Have you given up alcohol?

Options
littlechicken
littlechicken Member Posts: 13
edited October 2014 in IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)

I've pretty much stopped drinking since my bc and was wondering what others are doing. Have you changed your drinking habits? 

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
«134

Comments

  • sueshane
    sueshane Member Posts: 120
    edited June 2014


    I haven't stopped drinking although I swear my tolerance is low while on Tamoxifen. I will be curious to read other people's comments.

     

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Lenn13ka
    Lenn13ka Member Posts: 313
    edited June 2014

    Good subject Little Chicken- some MO's say nothing and others scare the hell out of you with this risk factor.

    I have cut way back but still enjoy some wine, champagne and the occasional Margarita. I have gone all organic, pretty much given up meat, getting my BMI down to 23, lost 11 pounds, walk at least 4-5 miles per day... I am not going to totally give up social drinking. I love socializing with family and friends .. That is part of living life for me. My tolerance is also lower on Tamoxifen like sueshane, but that's OK.. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Alive4Five
    Alive4Five Member Posts: 2,394
    edited June 2014

    Actually, I had already quit for some time before DX. 

    I LOL'd  not long ago; thinking how in the World I would be with such chemo-brain and if I were still drinking!! ;)

    Can't say I miss it either. 

    (Pretty sure my kids are glad I don't anymore either, lol... it would just give them ammo to rib me about! 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • rozem
    rozem Member Posts: 1,375
    edited June 2014

    social drinking here, mainly a glass or two of wine on the weekends, and not every weekend.  Maybe 2x month.  I don't like beer or spirits so wine only

    my onc said no more than 1 drink a day and you cant save it up and have 7 on Saturday.  I think recent studies have shown the fewer the better in terms of survival

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Laurais50
    Laurais50 Member Posts: 71
    edited June 2014


    Totally, I couldn't imagine drinking right now. I can't even eat, but don't get me wrong if I could tolerate it I might indulge once in a while. And I just stated chemo last Fri.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • rozem
    rozem Member Posts: 1,375
    edited June 2014

    laurie - I was the same way on chemo...I got my taste buds back and enjoy food and wine as much as always!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • TB90
    TB90 Member Posts: 992
    edited June 2014

    I have cut way back, but loved my wine and refuse to give it up completely.  A few glasses of wine on the weekends.  My tolerance is way down too, but not due to tamoxifen, but due to weight loss.  My BS is not too worried about alcohol consumption but my RO states one a day and if it was him, he would choose to not drink at all. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited June 2014

    My MO said I can have wine occasionally - and I do!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • GrammyR
    GrammyR Member Posts: 702
    edited June 2014

    Yep, I stopped 2006 when 1st diagnosed. Have occasional glass of wine or  Baileys at special celebrations and don't miss it at all. Luckily my husband was a non drinker so supported me totally.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • odie16
    odie16 Member Posts: 1,882
    edited June 2014

    I actually didn't really drink prior to BC but now enjoy a wine cooler or two per week. My MO says it is fine in moderation so I don't worry about it. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 7,496
    edited June 2014

    I drink.  I think my risk of cardiac disease is greater than my risk of breast cancer recurrence.  My cardiologist told me to keep doing whatever it is I'm doing.  I walk 3 miles most days.  Enjoy a glass of wine.  Read most days... a lot!  Smile, laugh... try not to worry about what I should and should not do! Life is good!  Cheers!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • NancyHB
    NancyHB Member Posts: 1,512
    edited June 2014

    I was just learning to love and appreciate wine (and top shelf liquor, thanks to my DIL), but I slowed to almost a stop when dx.  Part if it was weight control, the other part because it irritated my bowels during chemo.  I quit for good recently when dx'd with tachycardia as the alcohol irritates my heart.  I miss it - a lot - but it doesn't really like me anymore.  :-(

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited June 2014

    I am not now, nor was I ever a big drinker but I find wine to be enjoyable with food or in social situations. I also enjoy a cocktail every now and then. I was stage IV almost from the beginning and have been NED since initial tx. Breast cancer has taken many things from me, I won't allow it to take away some of life's little pleasures.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SelenaWolf
    SelenaWolf Member Posts: 1,724
    edited June 2014

    I am a moderate drinker (mostly wine) and my MO told me that was fine.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Betty14
    Betty14 Member Posts: 89
    edited June 2014

    Hello..

                I had already quit alcohol many years prior to my dx because I found it aggravated my anxiety the next day. I used to enjoy my red wine and sometimes if I see someone sipping on a glass of red in a film or something I think it would be nice to enjoy one myself but then I say "nah". 
    It feels like another life time that I drank wine....how strange.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • cakes
    cakes Member Posts: 157
    edited June 2014

    Selena ~

    I am a moderate wine drinker as well. I asked my MO if I should stop and was told "no…..take B-complex" as alcohol depletes it. Sounds good to me. If I were told to quit……I would. 

