alcohol

[britt505]

Is it concluded that there is to be no more alcohol of any kind forever? What about after you have cleared the virus?

[rita3a]

A glass of wine or a beer once in a blue moon!

[portann]

Chelsea,

I see you posted an hour ago to an old thread about alcohol. I also noticed you posted to the substance abuse community an hour ago, in which you said:

"iam a alcoholic and i dont know what to do i drink everyday and iam going to lose my kids and home! please help me.what do i do?"

You don't at all mention here or in the substance abuse community whether you've been diagnosed with Hep C. This is a HepC forum, so I don't know if this is the ideal place for you personally to seek help. Do you know if you have HepC?

[jmjm530]

Reading an alcohol thread (stress) is probably more damaging to your liver than drinking in moderation before or after treatment. Alcohol gets all the attention here, but smoking cigarettes and especially being overweight will potentially cause more liver damage. So think "Cupcakes -- like pouring crisco on a fire"

[jt57]

IMO, why take the chance if you already have the possiblity of a damaged liver?  Makes no sense to me.  Alcohol is not a necessity of life.  A healthy liver is.

Jean

[chelsie2008]

could you please help me about alcohol as i dont know what to do. please help me.

[Fl_Gator]

Think about your health first. Your liver will heal after SVR if you don't have cirrhosis. You can help your liver to heal with good nutrition and supplements. You shouldn't drink until you know your liver has healed.

I am stage one...I will drink after SVR but only after my health is restored. I was never a big drinker.

[pigeonca]

This is one of the great subjects of contention on this forum.  Some people will say alcohol is poison, that drinking is like pouring gasoline on a fire, whereas others will say it's okay to drink moderately after SVR.  (Moderately means generally one glass daily for women,  two for men)  If you have a problem with liquor, it's probably a no-no.  If not, ask your doctor.

Before you begin treatment, it's best to avoid alcohol, but some people freak out because they had a glass of champagne at a wedding or suchlike - and there's no need to freak out about one glass.  However, everybody agrees that during treatment, not one drop!  Alcohol keeps the Interferon and ribavirin from doing their job.

[mar148]

It the answer to your question varies greatly on this site.  For some if you have little to no liver damage consider drinking moderately, if they attain SVR.  For others who have more extensive liver damage, they avoid drinking alcohol.  Of course, individuals who have a problem managing alcohol in their lives avoid it.  

If I am lucky enough to achieve SVR (I completed treatment and am awaiting the final results) I have low liver damage (Stage 1) so I will drink alcohol moderately, most probably.

[alagirl]

Its really a decision you have to make with your doctor about when or whether your liver can handle alcohol again after SVR.

Personally, I am having huge stomach issues so even thinking about a drink makes me nauseous.  And I still have excess iron in my liver, so I think its not a good idea for me until when and if all of that is cleared up.  And even then, still with not knowing if there's excess iron hanging out in my liver, it would make me so nervous that I'll probably just continue to abstain.  Your liver specialist would be a good person to ask, to be on the safe side.