What harm/side effects occur when you have a few glasses of wine while on the steroid? We are adised NOT to imibe, but unclear what harm it can do? I usually have a glass of red at supper or a glass of good beer. What is the danger?
Alcohol taking Pred: What harm/side effects occur... - PMRGCAuk
Alcohol taking Pred
Written by
jarn
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
124 Replies
•
PMRproAmbassador
Probably depends on your doctor! My GP is totally down on alcohol at any time! But as far as I can tell, my glass of rose with dinner hasn't killed me yet ...
You can drink alcohol if just taking steroids. I do!! 🍷🍷🍷🍺🍺🍺
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer
It doesn’t says in patient information leaflet to avoid alcohol - whereas it does say - don’t eat liquorice!
I did stop it for a few months when on very high doses with GCA, but after that returned to my usual tipple… can’t say I noticed much difference either way…
My tastes changed - did yours?
My tastes did change from the onset; now, 3yrs later, improving but still not balanced, (but then I'm not either 🥳). Never lost sense of smell; just taste.
Yes a bit - can’t drink reds - they never were a great favourite, but I did like some - now they are all too heavy for me. Which considering I used be an ardent rum drinker, I do find a bit odd! Must be age!
Also find some white are too acidic… so, like you mostly, Rosé, but always partial to a nice bubbly….
Interesting about the white but perhaps it depends on the vinyard? My sons find red give them heartburn at their current ages so have resorted to white. I just think our bodies change as we age, too, so must work it out individually. Interesting though.
My son drinks white most of the time…as I did at his age, so think it age rather than vineyard. .. or we would both suffer!
He has lived in many wine producing countries over the years, is quite a connoisseur and does for top end … not that that always a guarantee of course…😳
Interesting. And would concur about age. On another note, when taking my morning Pred, is it okay to swallow my Vit D and Rabeprazole simultaneously? Or better to wait a bit. My brain says it shouldn't make a difference, but reading a few other posts, made me wonder. Thank you.
Rabeprazole should betaken 30 mins before food . Pred with/after food -and so long as it’s just VitD that can be taken at same time as Pred. If it’s Vit/Calcium then needs to be a couple of hours/after Pred.
Perfect. So far, I haven't messed that up. Good clarification as usual. Tada
😊
Wow I didn't know any of this. Will change how/ when I take mine. Thanks
I didn't know that! I will move the Accrete to a different time. Thanks.
Same here - though I still like our local red which is very light. Pink bubbly covers it all ...
It is the grape and how it is made that is important - balance of sugar and acidity. But that's because I have lived in wine producing areas a lot of my life and you learn about these things 
Okay. That is what I thought because our local liquor board advised me one time that some of the California wines have too much tannin. I also find some of them on the sweet side so I pretty much stick to the wines from Chile. We have some very nice wines here in British Columbia down in the Okanogan Valley but of course not quite up to the standards, perhaps, of the Italian wines. Aren't we lucky to enjoy a Tipple now and then. Cheers and chimo
I don't know - Okanagan has some pretty decent stuff! I certainly enjoyed it!! I live in the very north of Italy and our wine is a bit different - totally different climate and even different grapes. But there is a lot of guff talked about wine and there is also a lot of less than wonderful wine produced in Italy or anywhere else 
True enough. Agree with you in that I am not a wine snob. Drink what is affordable as long as decent.
My day-to-day tipple is a rose from southern Austria. Delightful stuff. Even the wine snob cousin thinks it is great! Our local red is very light and he was always a bit sarky about it. Until one night he was going into raptures about the house red in the hotel restaurant in the village - what was it? My husband delighted in telling him it was the Kalterersee/Vernatsch he'd pooh-poohed
Hello Pro, We worked on the Greek island of Ikaria (said to be the home of all wine) for 6 months. It was an astonishing and unforgettable experience.
If you have a chance try cabernet from Villa Bricci - small winery near you (relatively speaking)-located at the Italy-Slovenia border. Very nice and resonably priced.
Not been over that way much in the last 40 years!!! Might try to make it with my camper!
I am soooo looking forward to Licorice.
Crikey, I hadn't noticed that it said avoid liquorice on the PIL. Good thing that I detest the stuff then. Maybe that's why I didn't pick up on it. I have a habit of skimming over info that isn't relevant to me.
What’s in the liquorice that’s so bad for us when on pred I wonder and does this apply to steroid creams like dermovate for LS for example ?
It can cause liver damage I think. But I don't suppose the very occasional piece does too much harm. I love it but it's a very very occasional treat now!
