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Remind me why we can't drink...

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Posted 10/3/2017 4:51 AM (GMT 0)
I haven't had a drink of alcohol in over a year. I used to have the occasional glass of wine with dinner and a few at parties. I miss it, but I've been a good girl. Tonight, my husband put an expensive bottle of whiskey in front of me and said it was a "surprise" for me (it was actually a gift from his coworkers to him). I love whiskey. Husband just happened to forget that I can't drink - which I think is very insensitive considering how much I've given up. I'm not the healthiest person in the world here. I'm doing my best. I'm still smoking and working on quitting. It's been a nightmare. Aside from that, I have given up just about everything. I can't go out, I'm stuck at home all day. I swear, if I could drink. I would. But then I started thinking...why can't we drink now and again? I'm guessing it's just rough on the liver. IDK. Can someone please tell me what the actual harm is so I can feel better? Thanks smile

Ugh.
Posted 10/3/2017 5:28 AM (GMT 0)
I had ONE alcoholic drink tonight while dining out with my spouse who actually encourged me to order one, knowing full well I shouldnt. I cannot imagine the temptation with a FULL bottle-LOL!!!

An hour later I had similar symptoms as seen with anaphylactic shock. Its caused by my body producing HIGH histamine. Im intolerant to the histamine itself. I thought one drink would be ok, but nope!

Also, if you are, and have been on antibiotics for a long time, then you likely have candida overgrowth and alcohol feeds it!

Im sorry, I know its tough especially since we give up so much.
Posted 10/3/2017 9:04 AM (GMT 0)
Drinking can intensify and increase symptoms.

Here is a good site.

http://whatislyme.com/why-people-with-lyme-cannot-drink-alcohol/
Posted 10/3/2017 12:39 PM (GMT 0)
Alcohol will feed candida yeast and make your overtaxed liver work even harder to detox. Some folks develop a low tolerance to alcohol before they are even diagnosed with Lyme. So just one drink can get them "fall down" drunk when they use to consume much more. If your brain fog is bad now, a few drinks will make it feel way worse.

With that said, I see no reason why we can't have an occasional drink, especially since we have given up so much of our lives to fight this disease. Just pick your poison wisely by choosing the lowest sugar alcoholic drink. Vodka is better than Rum, Whisky, and sweet cordials. Red wine has less sugar that white wine.

cheers
Posted 10/3/2017 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
Last time I had a beer (a month ago), I was feeling funny by the end of it, weird that night, and terribly hungover the next morning (from ONE glass of beer). If I can control the bad days, I will do anything in my power to avoid them.

I think it's one of those things some people have to learn by themselves. We can warn you, but until you make yourself sick, you won't have the willpower to avoid it. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Also, check your medications. Many require you to avoid alcohol. I was on abx for a UTI years ago and my pushy in-laws insisted I have their homemade wine for Christmas, though I told them NO ALCOHOL. Anyway I gave in and woke up in the middle of the night sure I was going to die. So... if the rx says no alcohol, please just obey and don't learn the hard way.

Lyme is miserable, and we are certainly victims. But there comes a point when you can help yourSELF or hurt yourSELF and the way you treat yourself is your own fault. Take control over what you can.

Test the waters carefully. Maybe you are superman and can handle it. If so, have one for me!
Posted 10/3/2017 1:41 PM (GMT 0)
TinaMax and Flagyl are the two most common Lyme abx that have an alcohol warning. In some people it can cause an Atibuse reaction. Artibuse is taken by alcoholics to avoid all alcohol consumption and makes them violently ill. But not all people have that side effect.
Posted 10/3/2017 1:54 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone! I think my first drink will be when I'm WELL in the clear.
Posted 10/3/2017 2:00 PM (GMT 0)
I can have two drinks when I go out on a Saturday night and I am usually fine. If anything, I might feel a little more sluggish the next day but I can feel like crap on any given day without having any alcohol. So for me there is no rhyme or reason. I do keep the alcohol to vodka though. Its the least amount of sugar and fortunately that's my poison of choice anyway.

I would take it very slow though and see how your body reacts. Everybody is different.
Posted 10/3/2017 2:13 PM (GMT 0)

aphysicalwreck said...
I can have two drinks when I go out on a Saturday night and I am usually fine. If anything, I might feel a little more sluggish the next day but I can feel like crap on any given day without having any alcohol. So for me there is no rhyme or reason. I do keep the alcohol to vodka though. Its the least amount of sugar and fortunately that's my poison of choice anyway.

I would take it very slow though and see how your body reacts. Everybody is different.

Whiskey was my main man. I can't do vodka or champagne - both give me instant headache...even before Lyme. Meh. I'm fine without it for now. I just wish my hubby didn't put that delicious bottle of whiskey in front of me last night. Rude.
Posted 10/3/2017 2:15 PM (GMT 0)
u suffer from an incurable infection where your immune system fights to stay in control. isn't it responsible to do as much as u can to keep it as strong as possible ? alcohol is a sugar, it dampens the immune response, besides that is also liver toxic. to make matters even worse, alcohol will mess up your sleep pattern, so u might get poor sleep, or even worse than it already is.

i tried drinking this summer, it made me feel much worse the next day, even half glass of wine got my symptoms a lot worse.

i will not try that again. it does not worth it.
Posted 10/3/2017 3:28 PM (GMT 0)

10LymeB said...
. I just wish my hubby didn't put that delicious bottle of whiskey in front of me last night. Rude.

Mine will still casually ask if I want a donut or ice cream or something like that. I want to smack him (and boy does he get THE LOOK).

But he truly honestly forgets, and if you think about it, that's a good thing. He sees me as the happy healthy person he married again, not the sick me. If he can remember that I love donuts and chocolate and my happiness for sweet gestures, more than he can remember that I have a miserable illness, that's a victory.

Still annoying. But turn it into a compliment.
Posted 10/3/2017 3:33 PM (GMT 0)
I had a glass of wine here and there while treating lyme. I had no problem. I ate healthy and detoxed like crazy every day. I never overdid it.

You see I think over drinking with my girlfriends was what tipped me over the edge and let lyme run amuck in my body.

I was bit in April, got the bull's eye and it stayed for 3 weeks. I had no idea what a bull's eye was or meant. I live in the forest and there are bugs. I figured I got bit by a different one. I had no symptoms until after I went out drinking too much with girlfriends. That was in June. My first symptom was a sore neck. I thought I had slept on it wrong. Then I just got more and more symptoms.

I wonder if I had not of lowered my immune system by drinking so much, would I have been able to suppress lyme for a long time and not get any symptoms?

Just be super careful with alcohol. mpost really makes it clear what alcohol does that is not good for lyme patients.
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