My husband has just been diagnlosed with RA. He's a man who likes a beer, would this affect him?

[Chivers]

[Hidden]

depends on his medication moderate drinking is ok but leflumonide and methotrexate are both toxic to the liver even before alcohol so drinking a lot will affect the liver even more x

[Chivers]

Waiting for blood test results so no idea what meds he is likely to get. Will bear in mind thank you

[jeanabelle]

I was quite fond of a pint of Irish cider ( nothing like it for thirst on a sunny day) myself. I didn't drink everyday but I did maybe twice a week. When I was put on MTX my rheumy nurse called me in and asked how much I was drinking. She told me that the MTX had attacked my liver and I had to stop drinking at altogether. As I would have done anything for relief I did stop completely. I was eventually taken off MTX because of the effect on my liver even though I was drinking nothing at all. I have been on many different bio's since and can now take a drink every now and then, a pint of cider on an occasion or a glass of a nice red with a meal but nothing more than that. I was in so much pain for so long to be honest a drink was the last thing I wanted. Hope this helps. Jean.

[Chivers in reply to jeanabelle]

Thanks Jean all the best

[Fredthered]

I use to love few pints .but when I was diagnosed and put on metx and a few others I was advised to ease off the drink which I did.ive been on humira for 5 years now and don't drink at all don't think I could handle a hangover along with the pain.

[Hidden]

Hello there. I'm on the highest dose of Methotrexate & try not to drink. But sometimes I do go quite a lot over the recommended units due to chronic lack of willpower. I have blood tests every fortnight & usually pick up the results & check them myself, just in case my GP misses something or forgets to notify me of a problem. So far (over 2 years) I've got away with these occasional lapses.

However I've read that Methotrexate and other DMARDs that are toxic to the liver are more likely to cause a problem if the liver is already damaged by many years of drinking. And it gets quite complicated because, as I understand it, it's possible to have some degree of even long-standing liver damage without any signs or symptoms.

So from what I've read so far I feel I can't afford to become complacent. My liver appears to be holding up but I think things can change very suddenly. So all in all I just keep trying to keep to all round healthy living ........ and as it happens my RA does seem to respond very well to a really healthy lifestyle.

If your husband is prescribed drugs that affect the liver he should get fairly comprehensive advice about alcohol limits from his Rheumy or Rheumy nurse. But proceeding with caution seems advisable anyway .... RA is such a fussy so & so!

So sorry to hear of his diagnosis & hope things go very well for him. Luce xx