Occasional beer or glass of wine OK?

[Allen Cunningham]

Diagnosed 8/97 with HepC
Liver Transplant 7/2004
Genotype 1b, Biopsy:12/2015: TX Naive, Fibrosis Level 1
Started 12 wks Harvoni on 1/19/16
Finished Harvoni 4/11/16
7/11/16 - Still Undetected!!
SVR - Cured!

Hello everyone, I am cured now, feel great and have a question. First off I have never been an alcoholic or drank too much, my problem was with drugs when I was in my 20's. But I am finding when we go out for Mexican food, I crave a beer with my meal.

Is this OK? An occasional beer or two at most? I know it's not going to bring back the virus, but will it weaken my liver and cause any inflammation?

At the Liver transplant facility of course they say 'absolutely no alcohol, total abstinence', because in their role they could never say an 'occasional beer is OK',  because they know certain people would abuse it, but I know I never would.

Any thoughts?

[Lynn K]

As you are a transplant recipient I would follow my doctors advice.

Really after all you have been through why would you want a beer or glass of wine. Life is better and longer without.

I have cirrhosis and of course cant drink either. I have the same thoughts when eating Mexican food or pizza but for us it is just not an option.

[AussieRosa]

I think this is a very personal issue. I imagine the real issue is the possibility that a rare, occasional beer could end up becoming a more frequent beer. That is where the problems would begin to arise. A rare beer does no harm to a healthy liver. Frequent drinking can do damage. If you are secure in the knowledge that opening that door won't lead to more frequent use then I think a rare beer would be harmless. To make sure you could even limit it to half a beer and use that as your yardstick. If you can't limit it to the half and end up drinking the whole beer it will let you know it's becoming a problem. I have no detectable liver damage and plan to have a taste of wine when I go out for dinner. I will limit it to that though.

Best of luck and good health to you from now on.

[BillT]

I'm going with Lynn on this one Allen.As a option you could always go with a non-alcoholic beer.Just a thought.

[Allen Cunningham]

Thanks for all of the input guys. My brother in law is the one that gave me over 1/2 of his healthy liver 12 years ago (He's doing fine now, and has never had any problems after surgery).

It was a precious gift grafted in by the best Liver Transplant surgeons in the world at UCSF Hospital. And then this HARVONI wonder drug also developed in the SF Bay Area, eliminated the virus from my body in 3 short months with absolutely no side effects for me before it could destroy the graft!

I am extremely thankful for all of this and make an oath that I WILL NEVER JEOPARDIZE THIS LIVER!

When we go out for Mexican food or Pizza, I will order Pepsi only! It also goes really good with Pizza and Mexican food!

Maybe I'll get an O'Douls and imagine it's a Dos Equis!

[Lynn K]

NA beer is not really NA.

O'Doul's is advertised as non-alcoholic beer and has less than 0.5 percent alcohol, according to the Anheuser-Busch website. The state Liquor Control Commission only regulates beer that has at least 0.5 percent of alcohol.  In comparison to regular beer which averages 5 percent alcohol.

I guess my main concern would be any interactions with the anti-rejection drugs and any other post transplant medicines you may be taking

Let your conscious be your guide

[Determined]

Allen,

I know this is not a popular reply.  We have reasons to be on alert but I think we may have become afraid of our livers, even after they have healed.

My hep specialist looked at my lab and fibrosis score and told me that there is no reason not  to have a drink on special occasions.  There are daily medical and environmental impacts on the liver. Many are more toxic than a beer. That's what the liver is for - to filter out toxins.  Again, I emphasize that you must have a healthy liver!  I don't know your health rating.  Also, be very very careful.  If you are walking a slippery slope toward frequent drinking or abuse, then DON"T do it.  If you like non-alcoholic beer, drink that. 

I choose self discipline and moderation.  It doesn't work for everybody, but we're making it up if we act like a healthy liver is in eternal peril or leading to the return of a virus.  Choose wisely, my friend. 



Take good care of yourself.  Enjoy and behave, for

[BillT]

Hi Determined.Allen has had a liver transplant if you reread his first post.

[Determined]

Thanks, Bill.

[Lynn K]

Some news I saw recently about alcohol and cancer in general....

http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet#q2

Source National Cancer Institute

What is the evidence that alcohol drinking is a cause of cancer?

Based on extensive reviews of research studies, there is a strong scientific consensus of an association between alcohol drinking and several types of cancer (1, 2). In its Report on Carcinogens, the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services lists consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen. The research evidence indicates that the more alcohol a person drinks—particularly the more alcohol a person drinks regularly over time—the higher his or her risk of developing an alcohol-associated cancer. Based on data from 2009, an estimated 3.5 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States (about 19,500 deaths) were alcohol related (3).

Clear patterns have emerged between alcohol consumption and the development of the following types of cancer:

    Head and neck cancer: Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for certain head and neck cancers, particularly cancers of the oral cavity (excluding the lips), pharynx (throat), and larynx (voice box) (4). People who consume 50 or more grams of alcohol per day (approximately 3.5 or more drinks per day) have at least a two to three times greater risk of developing these cancers than nondrinkers (4). Moreover, the risks of these cancers are substantially higher among persons who consume this amount of alcohol and also use tobacco (5).

    Esophageal cancer: Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for a particular type of esophageal cancer called esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (2). In addition, people who inherit a deficiency in an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol have been found to have substantially increased risks of alcohol-related esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

    Liver cancer: Alcohol consumption is an independent risk factor for, and a primary cause of, liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) (6). (Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus are the other major causes of liver cancer.)

    Breast cancer: More than 100 epidemiologic studies have looked at the association between alcohol consumption and the risk of breast cancer in women. These studies have consistently found an increased risk of breast cancer associated with increasing alcohol intake. A meta-analysis of 53 of these studies (which included a total of 58,000 women with breast cancer) showed that women who drank more than 45 grams of alcohol per day (approximately three drinks) had 1.5 times the risk of developing breast cancer as nondrinkers (a modestly increased risk) (7). The risk of breast cancer was higher across all levels of alcohol intake: for every 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day (slightly less than one drink), researchers observed a small (7 percent) increase in the risk of breast cancer. 

The Million Women Study in the United Kingdom (which included more than 28,000 women with breast cancer) provided a more recent, and slightly higher, estimate of breast cancer risk at low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption: every 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day was associated with a 12 percent increase in the risk of breast cancer (.

    Colorectal cancer: Alcohol consumption is associated with a modestly increased risk of cancers of the colon and rectum. A meta-analysis of 57 cohort and case-control studies that examined the association between alcohol consumption and colorectal cancer risk showed that people who regularly drank 50 or more grams of alcohol per day (approximately 3.5 drinks) had 1.5 times the risk of developing colorectal cancer as nondrinkers or occasional drinkers (9). For every 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day, there was a small (7 percent) increase in the risk of colorectal cancer.



So maybe we with liver damage are lucky not to be able to drink sounds like alcohol is not particularly good for anyone