects my guts a bit but apart from that I can drink a fair bit upto passing out and wake up with no adverse reaction apart from a stiff hangover LOL.

 

[Kev]

Hey Danny, thanx for the input... Let me ask a stupid question (yeah, right, like I know any other kind)... You live in Scotland, yet drink American Sipping Whiskey?
Any wonder that it affects your guts... Oh, I shouldn't make comments like that. I mean no dis-respect to my neighbours to the south.. But come on, single malt or even blended scotch Vs Jack Daniels? Hmm. Well, in Scotland it would be imported
versus home grown. I guess I can see the rationale in that light.. But, if you ever come to my neck of the world, for God's sake NEVER, EVER tell a soul you do that!
OK? My favourite bartender Toni would probably lose control and punish you bad!
And Toni is a handful when she's angry.

 

[mikeyarmo]

Hey Kev I read a bit about Alcohol and IBD sufferers today...

Alcohol can (for some) cause dirrhea. It will affect the intestinal tract in everyone, but that may not show any symptoms (like cramping). It also reduces your folic acid absorption, which is something that a lot of people with IBD are low in anyways.

In the end though I would not listen totally to what others have felt and use my personal experience to determine what I will and will not eat or drink.

 

[Kev]

Hey Mikeyarmo... Thanks for the input, and the sanity check. I've been doing some research too. It's off the net, so I can't attest to it's validity, but from what I have gathered... If an alcoholic beverage contains the word 'cream' in its description, it may contain milk or milk products.. (lactose). Oh, and what did you think they meant by Creme de Cacoa? Still researching on other's (vodka, whiskey, etc., etc..) I MAY come across as a silly old sod with too much free time on my hands... but I figure... Hey, if I can do a little leg work and avoid 5 days to a week spent in the crapper due to a flare-up, so much the better.

 

[mikeyarmo]

One other thing. I was seeing a nutritionist for a while who was keen on a product called Primal Defense. She said that she knew of someone who only took the product in the summer, as he felt that if he took the product before he drank beer he did not experience any problems.

I believe primal defense is a type of probiotic, but I am not sure of its actual contents.

 

[Kev]

Hmmm, that's interesting... Leads me to suspect that (aside from negative effects of alcohol consumption leading to dehydration AND beers overall gassy nature) it may have something to do with yeast in beer.. Yeast is a probiotic, but it appears to be one that our bodies don't need/like. Hmmm, be interesting to see if anyone experienced a problem with other items that may still have active yeast, such as fresh bread. Topic for another thread someday.

 

[thatgirl]

long before i knew i had crohn's but around the time i lost my appetite and started having indigestion i started getting divorced from alcohol...first i couldn't drink brown liquor...but i could drink anything else...then i had to give up hard liquor all together and i was left with beer and champagne...not a wine fan...and then i was dry...alcohol and my crohn's do not mix

 

[Valentina]

Im usually OK with it, I tend to not want to jump in as much as I used to and get blasted, but I think thats just because the "hangover" can be very similar to a crohns day, and Ive had enough of those to last a lifetime
as long as I eat during my blitz, and drink lots of water, Im usually OK.

 

[Kate]

i get some D for afew days after wards but thats it

 

[Kev]

Weirder & weirder... Or is it? From the other stuff I've turned up thru a number of sources, seems that if you have a digestive dis-order, or an auto immune disorder,
your symptoms may display a little cross-over... Some people with IBD may display
symptoms more commonly associated with Celiac (sp?) after consuming alcohol. I ain't proporting there's a link between these different illnesses.. Seems that some
alcoholic beverages are made from rice (thought only Japanese sake was) but its just another common misconception.. And white rice has little/no gluten or fibre. to a Celiac, the gluten is the big problem.. To a crohnie, it might be the fibre. or the yeast... Thinking back, I realize I have been sensitive to fresh made bread for quite some time... Now, some filtration systems are supposed to remove all yeast or other particulate matter (miniscule fibre in liquid suspension) but what if your auto-immune issue made you hyper sensitive to it? Like a person with allergies?

 

[AisForAlexa]

Mmm well iam sure my week long partying/drinking binge is what put me in the hospital the last time...blahh

 

[Skinsfan1229]

Drinking has never given me a problem, during or the next day or in the long run either. I usually can tolerate any food though at the same rate.

 

[GeoGiGi]

Beer hits me really hard and I would buy the yeast trigger theory. Like your CA wines, cutting beer was a real hardship... but a necessary one.