Transplant & Alcohol

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Razza
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Essex, UK

Transplant & Alcohol

Post by Razza »

Does anyone know the effect of alcohol on a trnasplanted kidney?

Should you be wary of what and how much you drink??
nycpetit
Posts: 262
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 11:00 pm
Location: Miami Beach

Alcohal

Post by nycpetit »

Not sure how far out you are from your transplant, but I am about ten weeks out. And I still can't really drink alcohal pain-free. Meaning, my face flushes completely red, and painfully so, like there are little knives slashing my face, the red is very noticeable, and it's very, very hot.

I never flushed before my transplant. My doctor said it should be fine to have an occasional drink, which is all I've ever had to drink throughout my adult life. I'm not much of a drinker, but i enjoy red wine with a steak, and to have an occasional drink when socializing, all of which was to be fine to do.

However, my doc suggested not having the alcohal close to the time of my medication, which is a challenge since I take my meds at nine pm. But I had a glass of wine this past weekend, and after the flushing left, and I had some food, it was okay with that one glass.

As a general guideliine, I wouldn't personally suggest drinking with any regularity. There's not much of anything in it that's good for you per se, and it's known to interact with medications. I found that the lower dose I am on, the less I flush or have a painful face. That said, I am no where near my maintenance dose of of medication. So I would suggest asking your doctor what his thoughts are. And realize too that every doc is different.

I think an occasional drink, re: special occasions, is fine. Anything more, personally, why risk it. We got a gift, don't want to lose it. :lol:
bluemoon
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:36 pm
Location: North Yorks

Post by bluemoon »

I asked my consultant the very same question, what was a safe amount to drink.

He told me, with a deadpan expression that I could drink as much as I wanted...only to stop if I started to feel drunk!

Ha ha thought I.
Jim
SteveUK
Posts: 524
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:50 am
Location: The Bourne that was made for Sitting

Post by SteveUK »

Hi,

I was quite well advised on the alcohol issue, so I hope that the benefit of my experience will help you and others if they need to know.

Basically, I was told to consume alcohol "in moderation and sensibly". I know this may sound misleading, as I guess, ALL people should consume alcohol like that (although in this day and age it doesn't and certainly will never happen). My consultant then went onto explain that, particularly those patients who take a lot of their anti-rejection medicines in the evenings, should try to cut down or avoid alcohol, as it can interact with the drugs.

From my experience I think it is quite true, though some might choose to say it's coincidence, but I seem to notice a change in my urine output if I drink maybe 3-4 pints of beer (that is quite rare for me now, if at all) and I go a few hours maybe 7-8 hours, without passing water again. Now that doesn't automatically mean that my kidney function is deteriorating any, it's just a change that I have picked up on once or twice.

I might also add that I have had hangovers even when having only maybe 1-2 units of alcohol, so I try to keep away from it.

On the other side of it, I was advised that I should try and keep fluids up whilst I was out, as I did say that I drunk mostly water whilst I was out. (Around the time I spent a bit of time in nightclubs) but not to drink just water, maybe add in some other soft drink such as Coca-Cola or indeed 1-2 units of alcohol.

So in my opnion and from my experience, I do think the alcohol will affect the way in which your drugs work, not necessarily kidney function itself (although I might add if the consumption of alcohol is without moderation then you might give yourelf problems).

Hope this helps.

Steve
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rubincain
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 8:12 pm

Post by rubincain »

from the mouth of my consultant (who has been treating transpant patients for over 20 years now) avoid alcohol if you have had a transplant. Fact it screws the work that immunosuppressants do. Stick to water sir and give your kidney the best chance possible!
amanda in CA
Posts: 1806
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 5:14 pm
Location: Georgia, USA

alcohol

Post by amanda in CA »

Hi, I was told that it was ok to drink alcohol in moderation since alcohol is metabolised by the liver and not the kidneys. Must admit that I sometimes used to drink more than I should do. My transplant lasted 10 years and it was chronic rejection that saw it out, not bad as the average for a kidney transplant is 8 - 10 years. I was told that the worst damage occurs long before there are marked changes to lab results, in the early days of my transplant I didn't drink much alcohol and biopsy revealed damage due to cyclosporine toxicity. Amanda
JMan
Posts: 3471
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:21 am
Location: Lives in a slightly weird bit of Shropshire called Telford!

Post by JMan »

Can't put it any better than what Steve has said.. the main threat from alcahol to your kidney is through dehydration and impairment of your judgement (eg you might forget to take meds, do something you might not normally) etc..

Otherwise its fine, just be sensible..

J
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