Have you given up alcohol?

I asked my MO who is very conservative and she said it would be fine to drink no more than 3 glasses of wine a week, even though I'm TN.  Actually from what I've researched there seems to be a lot of ambiguity about TN and the effect of alcohol because it increases estrogen and we are estrogen negative.  Anyway, I fully intend to enjoy my 3 weekly glasses of wine a week when my chemo is over.  I enjoy it, especially when out to dinner!  I exercise religiously every day, eat healthy, and already a good weight but still down about 4-5 lbs from the AC. 

I also agree with Carol's MO! You do what you can do. Like our treatment plans, we have to pick one that we can live with and think is right for us.  The same goes for following risk factor guidelines. If you eat well, exercise, stay thin ( for those ER positive) then I don't see anything wrong with drinking in moderation and enjoying yourself. It is funny, I don't think people in general feel as guilty about eating a cookie as having a drink but the sugar is probably just as bad as the alcohol. 

This is a great thread. I appreciate how no one is judgmental yet they share their opinion in a way that doesn't step on toes. 

Cheers! (Be it wine or the beverage of your choice) 

I chose to stop drinking almost completely (I've had a handful of drinks in the last few years). But I haven't been much of a drinker (um, well not since my 20s) so it wasn't a big deal for me. But all this talk about swearing off sugar completely---yikes! Can't do it. (I eat pretty healthy and eat even healthier now).

FWIW, my RO mentioned the correlation between alcohol consumption and certain types of cancer, including BC, but said they don't know if it's cause and a effect, or even a societal correlation. (i.e. people who drink a lot also do some mysterious thing that increases their likelihood of BC). I found one study on PubMed that suggests that when the liver is filtering out the alcohol it's busy and thus less effective at filtering estrogen from our bodies. I don't know how valid the study is or whether it's been replicated. 

 I've never heard anything about diet coke and cancer but if you are concerned about bone health, the caffeine and phosphorus might be a concern. FWIW, I used to be addicted to diet coke too until I read the book The Mood Cure. For some people, the aspartame mucks with their serotonin level. I thought my mid-afternoon foggy-headedness at work was due to stress (or the food at lunch) but it turns out it was the diet coke. I wasn't fun to weaned myself off it, but now it's been years (!) and the couple times I've had a diet coke I definitely felt like crap afterward, so I'm no longer tempted. And I've found alternative drinks (like Honest Tea passionfruit green tea sweetened with stevia. A little caffeine and some sweetness). I thought I'd never be able to give up diet coke but it's possible

I have not given up alcohol. I try to eat well and exercise regularly. Cancer has already taken so much, I'll keep the alcohol.

Quit no, cut back yes.

No still wining

I pretty much have. I no longer buy it or keep it at home. I used to have a glass of wine or two with dinner regularly.  Now I treat myself to that only when out for dinner which is rarely more than once a week!

I can't believe I haven't seen this thread before because this is a huge issue in my house right now. My MO said no more than 6 per week. Well, in my studies (actually doing the breast cancer unit for NP program right now, yuck), my text states a risk factor is "one or more drinks per day"....well what the ^*% does that mean? Basically NO drinks! So I figured out a way to beat it.....I will drink a half of a beer per day! It's all I need...haha. Well I really did try that last night and it was fine. It is so hard because my husband drinks while he cooks dinner and it is such a routine for us to have one or sometimes two beers before we eat. I really overdid it this past weekend because my sister was in town and I hardly ever see her. We drank quite a bit and my mother had a sort of "intervention" for her so now she wants to go cold-turkey!

I am rambling, I haven't been drinking it is too early. This is a great thread.

For me I have to choose my calories carefully a glass of chardonnay is great but those are calories I have to trade for something else. I wish I was 21 again where i could eat cheese burgers fries a coke and then have a banana split and still weigh 115.

I like your kitty too but I wouldn't want to give him a bath

I agree about the calories. If I have one beer I could have had 3/4 of a meal and right now I need protein to heal.Again for me, what makes it so hard is my husband. I had a half a beer last night (grand total this wee is one beer) while he had 2 or 3 plus some left over sangria he was trying to "get rid of". He kept offering me a drink and I had to get kind of nasty!

melissa - Maybe we can catch-up on some calorie intake with some of those goodies you like to bake!  I know some fruit cakes have alcohol in them! 

Well, my closest, ahem, 'friend', would have been White Grenache.... When my one DS was about 5, he picked up my glass and tasted it, made a horrid face and called it Icky-Juice...LOL we ended up calling it that for years!