Endo and alcohol

[ShannonMarie1993]

I've noticed that after I drink alcohol I become in pain with the endometriosis. Has anyone else noticed this connection?

[applebird]

Yep

- Alcohol interferes with your immune system (hence why you're more likely to get a cold etc. after a night on the town).

- One endo theory (that I'd agree with) is that it's autoimmune. So if you take alcohol lowering your immune function further it makes sense that endo gets worse - I've always found it so.

[Wasowski]

Yeah I have noticed that. I mentioned it to my previous consultant but he was a bit baffled by it as he hadn't heard anyone complain of that problem before

[Lms8]

Yes, I have found that alcohol (like soya and flaxseed) are a definite no no for me - they cause almost instant flare ups and with soya it is sometimes so bad I almost pass out coz of the pain!! Dairy and gluten make my IBS worse. If you are on facebook you may want to look at the Endometriosis Research Centre's Diet and Nutrition Sub-grop. There are also some v. interesting discussions on this forum under the topic 'Endo diet'

LM

[Starstellar7]

Yes it's because it's an inflammatory. Beer and wine affect me the worst as gluten sets me off and I think sulphites in white wine do as well.

Vodka seems to less bad but still gives a hangover. I hardly drink anymore anyway as I feel so awful afterwards.

[ShannonMarie1993]

Thanks for your comments everyone 😃

[Brownlow]

Alcohol also puts pressure on the liver which is very much involved in endo. If the liver is overloaded with an evening's worth of alcohol to detox then it will have less capacity to function normally and deal with all the other nasties that need to be eliminated. Alcohol also raises oestrogen but I don't know the mechanism. Oestrogen drives endo.

I drink very little now. When I do, I opt for organic sulphite free red wine in small amounts. Sainsburys does a nice Cabernet Sauvignon that is organic and free of sulphites and it's not too expensive. About £6 I think. It has a screw top lid so you can keep it for a while...i.e. not drink the entire bottle in one night!

Giving up/reducing alcohol has been liberating. No more hangovers and I save money too!

[gemp54]

It definitely causes me problems. I seem so much worse after drinking the night before and seems to take ages to settle back down again plus I get really grotty feeling hangovers now feel so tired for days after. Xx