This is topic Alcohol and Lyme in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.


To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/1/73464

---

Posted by migs (Member # 16496) on :
 
I know about Metronidazole but why do several sources say NO alcohol when you have Lyme, regardless of treatment program??

Anyone know?
 

---

Posted by DaveNJ (Member # 17362) on :
 
Migs,

because of yeast and seondly just to maintain good health. but alcohol is a real no-no on abx.

dave
 

---

Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
 
My now famous lyme doc gives all patients a handout of guidelines during antibiotic therapy. On the handout it says: "Eliminate Alcohol. Why? Consuming alcohol stresses your brain and liver. Antibiotics are hard on the liver, so it is important to not add the additional stress of alcoholic beverages."

Burrascano's Guidelines, page 17 says: "There are three things that will predict treatment failure regardless of which regimen is chosen: Noncompliance, alcohol use, and sleep deprivation." He doesn't explain why, but wow, what a warning.
 

---

Posted by Liz D (Member # 16739) on :
 
I could murder a glass of wine... I had no idea my life was so tied up with drinking the stuff; celebrations, a good day at the office, a bad day at the office, Fridays, figure skating on the tele, anything pleasurable really had a glass to go with it. I miss it....
 

---

Posted by AP (Member # 8430) on :
 
OK... Wait...

I abstained from drinking alcohol for years after my diagnosis. This January, after devastation struck, I fell off of the wagon. Big time.

I found help, and stopped drinking for a couple months.

This summer, I started drinking again, but with strict guidelines about how much I would consume. My labs come back better when I kick back a few, than they do when I don't.

Yeah, at 26, I can get a little out of control at times, but the antibiotics quickly remind me that I don't have the luxuries that most people my age do.

I'm not saying go out and drink, I'm just giving another side to the story.
 

---

Posted by clairenotes (Member # 10392) on :
 
We use wine to marinate meat/chicken/fish because it helps reduce any sort of bacterial issues that might be present, and have had no problems with food poisoning since. It does not require expensive wine, and a little goes a long way. The alcohol dissipates during the cooking process so it does not present a danger.

We also drink a few sips of wine (my daughter and I) with cheese. We are dairy sensitive but when we do allow ourselves to eat a homemade pizza, for instance, once in awhile, I find that the wine somehow makes it more healthful for us... it also reduces any possible bacterial issues that might be present in the dairy.

One time, after eating out and feeling sick for a day or so, I drank a few sips of wine and felt much better.

Abx/doctor rules not withstanding, as you get stronger and detox organs (liver) are working relatively well, I think alcohol could possibly be a positive thing, not negative.

Claire
 

---

Posted by swedish lyme sufferer (Member # 14579) on :
 
Well I wonder about this issue sometimes.

A few years ago when I was very sick with lyme (I did not know what I had of course) I took a lot of red wine every night and then slept for 12h straight.
This "regime" made me well again.....


Then I relapsed 3 years later when giving birth.
So now I am on hard abx after finally having a dx.

Maybe it was all the sleep that was good? Not the wine.
But I know that red wine contains lots of anti-oxidants, like resveratrol and alcohol is bactericidal.

Also they say that alcoholists do not get sick with lyme...the bacteria does not like the alcohol.

I do not belive in mixing alcohol with abx of course this is a no no, but maybe alone in comb. with physical therapy etc?

Who knows?
 

---

Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
 
"Also they say that alcoholists do not get sick with lyme...the bacteria does not like the alcohol."

i've never heard this-ut i have run into many people over the years who suffer with lymecannot get tx and self medicate with alcohol. sad.
 

---

Posted by aiden424 (Member # 7633) on :
 
I can't tolerate any alcohol. It makes all my symptoms much worse. I never had a problem with alcohol before lyme.

Kathy
 

---

Posted by migs (Member # 16496) on :
 
Thanks for the replies. To be honest, I haven't had a drink in a few months and I think I am going to burst.

Sounds wierd but I really miss feeling drunk!
 

---

Posted by Liz D (Member # 16739) on :
 
Migs - ME TOO !! I used alcohol for stress relief and because I love the feeling it gives. I just cant imagine life with no wine and I find it really depressing. Apparently, according to my wino friends, I am not as much fun as I used to be - and its true.
My Dad lived in France, in the Bordeaux region, so I think I come by my wine habits with great honour. He would turn in his grave watching me drink soda with a good meal instead of wine!
Can you think of any substite that is legal, ok with abx and not fattening??
Liz
 

---

Posted by FunkOdyssey (Member # 15855) on :
 
As odd as it may sound, I'm going to suggest edible forms of pot (brownies, cookies, etc) as a safe alternative to alcohol. Of course any form of smoke is destructive to your lung tissue, but as long as you use a safer route of administration, it is quite harmless, especially with infrequent use.
 

---

Posted by Liz D (Member # 16739) on :
 
Hi, I had thought of pot in cookies etc but I seem to be addicted to sugar and if there were any brownies/cookies etc around I am scared I would scoff the lot.
I seem to have a problem with control. A sip of wine or one hash brownie couldnt hurt but I know myself too well. I am a weak person.
Pass the wine.
 

---

Posted by AP (Member # 8430) on :
 
I'm sorry... This seems so inappropriate, but this is what I think about every time someone talks about cooking pot into brownies...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnZb5wi_jsU
 

---

Posted by troutscout (Member # 3121) on :
 
It enables the Spirochete to overcome its heat sensivity by disabling the heat sensitivity gene in it.

Trout

PS...and you are sick...alcohol is BAd when you are ill.....end of story
 

---

Posted by Clint31 (Member # 16420) on :
 
I think there is a TON of truth in the lyme not liking alcohol.

I was a heavy drinker in college. After I graduated I still drank like I was in college. I think I should have came down with lyme long before I did. I went through a period where I stopped drinking completely on the weekends and during the week because I had to get up so early for my job, and I didn't want to be unhealthy in lifestyle anymore with the heavy drinking. So I stopped completely. Just a few months after I cut alcohol out completely I got lyme.
 

---

Posted by FunkOdyssey (Member # 15855) on :
 
At more than 1-2 drinks, alcohol has a suppressive effect on the immune system, that is a fact. If you have Lyme and feel better while drinking or afterward, its probably because you've suppressed your immune system and temporarily halted its war with Lyme. The same thing happens when you take steroids -- you feel better because of the immune system suppression.

While you enjoy this temporary relief, you are allowing the bacteria to multiply and gain an even stronger foothold in your body. Alcohol is bad, bad news where Lyme is concerned (bad for you, good for Lyme).

In your case Clint, I imagine that when your immune system was given a break to regroup after the long history of alcohol use, it became strong enough to begin going after Lyme that you had long been infected with.

Always remember the strange paradoxical effect that immune system strength has on Lyme -- the better your immunity and the more aggressively you attack the Lyme, the worse you will feel. Your Lyme symptoms are a result of your immune system's attacks and inflammation, not the bacteria itself (with the possible exception of neurotoxins produced directly by the bacteria)

[ 28. October 2008, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: FunkOdyssey ]
 

---

Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by TF:
Consuming alcohol stresses your brain and liver. Antibiotics are hard on the liver, so it is important to not add the additional stress of alcoholic beverages."

Burrascano's Guidelines, page 17 says: "There are three things that will predict treatment failure regardless of which regimen is chosen: Noncompliance, alcohol use, and sleep deprivation." He doesn't explain why, but wow, what a warning.

---