Don't eat lliquorice. I love liquorice allsorts. When they are in the household usually finish them off!!!
Licorice?? I ate some last night and I’m in terrible pain today . Do you have a source for that leaflet ? I’m in Australia and I knew nothing about that. Thanks
It says in most patient information leaflets [PIL] that come in pill packs… if that’s what you mean or do you mean the FAQs link?
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
FAQ links which you listed earlier in this post. Dorry
I love liquorice
Well, I didn’t stop partaking. Not a lot, but a Peroni every now and again in summer, g & t when my daughter came to stay, and a glass of wine about once a week at supper.
None of this caused me any issues at all, and it was definitely good for morale!
Paddy
I keep with gin and fever tree tonic, refreshingly light, no artificial stuff in it...and all low carb!!!
Fever Tree very pricey here, even at Costco, so I stick with the generic label which still claims to have the proper herb.
If you buy "Fever Tree", how can you afford the gin??? 😜
I stock up when it's on special offer!!!
I have a red wine twice a week, it helps my blood sugars!
Only twice? You have good willpower. 🙃 Thank you for the input
Not found it a problem, do avoid liquorice though, which is sad, loved Liquorice Allsorts.
Me too. And unfortunately, my family know that I love it so they give me a lovely horde of it at Christmas time. Usually it is the all sorts, so I'm thinking there's not as much licorice in them as regular black licorice which I adore.
I think most of us on here have a glass or two and, unless it upsets you, it's probably a good relaxant. I have found though, that if I have more than two straight glasses (I usually dilute with soda water) I am very stiff a couple of days afterwards.
Could it be the tannin as I’ve found it makes my rheumatoid condition hurt more
It has crossed my mind that my alcohol intake might have been partially instrumental in my getting PMR in the first place, since it can be bad for inflammation.
Hmmmmmmmm. Only if your diet consisted primarily of alcohol?
I don't think so. You could be drinking a bottle of wine a day. I would view that level of drinking excessive long term, when recommendations are no more than 1-2 units a day. A bottle of wine would be 7-9 units, but only around 550 calories, so a long way from being your primary intake, but pretty sure that wouldn't be good for you.
I was advised to keep it to one max two glasses as alcohol can exacerbate side effects (such as agitation, anxiety) and is in itself an inflammatory agent
Alcohol definitely increases my anxiety levels the next day
And not good for the bones either! But I'm still enjoying a glass of wine or a cocktail sometimes...
I still socially have a glass a couple of times a month but my sleep quality is shot every time, sadly.
Linked this to a recent post on sleep and alcohol -
sleepfoundation.org/nutriti...
very good article! Thankfully I didn't meet the drastic criteria. 😅 Very well presented.
Good idea to steer clear of "drastic"... 🤣😂
I also found my taste changed on Pred from red to white. Our daughter lives in Portugal and the only red that I enjoy now is Portuguese. There is something about the smell. We go again on the 20th and I will be drinking wine every day with no adverse effects. ( Love port too ! )
Pred affected my sense of taste, until I discovered on this forum that you can buy empty gelatin capsules and the problem with taste stopped, as soon as I started to pop my pred inside a capsule before taking it.
Interesting but don't understand what difference that would make once it is digested??? The capsule dissolves along with the tablet. When I swallow the tablet, it doesn't stay on my taste buds............or does it? Curious.
I had a lot of difficulty swallowing the uncoated tablets and the awful taste lingered for hours afterwards. Some medicines do give you a nasty taste because of their systemic effects. I don't know if pred is one of those, but it sounds like it might be from some of the other comments. I suppose, lucky for me, if the gel caps worked for me.
I did not really drink for first four years . Covid lockdown came in NZ and we began having a wine at sunset every night. It started a habit which I still indulge in . I noticed no difference in the beginning, but I did drop off to sleep easier, so I have continued to enjoy it .
My main concern with alcohol is what it does to your blood sugar control, when pred also raises blood sugar (hence, pred raising the risk of Type II diabetes). Mixers often contain a lot of sugar and so do beers. A dry white wine or spirits do not contain much sugar of themselves, but alcohol does increase your blood sugar. And that will often have a knock on effect on appetite, which combined with the pred munchies, regular drinking alcohol could lead to more weight gain and increased risk of diabetes, I guess. I can't see any other reason that alcohol and pred might be contraindicated.
I rather suspect that HCPs play a little mind game with us. If they tell us not to drink at all, they think we will have the occasional tipple and they think that if they say that we can have the occasional drink, we'll have one every day.
