[Closed] ulcerative colitis and alcohol, tell me about it please.

I would suggest a wee google to see what the official sites say and to see what those who have the condition suggest. It's a bit more complex than yes or no, I think.

Just after experiences or knowledge of other STW forum users, beats trawling google for know!
Cheers

Sorry fella, my experience is limited to those people who end up very poorly after lots of surgery for their UC, and is probably not what you want to hear.

http://gut.bmj.com/content/53/10/1479.full.pdf+html

They seem to suggest cutting intake down to the equivalent of 1 glass of wine a day, so if you don't drink at all for 2 weeks, you could have a good night in...

See? I'm not very good at the whole advice thing.

I know somebody with this and for them a little alcohol has always been fine. They aren't a big drinker but likes a nice glass of wine. But to be honest I think everybody is individual with this one. Different people seem to have different foods/drinks that bring it on. Generally eating crap generally is crap. Healthy food eased the times it got worse but even that was a bit subjective sometimes steroids are the only short term answer. At least that's the way with my friend. Everybody seems different with this one, everyone seems to have different approaches and the doctors don't always help much. Not much help but I guess the advice I have looking at what my friend has been through is a little booze in moderation is probably fine. I think you need to try it and see what happens, take it easy and see how you specifically react. Then take from there. Good luck.

I think you'll have to work out for yourself what you can'can't drink. I don't have UC, but am gluten intolerant and currently under investigation for Crohn's. Never been a big drinker really, but I only need one drink these days to get me drunk and I feel like crap for the next day or two.

I'm totally fine with alcohol as long as I'm not in a flare-up.

YMMV.

I used to have UC (proctitis) and booze certainly never made it worse.

In my case stress seemed to trigger a flare-up, luckily it burnt itself out a few years back.

it depends if you're experiencing a flare up or in remission..

during a flare up deffo a no no IME

outside of that moderation is the key..

as for the healthy food advice up there from ti-pin-man I most strongly disagree..

soluble fibre and greasy processed food all the way during a flare up..
it's not pleasant and you may put on weight and get spotty and feel gross, but that's far better than the alternative..

insoluble fibre (healthy food) is by far the most irritating substance you can put into an ulcerated bowel..

My missus is a sufferer and as much as she says it doesnt affect her, she struggles with it.
She has it quite severe though

I don't know what you can and can't do with this horrible disease. We never got the chance to know how to cope after my son was diagnosed.
Just keep a very close eye on how you feel and if you ever have any
loss of sensation anywhere go to A&E straight away.

My experiences agree with Yunki's, abstain during a flare (although I do often end up drinking during a flare cos it makes me feel so crap even though I know it wont help 😳 ) and when in remission drink what you want 🙂 I find beer and especially lager don't agree with me though, wine is fine as are most spirits.

Lots of crap greasy food when in a flare, as said you don't want anything too rough passing through.

Yunki, it's all very subjective, healthy food in this case meant a diet of largely vegetables, not much stodgy foods to block much up. Not that being blocked was ever much of a problem for the people I've known who have it, the opposite in fact... My point is that nobody can scientifically say it's a certain thing that gives a flare up, some people find amending diet helps, some people don't find it makes one iota of difference. Which is why science still can't cure it and it's an awful condition to have to live with. theres tons of Internet suggestions and the thing that strikes me is that some ideas work some times, the individual has to try it all out and see what works for them.

Good luck bren.

we were told to avoid too much sugar when our 7 year old son got diagnosed{that was fun at the time} they also told us to manage his fibre and try to add salts to his diet for example they would much prefer him to drink gatorade than fruit juice

he always had a very healthy diet growing up but like others have said we have to give him more crap now, wish we had done what all our friends did and just feed him microwave chicken wings{I'm joking obviously}

fair point tie_pin_man.. and indeed a point on which even my specialist cannot give a conclusive answer..

In my case and many others broccoli and tomatoes can raise merry hell, yet potatoes and carrots are fairly soothing..
I was just slightly concerned that your comments were similar to those of many people who claim knowledge of the subject but are in fact often talking about IBS, which I understand can indeed be controlled to a great extent by a high fibre diet..

As for the stuffed up bit.. you will probably know that UC is a disease of illness and remission, and in my case the symptoms can be quite opposite between the two phases if you get what I'm trying to say.. 😳

I'm not really looking forward to my biannual meeting with the specialist next week, as I know she will blithely recommend that I quaff the kilos of medication that she prescribes which have no effect whatsoever, while at the same time, quite severely chastising me for being influenced by all this dietary 'hocus pocus'

the individual has to try it all out and see what works for them.

this I guess is a very valuable piece of advice, and eventually you may be able to 'read' your body's signals early enough and adjust your diet accordingly

Godd luck from me too bren

Sorry for dragging this post up again, but thought I would add my own experience with UC, still quite new to me, only had the diagnosis three years ago.

As its not been mentioned and as its a bike forum 😉

Hydration is key for me.

If I ever over do it and do not take in enough liquids it can be a trigger for me, so its well worth watching your liquid intake a bit more closly.

Bren, I agree with moderation regarding drinking, I am not a heavy drinker, never have been, but do the odd beer festival or two, 3 pints in a session is more than enough for me and I don't suffer afterwards any ill effect if I stick to that.

Worth checking with your Doc. though depending on what meds they have you on.

good luck btw 🙂

Are you on any prescribed drugs eg Pentasa?
The side effects of Pentasa (mesalazine) are worse than alcohol.

Macavity - have you got any more info/experience of Pentasa. My brother has been prescribed it and being told on the basis that it [i]"has no side effects whatsoever because it's not absorbed in to the blood stream but works only in the digestive system"[/i]

Is that not the case?