My third month on 15mg mtx injections aswell as my daily dose of sulfa and hydroxy ...so Im asking what is the safest limit of wine to drink as after a hard week at work I like a bottle of rose to relax. Is the strong stuff at 13vol bad for me or can I drink the weak stuff at 7vol. My last blood test did not show any liver problems and read milk thistle or beetroot juice is good for cleansing the liver but I hope I am not playing with fire and have read a few posts and get mixed answers so any advice would be welcome.
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Frankiefocus
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Hi I take 15mg of MXT too. I was told by my consultant at diagnosis no more than 6 units of alcohol per week. However I was so ill I went off alcohol completely. I've just started having a couple of glasses of wine per week - though can't drink my usual red at all so have swapped to rose. If you are having regular bloods and are sensible with it all will be well.
This is the NRAS guidance, which says that 14 units may be safe. But makes clear that the study did not factor in the dose of MTX. Each person also has different characteristics like being very small, or other things that could stress out the liver.
What you must ‘t do is binge drink, so try to keep under 3-4 glasses at any one time.
7% is much better for you than 13%! I didn’t drink at all to start with, and slowly tried out whether it would have an effect. My blood results stayed ok, so now I have a drink a couple of nights a week - with food and usually 12% or less.
And really the whole idea of cleansing your liver is nonsense. Yes alcohol and other toxins pass through digestive system and are dealt with my the liver, but generally what you eat and drink is broken down into it’s constituent units. And milk thistle has no reliable evidence of being effective for liver conditions, so save your money and buy a nicer bottle of wine instead.
I get how certain foods contain particular constituents that are bioactive, so have an effect on you when they are absorbed in your intestine. But I seriously do not understand how this can “cleanse your liver” given that the liver is at a much later stage in the digestive process and is fed by blood.
Your liver is fed by two blood veins, one comes via your digestive system and contains some by-products of digestion - generally everything you eat and drink is broken down into basic molecules like proteins/amino acids, fatty acids,sugars/glycerol and soluble vitamins/minerals. It doesn’t receive any stuff you eat directly.
The liver has as one of its core functions a detoxifying role, cleansing the blood if you like, not vice versa..
I went off alcohol shortly before I was diagnosed and have not touched any now for over 2 years. I don't miss it at all and find the taste quite awful now. I was a keen wine drinker and memeber of a wine tasting club, with quite a nice stash of wine before becoming ill.
It is important to have your regular blood tests to make sure your liver and kidneys are coping with all the meds. Alcohol does add more stress to them, but some people seem to manage to take alcohol without upsetting the apple cart. I guess you will find your own level of what your body will cope with.
Thanks Mmrr sadly I do love wine but I have cut it down alot since diagnosed RA last year. Pity I have to take so many meds now but keeping a close look on my blood tests will be a must for me now.
My rheumy said I could have 2 units a day, which is about 1 x 175ml glass of wine. I certainly wouldn’t recommend the 3-4 glasses that helixhelix suggested as that is definitely binge drinking. Binge drinking is anything over 6 units, which is just under 2 x 250ml glasses. If you did drink to that level you risk your LFTs rising and potentially being stopped taking MTX, which I’m assuming it’s helping, so not something you would want
I stopped drinking completely after RA onset - was not hard. Occasionally have a glass of zero alcohol beer. Wine now tastes awful. Dont miss it at all. Think I am better off without alcohol. I substitute other drinks such as a wicked glass of quality lemonade or very indulgent lemon lime and bitters.
Alcohol makes me ill now, especially if I drink on the days after I take my Mtx. So I take my Mtx on Wednesday and avoid alcohol till at least Friday. If I have a few the other 5 days, I don’t feel as bad. I mainly just have a couple of beers here and there, as I can’t tolerate the hard stuff much anymore—besides the occasional margarita or 2.
Georgina that is not true, unless you have liver problems and that would be picked up in your regular blood tests. They used to say don’t drink ( 20+ years ago when I started on it) but that’s not the case any more, I recently checked 😊
When I was first diagnosed, my doctor said to avoid alcohol, but I told her that probably wasn’t going to happen because it happened to be the same week as my birthday and Thanksgiving 😄. She understood. She said if my liver functions started showing up too high, we’d visit this again. So far, all is well.
I was told not to drink alcohol----at all by my Rheumatologist....BUT, I listened to my husband! I do have one glass of white wine each night at dinner........and my liver functions are GREAT! Gotta LIVE!
Everyone metabolises the two differently so the only way to tell if you can tolerate both is to experiment. I would advise if you do it's not by high ABV bingeing otherwise you may get a false negative result & deprive yourself when it may not be necessary!
I don't drink basically because we're not pals so if my liver results are off after an increase in MTX or one of my other meds eliminated hepatically I know for sure it's that or the other.
Some Rheumys are old school & prefer their patients on MTX to avoid alcohol completely. If yours is fine with it I think as long as you're honest with him/her as to how many units a week you're drinking & it's not affecting your LFT's then all should be well. If they're on the rise there's no point having your dosage reduced because your units are considered acceptable when in truth they're not! In reality if your values are within acceptable range then having a couple of glasses of wine of a Saturday & Sunday isn't too bad is it?
The only real test is to try, see if you're fortunate & able to drink what you enjoy & are comfortable with. In all seriousness though bingeing on MTX really isn't the best idea... not that I'm suggesting you would but it makes sense to keep your liver as happy as possible given fatty liver isn't unknown should you stay on MTX long term (sulfasalazine too) so it makes sense to have as healthy liver as possible.
Hi FF - When I was on MTX, I averaged 1 glass a night I think, and kept my bloodwork up religiously. Granted, when I stopped the MTX, my liver profiles improved by about 10 points, but they were never out of line. When I say average, I mean I might have had 2 on Friday and Saturday and none or just one other nights. Just watch what you body is doing..
I am also on 15mg of mtx and steroids, I will have the occasional glass of wine or gin and tonic but to be honest I find that my symptoms flare up when I have it, I noticed last time I had a gin and tonic my feet hurt afterwards, so I'll see if I keep having g it. I think so long as your being careful, keeping in the limits and having the blood tests, they can keep an eye on you.
My rheumy told me that one glass of red wine a few days a week was fine. I have been actually doing some other drinks (margaritas and vodka/soda) on occasion and have stopped that because I feel sick afterwards. I have been on Methotrexate (pills, 17 mg per week) since March for Psoriatic Arthritis. I certainly would hate to not have my red wine, Pinot Noir. It is amazing how doctors advise differently on this subject.
Hi, I went off alcohol completely, my consultant said it doesn’t mix well with MXT and can really make you ill. Have come off MTX because of repeated infections, so have to see how it goes. Had my first drink after three years.
I read somewhere, (Can't recall where,but think it might have been _Life. Spectator_ or some similar publication) that the alcohol unit system had no medical evidence or statistics backing it and that the UK figures reached were purely arbitrarily, in the last review, 2013.
The amendments of the 1995 review, it's said, came about because temperence members on the panel outnumbered the others.
Regardless, on a personal note, I ease off consumption, if a flare up occurs.
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