Though I also tend to think that the wellbeing benefits of being able to have a little bit of what you fancy now and again, probably outweighs the negatives by far. Crikey, having PMR is enough to drive anyone to drink. My motto is, do what makes you happy, and everything in moderation.
I have never experienced any problems drinking wine or beer while being on pred.
I admit to being a bit of a wineaholic and five years later on pred I can say it hasn’t affected me at all! My doctor never said anything about not drinking with pred. Hope that helps.
My understanding is that drinking alcohol can reduce the effectiveness of your medication. In the first year of GCA I cut down my alcohol to only a small glass 2-3 times a week. Now I am tapering, and decided to cut out alcohol entirely. I feel so much better! I really want to get off the steroids and it seems like avoiding alcohol is working for me.
well, I do enjoy my wine, Jarn. I’ve never been told to avoid it for being on Pred, and after almost 4 years, I find myself still here!
My bloods are all good and at the age of 72 (nearly) I want to enjoy the rest of my life.
Good Day Jarn.
Doctors traditionally advise patients not to drink when taking drugs for several reasons.
The volume of drink may be high, and the drug is washed out of the system, thereby reducing its effect.
The drug metabolism may be affected by the alcohol because it is degraded by the same enzyme system, thereby increasing its effect.
Alcohol is well known to have many toxic effects.
On this last point, you may be interested to know that a very large meta-analysis statistical study, involving 108,000 people over a fourteen-year period, was published three years ago and this showed that there is a statistical link between the level of alcohol intake and the incidence of atrial fibrillation.
This and other studies have also shown that, in moderate levels of 14 units per day or less, alcohol has no or even a beneficial effect.
I would imagine therefore that doctors warn their patients with PMR not to drink too much in order to reduce their chances of developing atrial fibrillation.
jarn in reply to
Loving all this input. Nice to evaluate
Doraflora in reply to
I had to laugh at your comment Uldale7: “in moderate levels of 14 units per day or less, alcohol has no or even a beneficial effect”. Do you really think 14 units per day, or less, is a normal intake 🤣
Absolutely no danger at all,there is no interaction between prednisolone and alcohol.I've been on prednidolone for a year now and enjoy a glass of wine and/or beer and occasional whisky most nights!
Absolutely no danger at all
Not sure that's strictly true...
from Drugs.com
!Although there is no direct drug interaction between prednisone and alcohol, mixing them together is not a good idea because some of the effects of alcohol and the side effects of prednisone are similar, so taking both at the same time can increase the risk of these side effects occurring.
The risk of side effects increases with the dose and duration of prednisone treatment. Higher doses and longer durations of prednisone increase the risk for side effects. Whether it is safe to drink alcohol while on prednisone depends on the dosage of the medication, the length of the course of treatment, how frequently a person uses alcohol, and other conditions the person may have. In some cases, having the occasional glass or two of alcohol may be safe during treatment with low-dose prednisone. Talk to your doctor about using alcohol with prednisone. The FDA does not warn against drinking while on prednisone. And for many, drinking alcohol in moderation while taking prednisolone could be considered safe. However, drinking while on prednisone may carry heightened risks for some based on prednisone’s effect on lowering the immune system and the side effects of alcohol use. Abstaining from drinking alcohol while on prednisone treatment is always the best option. Excessive and regular alcohol consumption is not recommended."
That's a good point about possible potentiation of side effects. Certainly heavy drinking is implicated in the onset of osteoporosis and we all know about the effects of prednisolone on bone density. I've just filled in a questionnaire for my DXA scan at the weekend and that is one of the questions on the form, under the heading, medication that may effect osteoporosis. Though the article I was reading earlier this morning was more concerned about the possible additive effect of the stimulant action.
I've been having a few brandies. I turned to shorts only because of the no carb diet. I've been having the occasional glass of brandy at late evening sometimes with a coffee. If I go out at all I have had either the brandy or a white rum & diet coke. Not had any adverse effects.
I may revert to a wine or two once I get to my target weight.
Yes, I, too, enjoy the occasiona brandy and have discovered a lovely mellow German brandy which isn't too sharp (also much cheaper than others).
I like the Italian Vecchia Romana another mild smooth one. The shape of the bottle, 3 sided also makes it good to look at, lol!
HaHa. That helps. Will see if we have it here in B.C. Dujardin is the german . The ultimate for me is Camus......only on special occasions. Thanks for the name
I love Camus also. I used to get that in the Duty Free at Dubai airport when I travelled often for work. Don't see it here in the UK much. I was a Calvados freak when I visited France, loved the full range from Farmer rough right up to the Busnels.
