Few beers

[cliffsills]

Hello everyone. I'm new on hear. Just a quick question. I have had ra for about a year now and it's been hard to say the least. Things have been gradually getting better with my new meds (cimzia) plus a whole host of others. Went out last night to a family party had 2 points of larger and feel terrible again. Would it be the drink or just a bad day.

[Hidden]

it could be both, hope you had a good time .its a long hard road with rd it has almost turned me to drink being a tea total all my life ,grab the fun while you can, live life to the fullest for its all too short

[IainM]

Hi and welcome, I don't stop myself from having a few beers ever, I know some do and to be honest everyone makes their own choices, my Rheumy said it was entirely up to me, if I feel upto it I have a few, and if I don't feel good I wont, I can't say I feel any worse the next day because of my RD, I'm sute you will find your level and what you can and cannot do..one things for sure is I can't consume the same amounts. And my liver tests are pretty much always the same even after a drink

[woodstar1 in reply to IainM]

This is great to read!! I start mtx injections tomorrow and the thought of never having a beer again is not good. I will of course make sure I'm settled on the meds before trying. Thanks again.

[nomoreheels in reply to woodstar1]

I'd leave it a good while before you have alcohol when only just starting MTX as your liver function test could show a false rise from the beer. Best for them to get clear liver results for you early days so they can see how it reacts to the drug. If not they may unnecessarily reduce your dose if the LFT rises from your norm.

[woodstar1 in reply to nomoreheels]

Thank you and I will. Just nice to hear that life goes on. Having been petrified of starting this drug I hope that the injections are the best way to go and will work for me has it has others. My nurse reckons the injections work quicker and more efficiently than tablets so fingers crossed for my big day tomorrow!!!

[nomoreheels in reply to woodstar1]

I've certainly noticed a difference in injections & do well on it, hope you do too.

Once your levels are known all you can do is try, life as you say does go on & there's little point denying yourself a drink, just keep to the recommended limits but always better not to have one the day before your monitoring blood test even when you've been on it a while so your ALT level reads true without the alcohol.

You're fortunate that you've been offered injections as your intro to MTX. Hope all goes well & you find it works for you as well as it does for me.

[woodstar1 in reply to nomoreheels]

I suppose I've been an awful patient but now I've got my head around things and can feel things getting worse (I was diagnosed in May and refused mtx) I don't want my 4 girls to see me give up!! This forum and you guys have been absolutely amazing, real people giving real advice, thanks again ALL of you.

[nomoreheels in reply to woodstar1]

Even more reason to wish you success & that the experience of others can help reach a decision. I've benefited from that too & it really helped me come to a commonsense decision I really knew was right all along but needed reasurance. That's the beauty of the site, we can all share our experiences, fears & best of all successes, well hopefully since the new introduction of sharing buttons!

[Hidden]

I wouldn't have thought 2 pints of lager would have done any harm. But then I don't know anything about Cinzia. Might you perhaps have got dehydrated? Nice cool lager quenches the thirst but would still dehydrate you I suppose, same as any alcohol but you wouldn't notice. Plus there's the hot weather .....

I know it's advisable to drink plenty of water with quite a few RA meds, I've heard that said many times about mtx, maybe it's the same with Cimzia?

[cliffsills]

Thanks everyone for replying. Think It was just a bad morning as the rest of the days been fine. Even took my daughter and the dog out for a walk. A good walk for about an hour. Could never have done this a month or so ago. At last I'm starting to get a life again and long my this be the case. Hope the same can be said (if not now in the near future) for each and every one of us.

[Sunflower62]

When i was on the cimzia injections i was advised it was fine to drink in moderation. There are no warnings like others drugs telling you not too. Some people on here with RD have found different drinks set a flare up off i guess much the same as different foods set us off hey...

Life is not a trail run... Xx

[Hidden]

Hi cliffsills,

I have put a link here for you to our article on Cimzia. There is a section in it about alcohol consumption.

nras.org.uk/cimzia-certoliz...

Hope this helps,

Best Wishes

Sally (NRAS Helpline)

[dbestdeb]

Try drinking wine instead of beer. Last time I drank beer, I could barely move for three days. I've since given up all grains and feel so much better.

[mary53]

Hi Just read your post. i too went out on Saturday and felt pretty bad the next day. I thought it could have been due to having had a late night. Who knows?

[stoneman]

I don't drink and I think on my medication it's a good thing, to change the subject quickly I am a clinical psychologist and I advise my clients not too take anti depressants and drink! because the medication stops working when mixed with even the smallest amount of alcohol, I am not a medical doctor so I have no views on other medication like ours however alcohol is a poison something that maybe lots of us should take into consideration