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How does ostomy plumbing react to hard liquor & wine ?

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Posted 7/1/2013 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
I hardly ever touched alcohol in my last decade of UC- literally can count my experiments on two fingers- it flared my UC so i stayed away from it. Now I am looking forward to enjoying it on the odd social occasion now. Have not yet touched any since I ditched my colon. Does hard liquor- eg a scotch on the rocks or a vodka with something- or wine cause ones output to liquify for a half day or so as would be the case for eating a very sugary desert to a bunch of chocolate? Just curious. I know alcohol dehydrates and requires compensating with rehydration, so I am guessing that it does have the same effect of sugar, drawing fluid from the body into the small gut. Just wondering what others experiences have been. A beer would be nice now and again too but I am tending to think that it would produce a lot of gas.
Posted 7/1/2013 2:33 PM (GMT 0)
When I had my temp ileo, I didn't drink, so I can't answer that question. However, subsequent to being reversed (and I should mention I have a regular colon and not a j-pouch), I did drink some wine a couple of times. Each time, because of the dehydrating effects of the alcohol, I ended up with a small bowel obstruction. So the moral of the story for me was either not drinking wine or, if I did, to drink gallons of water along with it.
Posted 7/1/2013 2:44 PM (GMT 0)
I drink beer and wine and have no problems. Of course as you mentioned, you must remember to stay hydrated.

for me wine does tend to gush through a bit. So I use it when I have a partial blockage!
Posted 7/1/2013 3:05 PM (GMT 0)
I didn't have a problem drinking when I had my end ileostomy. Remember I'm teeny tiny (haven't gained back my UC weight either) so I never had more than two drinks, and my output would be liquidy for a bit afterwards, but nothing to write home about. I don't drink beer so these were all either wine or liquor.

The loop ileostomy is a different animal. I've had sips of drinks here and there but didn't have a full drink of my own until last weekend when I had one margarita. Not gonna lie, I'd say my rate of output doubled. I was up twice in the night (usually I get up once per night) before 3 AM, so I had to take a "booster" Imodium just to get some rest. I don't like taking more than six Imodium per day because when I used to take 7 or 8 I would get partial obstructions, so for now I am just avoiding alcohol rather than trying to compensate. I only have 30 days left anyway :-O

For you Pro, I think with time you should be good to go. Are you taking Imodium on a regular basis now or just using thickeners? If I were you and I wanted to have a bourbon (yummm) I would pop an Imodium, make sure to eat a meal, and go for it. Over time you're going to adapt more and it will be even less of an issue I'm sure. Are you still leaning hard towards keeping the ileo? Any plans for your rectum?
Posted 7/1/2013 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
I actually do just fine with beer and do not experience any bloating/gas from it yeah

Anything with hard liquor is another story, for me, and I get dehydrated/hung over even with one drink mad

You'll just have to try different ones and see how they work for you. Have fun!!
Posted 7/1/2013 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not a big drinker but I enjoy wine now and then. I don't notice any difference now than when I had my colon.
Posted 7/1/2013 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
Pro
I drink freely. I drink blackberry brandy with blackberry juice. Also rum with canada dry ginger ale. Also wine. I have a few bottles of blackberry wine and 18 bottles of reisling left. I make my own wine 5 gallons at a time. I never see any difference in output or any side effect. I live on a lake. Nothing like a pontoon cruise with a drink in hand.

No beer. Just don't care for beer.

Dan
Posted 7/2/2013 12:42 AM (GMT 0)
I flared too prior to the ileo whenever I drank. Now I do just fine with wine and some malt liquors. I haven't gotten too ambitious with the other stuff yet. One thing, as others have said; stay hydrated. I basically have a glass of wine in one hand and a glass of water in the other.
Posted 7/2/2013 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
When I drink I eat some chips before I go to bed and drink water, and as soon as I get up I eat more chips and drink lots more water. Seems to help the hangover from being as bad. I guess the salt in the chips helps absorb the water.
Other than that I don't have a problem drinking, except for the horrible pain I get sometimes, but I asked the surgeon and he says it's nothing to do with the ileo.
Posted 7/2/2013 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
I couldn't hold my drink with Crohn's, without Crohn's, with an ileostomy or without an ileostomy. But I have drunk beer and wine in the past couple of days and been fine and dandy within my limits.