It has been really interesting (and enjoyable!) reading through all the replies to your original post. I had been wondering about drinking alcohol now I seem to have PMR - waiting for final confirmation - and am pleased to find that this will be okay for me... I generally have / love one glass of red wine with supper most nights - I cut down on white wine after doing the Zoe programme, which flagged up its higher sugar/glucose content. Phew! And I can live without licorice.😄
What a useful forum this is.
As our wise counsellors advise, if not on HIGH doses of Pred, we can imibe with care; and by high, am thinking 40mg etc. Once down to 5 and less, the advice is encouraging.
I drink red wine at the weekend and, in fact, find it is good for my GCA; less throbbing and I sleep better.
Hi...when you say less throbbing....do you have that sensation often.? On 3mg I find I have this at the moment.
black licorice can have drug interactions and a coworker loved and consumed it daily until he ended up in the ER with chest pains which was caused by very high BP.. long term it can cause reproductive issues in women but it’s like alcohol a little can be fine but excess is not….
Pluses and minuses - alcoholic drinks are fermented and could be said to be good for your biome. Sadly, they do not help with weight control. Overall - in moderation, could be said to help us manage downsides of having challenging conditions!
Prednisone is processed through the liver, I would limit the amount you drink.
i was glad to read this post as I’ve felt guilty about looking forward to a glass or two of wine at night. Honestly, this s sounds pathetic , but it’s one of the few things I can enjoy. I was diagnosed with GCA in April’23.
Like many of you, I had a full life. , I was very active , played competive paddle tennis 3 times a week and regular Pilates. I aso have my own consulting business. GCA took so much from me. I rarely leave the house now except to go to doctor appts. and the occasional lunch. Im now down to 5mgs. of Pred but in a lot of pain in my joints. I was just diagnosed with a rare neuropathy in my lower left leg which is so painful it’s difficult to walk. Anyway, sorry for the sob story. But two glasses of wine at night is my ‘treat’ it’s pathetic but I do look forward to it and it DOES help my pain. I’m hoping this GCA nightmare comes to an end at some point. But till then, I’ll enjoy my ‘tipple’( I love your word and am stealing it)
You are welcome to it, so tipple away! You, like most of us with PMR/GCA, did enjoy busy, physical lives so it makes me wonder if that could have led to this too. In any event, it is here, and we cope with all the input from this Forum. Listen to your body and enjoy. Chimo
"Tipple" - you're obviously not a Brit! Very common word for drink... and much more refined than a 'slug'
😂🤣
😅agree
Go for it, birdfriend. And why not? Each of us knows our own body and as long as we’re not going beserk, just enjoy your treat.
You do not sound pathetic at all. You have had so much stolen from you, as we all have......... It's so true that we don't value our good health until we lose it. Continue to enjoy your couple of glasses, as shall I........
Drunk alcohol while on steroids for six years now and still here! 😀
thanks to all of you for the support! If you’re ever in Chicago, I’d love to enjoy a tipple with you☺️
When I have a glass of wine or a drink, I get a splitting headache that night. It's a shame because I like to have a drink sometimes, but if I do, I know I may be in terrible pain that night. I think maybe it adds to my GCA inflammation. I'd love to know anyone's thoughts on this. Cheers!! I wish!!
I enjoy a gin and tonic as my “night cap”. I would like to imbibe with a cigarette in a long elegant cigarette holder wearing a diaphanous chiffon nightgown listening to jazz on the gramaphone but it has is usually in my cotton nightie and bed socks in bed with a good book.
Wonderful image! Vibes of Audrey Hepburn with cig holder, Bfst at Tiffanys!
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
Forgot to take my preds
5 in the morning and the balance when I go to bed. This morning, when I woke up, I thought the PMR...
Taking Pred the right way
Sorry to go on...... thank you for listening. Hope you all have a good day.
Taking pred with food
Hi Everyone. I think I may have an absorption issue. Perhaps I am taking pred too close to breakfast
Taking a pred break..
meds, including pred. I've had a synacton test a few years back and always seem to retain decent...
Is 2.5 Pred worth taking?
instead. The trouble is, this doesn't really have any effect on the level of inflammation, but...
Taking Preds & Aspirin together.
Taking pred on an empty stomach
Taking statins while on Pred.
Does everyone take their preds at breakfast?
Taking full dose of Pred in morning?
