Effects of alcohol on your IBD

[Crohn2357]

How does alcohol affect your ibd?

 

[Ronald]

I would say it had mild effect on my IBD. However I know that in the long term it could have a possibly severe outcome, like increasing the likelihood that I'll flare again or even the need for surgery.

I'm not an alcoholic, but I would say I have a 'drink problem'. The problem being when I do drink, I drink to the excess and to get drunk, rather than to just be social and have a few drinks. My last flare actually started after drinking (lots and lots of vodka) on New Years eve.

I would LOVE to quit drinking, but in certain situations it's a crutch for me and it's such a social 'norm' here in the UK. People here (generally) don't 'go out for coffee' - they go out for a few pints. There'll be a time I have to, either for my health or because I've done something really stupid, which I often do when I'm drunk. I know that my CD is much better when I don't drink, but the actual effects at the time are mild.

 

[DJW]

I like a beer on a hot summer day. I only have one. Sometimes my output increases a bit.

 

[scottsma]

I haven't had an alcoholic drink for 5yrs.I enjoy the social aspect of drinking and I love a good laugh,
BUT I'm old enough now to worry about the "morning after"

We all hate feeling ill so if you think you might have a problem,is it worth it ?

 

[kristihelene]

I have experimented to see which drinks bother me and which do not. I can have a few light beers or one hoppy beer. I can have a few mixed drinks and be fine the next day, but not more than three. I can have white wine, but red wine kills me.

 

[dave13]

I seldom have alcohol since my resection a year ago.I was a big beer drinker before my blockage.I read in 'Breaking The Vicious Cycle' that alcohol is mainly absorbed in the jejunum,where my blockage was. I don't have the book handy,forgive a more precise reference,it's in there somewhere.

We have such great brew pubs where I live and I will stop in and have a pint once in a while.I do this once every three weeks or so,I know I shouldn't,but I do.I was never a mixed drink person.

The Holidays will be more of a challenge because many people,who normally do not drink,tend to imbibe.To avoid the offer of 'let me get you a drink',I carry a cup with water and some ice when I am at a party.I just show them my cup and say "I'm set,thanks".

Alcohol aggravates my fistulas.An evening of having a few with family or friends is not worth me going through days of inflammation,bleeding and pain.

 

[SarahBear]

Anything I'm used to is no problem unless I were to over-do it. If it's a new drink, it causes me some pain the next morning.

 

[Nancye50]

I'm good with beer and white wine. Red wine is iffy.

 

[Goldilocks]

I'm not much of a drinker, but I haven't noticed any change to my Crohns from drinking alcohol. I did wonder after a local liquor store's "grand wine tasting" if my Crohn's might have an effect on my drinking. I seemed to have a higher tolerance than my mum ... which didn't seem quite right, since I was 22 and have maybe a glass or two of wine a week, and she has a pretty high tolerance (German-Irish heritage, I guess) and has closer to a glass of wine a day. We postulated that maybe I wasn't absorbing the alcohol ...

I've mostly only tried wine and only an occasional drink of liqueur or spirit.

 

[OldCrone]

I live in the land of microbrews so it's hard to admit that beer gives me problems, but I find that if I limit myself to a glass (not a pint, sadly) or drink low gluten or gluten free beer I am fine. Othewise I limit myself to one or two drinks (cocktail or wine) a week just because I had high liver enzymes on the Methotrexate and worry about stirring that up again.

I like to have a drink when I go out to dinner. After some research, including talking to a pyisiologist and clinical pharmacist, it became clear to me that one reason medical folks tell you not to drink is because they cannot know what is the safe and unsafe level at which alcohol becomes dangerous for each person on each medication. So they take a conservative approach and tell you No Drinking.

No Drinking will not harm you

I feel confident that I can enjoy a drink or two a couple of times a week. I feel confident because my body lets me know if it isn't working. I either don't feel well or my lab tests go wonky, but honestly, I've gotten sicker in the past two years from not drinking enough water and getting dehydrated than from my one or three drinks a week.

 

[If*]

NOT WORTH DOING ~ Why tear your body up?? I think it can be even worse on those who have had resection/s.
Alcohol is not a necessary ~

 

[Cross-stitch gal]

I really can't vote on this one, because I've never even tried alcohol.

 

[InstantCoffee]

Until last year I had no reaction to it. As of the end of last year it caused bile in my BMs and severe nausea. I didn't really absorb or digest it. I chugged a pint of rum and hardly got a buzz, and I'm a lightweight.

 

[UnXmas]

I really can't vote on this one, because I've never even tried alcohol.

Same here. Well almost - I have one tiny drink at New Year's and Christmas, but that's about all. By the time I was old enough to drink it, I was ill enough to know it probably would be a very bad idea for my digestive system.

 

[shamrock15]

I guess I am fortunate that alcohol doesn't really seem to bother my crohn's. I do notice an increase in gas for a couple days after having some, but that is about it. I didn't develop drinking habits though because early on I was seriously concerned about it. Wanted to know if I was revisiting my dinner if it was because of alcohol or crohn's.

 

[seengi]

Voted mild negative also on good days a moderate quantity might be fine.
On bad days a beer can send me to the bathroom in less than 5 minutes, red wine is mostly always ok, and spirits makes me pay the day(s) after.

 

[teeny5]

Mild for me...beer can cause terrible gas and bloating. Wine seems ok. Liquor is iffy.