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Very Strange Question!!!!

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 8/11/2008 12:17 PM (GMT 0)
I have a very strange question.  Please don't think I am nuts...LOL.

I drank alcohol this weekend.  I do not drink, I am 36 and this is the 2nd time in my life I have had anything.  On Friday night I had 3 bottles of the premixed Mudslides (they were fairly small) and 1 wine cooler.  I was not drunk or anything. and then on Saturday I had the same thing. Yesterday I had just a couple of the mudslides.  Now....for the intersting part.... I didn't have diarhhea all weekend.  It is the first time in my life that I didn't have it.  From Friday night right thru to this morning so far.  And, I ate stuff that usually send me right to the bathroom even before I am done eating.

Now for my question....Does alcohol kill bacteria?  

After this weekend I am really begining to wonder if I have a bacterial overgrowth.  Am I way out of line here???  Please give me your 2 cents.....

The only reason I had the drinks on Sunday was because I was so excited that I didn't have the diarhhea!!!

Thanks 

Posted 8/11/2008 5:41 PM (GMT 0)
Don't worry, it's not a strange question! It actually made me laugh because I thought back to the time when I was so sick in Africa with parasites that the group I was with and I would drink shots of tequila, hoping to kill 'em off! LOL! Think that idea backfired eventually...

No, the alcohol will not kill the bacteria. If anything, the sugar in the drinks you had would ENCOURAGE bacterial growth. Sometimes people do find that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol keeps the guts in check, although most people with IBS would say that alcohol exacerbates the diarrhea.

If I were you, I'd stick to the modest amounts with less sugars (red wine is a good choice), maybe not for your IBS as much as for overall wellness - a glass of red wine a day is healthy for most people!
Posted 8/11/2008 5:53 PM (GMT 0)
OK thanks....I am not crazy about the taste of alcohol but I had a very stressful week and decided I was going to have a drink to "relax" as everyone tells me I should do!!!  I still can not explain why I did not have diarhea all weekend.  That is not at all normal for me.
Posted 8/11/2008 7:17 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes stress brings on bouts of D. Perhaps the alcohol did indeed relax you enough to keep the stress levels from triggering a D attack. Enjoy the D free weekend for the blessing it was!
Posted 8/11/2008 9:07 PM (GMT 0)
There are a few people on here who have had very good success with a shot or two of hard liquor. Haven't figured it out yet, but we think maybe it relaxes the muscles and keeps them from being spastic. In most people alcohol does make D worse, but in those lucky few, it's like a cure.

Which this might mean that a prescription anti-spasmodic might help you.
Posted 8/11/2008 9:48 PM (GMT 0)
It definetly had a positive effect on my husband. Whenever we would go out to eat he would have to go before I was even done with my food, that was like for breakfast or lunch. If we were splurging and had a drink for lunch he didn't have the problem. It never happened for dinner because we always had a drink before dinner. He was not an anxious person at all, very laid back. I think it had more to do with working as an antispasm drug.

Posted 8/11/2008 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
Drinking for me brings on major D.
Posted 8/11/2008 11:29 PM (GMT 0)
Alcohol for me is hit or miss. Usually when I'm out drinking I will pop an Imodium just to be on the safe side. If I'm at home, I'll risk it without Imodium.
Posted 8/12/2008 12:09 PM (GMT 0)

Ok, Here it is Tuesday morning and the diarrhea started again.  I had nothing to drink yesterday.  I woke up this morning and the diarrhea is full bore! 

Gee----IBS or Alcoholism!!!!!  I am almost willing to take the later!!!

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