PS: Forgot to include a bacardi and Diet Coke, too.

Output didn't increase even slightly. But I think it's lessened overall anyway.

Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 7/1/2013 7:30:21 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/2/2013 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
Idon't rememberthat having a stoma changed anything about drinking alcohol. I'm a light drinker, socially, at dinner sometimes, rarely alone. Mostly wine, occasionally a whiskey (mmmm) and almost never beer.
Now that I have a j-pouch, I read things about people waking up in a little pool of their own poo if they went to bed drunk. But I haven't gone to bed drunk yet, well ok once but nothing happened. But aside from that one time I haven't had more than 2 glasses of wine at a time, and don't see a difference in output, gas, or anything at all.
Posted 7/2/2013 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
Back when I had a temp ostomy, my nurse encouraged 1 glass of wine, white preferably. She strongly discouraged me from drinking beer (yeast, carbonation) and other alcoholic beverage. So I stuck to her advice and didn't regret it. On a given week, I may have had 2 glasses of wine if we socialized. She also strongly encouraged fruit juices such as white grape or apple. She said white wine was close in nature and would go down and thru my system smoothly.

Ironically now I hardly ever drink.
Posted 7/2/2013 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
Back when I had a temp ostomy, my nurse encouraged 1 glass of wine, white preferably. She strongly discouraged me from drinking beer (yeast, carbonation) and other alcoholic beverage. So I stuck to her advice and didn't regret it. On a given week, I may have had 2 glasses of wine if we socialized. She also strongly encouraged fruit juices such as white grape or apple. She said white wine was close in nature and would go down and thru my system smoothly.

Ironically now I hardly ever drink.
Posted 7/2/2013 7:24 PM (GMT 0)
Pro Now I know you're feeling good. Wanting a drink is how I guage when I'm back to par !!!

I had no problems with beer at all with the stoma but now that I have the j pouch, I find it a little less tolerable.
Posted 7/2/2013 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, everyone, great to know.

@pluot- yup I am sold on end ileo, really enjoying it and have no plans for any more surgery. To be honest, my only plans for the rectum are to have annual surveillance on it- that was my plan for life for my entire colon had I not done surgery at all. Rectum has been completely quiet- tiny bit of mucus comes out about once a month.
Posted 7/3/2013 3:39 AM (GMT 0)
annual surveillance, lol!
We are going on a cruise next week and I will be sure to drink some extra pina colados, for research for you of course :D Usually I only drink 2 a day, but I think I might bump it up to 4, just so I can come back with knowledge on how it reacts on a boat. That might be important one day.
Posted 7/3/2013 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
Summerstorm, please record your research results accurately and report back!
Posted 7/7/2013 4:04 AM (GMT 0)
I had a colostomy in late May. Had been curious how a drink would affect me, so I had 2 vodka/cranberry drinks. Cleaned me out within an hour!

Oh well, I'll wait til right before the next holiday to try it again! Sure would be nice to have a drink or two when I feel in the mood to socialize.
Posted 7/7/2013 3:21 PM (GMT 0)
Lincee it was probably the cranberry juice. Try something without juice. Maybe a lemon drop or a martini.
Posted 7/11/2013 2:52 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you, Summerstorm! I'm very shy and hate attending functions unless I can have a drink (noooo, not more than two!) I don't drink soda, so I"ll have to come up with some other mixer. Martini - no way, I'd be under the table on HALF a drink!
Posted 7/14/2013 6:14 AM (GMT 0)
Hard liquor didn't do anything as far as the ileo is concerned. It's no different then when all the plumbing was there. I don't drink much so that may have something to do with it.
Posted 7/16/2013 12:54 AM (GMT 0)
I have returned from my cruise, and as promised I took one for the team and had some drinks for research purposes :)
Everyday lots of rum, no change in output. I did however learn that 6 shots in 2 hours leave you drunk the next morning,lol.
So drink away people!
Posted 7/16/2013 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
great research project- thx Summerstorm, lol. i may try scotch rocks one of these evenings methinks. I do have a bad feeling about beer though- i suspect way too gassy... which is a shame as I am planning on a trip to Germany this fall and delicious German sausages really need some good German beer in an ideal world. we'll see
Posted 7/16/2013 1:54 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't had any problem with beer either.
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