The Colon Club

I am not a normal drinker. An occasional drinker, yes. I was jonesing for some margarita mix that I have on my bar. I just had some in a shot glass but drank it slow. With liver surgery I get scared drinking any alcohol. What are your thoughts on the occasional drink to peel the edge off a little.

I had the off and on occasional drink (or 2 every once in a while) - no problem. My onc said it, as with most things, was fine in moderation. Still here 13 years later, so I am pretty sure a bit is ok.

DH asked this question today: dr. said it would probably increase quality of life! So they discussed martinis and wine for awhile. As long as DH's liver function is OK, dr. said he could have something on occasion. Bilirubin is down to 2 from 6.4 a month ago and other numbers are improving so a martini once a week or so is fine.

A friend of mine has really bad cirrhosis from hepatitis and they've told him no alcohol at all, that one drink could really really hurt him. Asking might be best!

M

another idea might be
Mocktails ... drinks we love and crave without the alcohol content
Margarita could be one / Pina Colada, Virgin Caesar etc etc.

disclaimer :
I am more of a wine buff and ...sadly ... having made wine and collected wines for years ......
I cannot tolerate the dealcoholized wines on the market.

Some low alcohol beers are OK ..... BUTT again near beers are usually gross IMO
SO when I was jonesing on a bevvy ...
I would go to the mixed drinks with enough OTHER stuff in them so as to NOT miss the ethanol kick
OR some white wines are naturally lower in alcohol than reds, wine coolers .... ?

just me

BTW my big RED wine Go To standards .... tasted like shit when I was on chemo
like "India Ink " I believe I described them
so I just moved on

Yeah ASK the docs is probably a good start and Mocktails would be a safe follow up !

Dare I say
CHEERS !
CRguy

I didn't until well after the liver job - mostly

Expecting that chemo would be challenging for the liver, I decided to leave it doing its things without alcohol throughout chemo. We did however celebrate completion of each (3 week) Xelox-Avastin cycle with a fancy/restaurant dinner that included a (sinle) glass of champagne. The real stuff. Heck, one needs to celebrate successes.

Once liver had regrown, we figured that it was 75% brand new and thus quite capable to handle an occasional drink. That was 2 mos after resection. From there, slowly reverted to the earlier pattern (2-3 drinks, 3-4 days a week). I still do.

All went well. Was officially promoted to 5+ year monitoring program upon the last 6-mo check-up earlier this week (June 12)

greetings, L

Rikimaroo,
We live in France. My husband’s doctors said ”no restrictions regarding what to eat or drink” when he asked. Hubby drank vine with dinner and maybe 1 day a week he took a ’little something’ to the coffee.

mhf1986 wrote:
Bilirubin is down to 2 from 6.4 a month ago and other numbers are improving

So Good to hear this news!

I decided to be on the wagon for the duration. I'm helped by the fact that my usual favorite, red wine, tastes horrible on chemo. It's gin and tonic season, but who wants a G&T w/o ice? I love bourbon, but haven't had any in the house.

I find it easier to abstain completely. Every once in a while I'll have a sip of someone's wine just to check, and yup, still tastes dreadful. Oh well. Back to herb teas and lukewarm water.

BTW, has anyone else encountered major problems getting a simple glass of WARM water in a restaurant? I've been out a few times shortly after infusion, and I have to explain at length that yes, I really do just want some lukewarm water from the tap. One place insisted on running it through the coffee maker, so it was boiling hot and tasted like coffee. Yuck! A friend I was with just took it over to the sink, dumped it, and filled my glass from the tap. Oy vey.

My surgeon did say that a glass of wine now and then was okay, but why bother? (He;s a liver guy. ) Since I had a tiny liver met, I decided I might as well give my liver a break, and I was drinking too much before anyway. Good time to break the habit.

Oh my goodness yes, I had so much trouble getting lukewarm water when I would go out. It made me want to go to Europe where they don’t put ice in everything. One time I was on a flight and they announced that there would be no hot drinks. Oy.

I mostly abstained during treatment, although I would have a glass of wine or beer here and there during my good weeks.

So my husband LOVES beer, but couldn't drink anything carbonated until his fistula was completely healed. Well, that took more than 9 months, but his liver numbers have actually improved since he started drinking wine (and eventually beer) again. He's very happy about this...
Jep

I drink too much and drank too much during chemo. It’s not a good thing but my liver and blood were always good. Year out and cancer free with normal liver function. This is not a suggestion, of course, but don’t get bent about having a couple of cocktails.

Well, I did—and in herculean quantities—but I wasn't the one technically on chemo. My wife usually had a glass every night with dinner; whether it's good for you or not, teetotalism just doesn't seem human. She fasted, however, for five days out of every two weeks, during which time she would only drink water

Im a drinker, but not professionally anymore! I did not drink during chemo until towards the end, probably last two months or so and that was during off weeks and only a few times 3 or 4 at most. I would only drink two beers or glasses of wine. I think anything in moderation is fine but I probably would limit it to your off weeks. Good luck!

boxhill wrote:
BTW, has anyone else encountered major problems getting a simple glass of WARM water in a restaurant? I've been out a few times shortly after infusion, and I have to explain at length that yes, I really do just want some lukewarm water from the tap. One place insisted on running it through the coffee maker, so it was boiling hot and tasted like coffee. Yuck! A friend I was with just took it over to the sink, dumped it, and filled my glass from the tap. Oy vey.

Too funny! I find when you ask for warm water you either get cool water (water from tap with no ice) or hot water (straight out of the kettle and then sit for 30 secs). So I usually ask for hot water and then try to add some ice from my family’s water glasses.
And I have been off oxy for well over a year and I still prefer my water warm these days. I just got used to it and now it is my default.

Beth

My son is not a drinker; maybe a rare beer on occasion. Due to elevated liver enzymes on oxiliplatin, he definitely is not drinking any alcohol.

Our departed friend Voxx66 was a bar tender I believe, and used to have a few (maybe too many), and I believe another of our members was a pretty regular wine drinker though not to excess. My wife went from having a beer regularly to only an occasional glass of wine or sometimes Margarita or Bloody Mary. As others have said - don't deny yourself the little pleasures just do it in moderation. It might actually make it that much more enjoyable.

Regards,

GrouseMan