    I love your tag "good girls never made history". I had t-shirts made for my friends and daughter with that phrase on them. LOL!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MsPharoah
    MsPharoah Member Posts: 1,034
    edited June 2014

    Good thread!  I selected my oncologist because she said I could still drink wine occassionally while my second opinion said "No way".  Of course wine tasted like spit on chemo, so I didn't partake anyway while on chemo.    But I do have an occassional cocktail, wine or beer now.  Probably 2 drinks a week and I refuse to stop.  Breast cancer took away my sense of well being, it better keep its paws off my booze. 

    MsP

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • GwennyMD
    GwennyMD Member Posts: 147
    edited June 2014

    I gave up alcohol during chemo.  However I was never a big drinker.  I am primarily a social drinker.I prefer a sweet wine or an occasional "girlie" drink.  I am trying to eat better and to signficantly reduce the amount of chemicals and processed foods I consume.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • edwards750
    edwards750 Member Posts: 3,761
    edited June 2014

    I didn't give up drinking either but then again I don't drink much. I am not a wine drinker - gives me a headache and I loved my vodka Collins but now its pretty much Corona or Blue Moon or Stella beer and I drink those only when DH and I go out. Most of the articles I have read say to cut back on alcohol but you don't have to totally abstain. Individual choice. My sister in law had DCIS 6 years ago. She drank during that time and consumes a lot now; mostly wine. She was always a big wine drinker even before her DX. To each his own.

    Diane

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited June 2014

    No, my habits have not changed.

    My thinking about alcohol (as well as the many drugs that come along with BC) is that my liver doesn't need all the extra work and I am always looking for ways to minimize the substances as much as possible and give it a break.  Call me over-protective.  I'm just funny that way.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lmcclure4477
    lmcclure4477 Member Posts: 180
    edited June 2014

    I was told by my MO to consume no more then 2 alcoholic beverages a week. I used to be a big drinker and drink mostly beer. Now I only drink one day a week and only 2-3 glasses of wine. Some weekends I'll have 2 glasses of wine both days. I figure you gotta live!!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited June 2014

    My MO responded to my question about drinking with 'Are you asking me if you think you'll live longer if you stop drinking alcohol?' Yes, I responded-that's what I'm asking. 'Well,' she said, 'probably not; it will just SEEM like you're living longer.'

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • cakes
    cakes Member Posts: 157
    edited June 2014

    Oh carol57….that is so funny! Thanks for the laugh today, I needed that.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • doxie
    doxie Member Posts: 1,455
    edited June 2014

    I want Carol's MO.  

    I specifically chose not to ask my MO.  I've read the literature.  For a couple of years I was very good about not drinking.  Now since I cannot have NSAIDs and I take the gin and golden raisin home remedy for pain, why not a little more gin?  It seems to be working.  Or I'm deluding myself, which is fine because even if it's only in my head, I like what is there.  The pain is less.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • placid44
    placid44 Member Posts: 497
    edited June 2014

    I quit altogether.  I have read and heard that reducing or eliminating alcohol is good for TNBC. For me, alcohol is one of the few (alleged) risk factors that I can control, so I felt better quitting. I am not doing as well with the weight loss, but ok. I have 25 lb. to lose.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Alive4Five
    Alive4Five Member Posts: 2,394
    edited June 2014

    hmmm, well placid, maybe I should reconsider starting again..goodness knows I 'need' a couple of extra pounds! ;)

    With all the sweets and goodies I eat, I 'should' be as big as my fridge LOL!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • TB90
    TB90 Member Posts: 992
    edited June 2014

    Carol57:  Sign me up for your MO too!  I am now using that line along with Selena's, "Wine is what separates us from the other species!"  Love them both.  I have been resisting, but am now going to have that glass of wine!  It is gorgeous out and the deck is beckoning me, but as it is not yet the weekend, feel guilty to have a glass.  Damn that guilt that bc has created.   

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • littlechicken
    littlechicken Member Posts: 13
    edited June 2014

    placid44- You're not alone. I gave up the booze but can't seem to drop any weight! It's beyond frustrating. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Trisha-Anne
    Trisha-Anne Member Posts: 2,112
    edited June 2014

    I was a social drinker before bc, maybe a drink every couple of months, but can't stand the taste of it now.  I do think every now and then, it would be nice to enjoy a glass of white, but can't even get past the smell now lol

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dwill
    dwill Member Posts: 312
    edited June 2014


    Don't care too much for sweets, candy, etc., but do love a couple glasses of white semi-dry wine a couple times a week before bedtime.  My doctor thinks it is okay and it is the one comfort I do not want to give up. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories