21 replies to this topic

[cdog]

I was just curious about drinking during thr recovery period. If I go out w/ friends like once or twice a month and get fairly drunk can that prevent me from possibly healing?

It's been 6 months since my injury.

[juls]

The only reason i was told we couldn't drink was because alcohol is a dieuretic (sp?) The people that i met in rehab that were similar to you were actually quite big drinkers as they could actually get to the pub unassisted!
I can't see that it would hurt but thats just a very uneducated guess! Your photos are great by the way, you're both very lucky to have each other

[ericck]

i read the spinal cord book i got from the hospital when i was realeased,it says u can have 2 beers or 2 mixed drinks a day.i do drink so far with no ill effects.

[ruth]

Hi

I think that the 2 drink rule is for everyone (not just sci's). Alcohol does damage everyone, and as we are now disabled, we need to take better care of ourselves than anyone else.

Having said that, I think getting a social life back is very important to our quality of life and emotional wellbeing. Just dont forget that alcohol is a diuretic, so you need to go the the loo a lot if you're drinking (if you arent using leg bags perhaps pints are not a possibility anymore,, as you'll spend more time in the tiolet than with your friends ), and need to drink lots of water before you go to bed, so you arent too dehydrated the next day.

Our spinal unit encouraged us to go down the pub and socialise / drink as we did before our accidents as it helps regain a sense of normality.

Go out and have fun . Mine's a Pimms and lemonade!

[harris]

cdog, on Aug 31 2006, 02:44 PM, said:

I was just curious about drinking during thr recovery period. If I go out w/ friends like once or twice a month and get fairly drunk can that prevent me from possibly healing?

It's been 6 months since my injury.

hi my name is ben Harris and i am 19. i am t6 complete and just to let you know i go out every weekend with my mates and get pretty damm hammerd so far i havent had any bad side affects except for killer hang overs so go out and rip it up!

cheers,
ben

[DaveP]

If I drink too much, my legs spasm and my body/joints are generally stiff. I was told that when drinking, alcohol enters the liquid in our joints, and that's why we get stiff - the same reason why some people get Gout. I imagine that as we don't "walk it off", it'll take longer for the alcohol in our joints to get flushed out.

[juls]

I love drinking champagne as it dehydrates you so i can sit up all night and not have to worry about going to the loo (i know, i know..so bad for you!!) but i agree with Dave, i do get a bit more spasmy then usual but i find it's worth it we are still young normal people and love to have fun..you'll work it out through trial and error what you can and can't handle..hangovers are a killer though

[bigsmiles]

Heres to hangovers all over the world

[brackman22]

bigsmiles, on Aug 31 2006, 12:06 PM, said:

Heres to hangovers all over the world

To hangovers!

[lune14]

The only negative thing I can think of is bladder (besides the common dangers of drinking, that is). When I was still in rehab we were situated next door to a local pub and one night I wheeled over there looking for a friend/co-patient who had never returned with the rest of the gang earlier that night. To my horror I found him sitting on the ground in the parking lot with a drunken hooker in stilettos trying to lift him from under his arms, back into his chair. He was a very fresh injury so she really could have done him some harm possibly. In any case they had to rush him to the main hospital that night as he was so wasted he didn't cath and had exceeded 1000 cc's. That's not something to mess around with.

I once drank myself into "falling asleep in my chair" and woke hours later in my bed not knowing how I got there. My boyfriend had undressed me and put me in bed but never thought about my needing to cath. I was lucky though cuz my bladder won't hold much! LOL

[brenrich]

They had no problem with me drinking in the spinal unit when i had my accident in 91. Mind you I was only 16 and drinking Theakston's Old Peculiar!

[Lucky]

No, I don't think it will do any damage....try Guinness, it may help !

[milosh]

i agree with you guys!

drinking beer is good for kidneys and bladder. ;)

[RYAN68]

went out this past weekend and got a little tore up saturday night....well all day sunday, I was so stiff, and prolly had leaked 5-6 different times sunday-monday...oh well i guess if you wanna play you gotta pay...prolly would of been better if they didnt give me any of that UV stuff...Bud light all the way for me..

[bedrock]

HI!

From my byfriends point of view, he has more spams and is stiff in his joints when he has been drinking. From my point of view - the biggest hazzard - him being tipped out of his chair by someone who doesnt understand balance! A major issue when around other people who have been drinking. We say, live your life, take care of your body, have fun, you only live once - dont drink to excess but enjoy your life x

[Chilepepper]

bedrock, on Nov 7 2006, 07:00 PM, said:

HI!

From my byfriends point of view, he has more spams and is stiff in his joints when he has been drinking. From my point of view - the biggest hazzard - him being tipped out of his chair by someone who doesnt understand balance! A major issue when around other people who have been drinking. We say, live your life, take care of your body, have fun, you only live once - dont drink to excess but enjoy your life x

I agree with what you are saying in with regards to balance when having too many wobble pops. Psople just don't understand so when they want to hug you you better prepare yourself because the both of you will be on the floor before could say, "jumping jack flash".

[milosh]

ohh guys... in russia it's custom to slap each other and hit shoulders/back while you drink. ;) it was a great excercise for me to keep balance. ;)

[elisabeth]

I used to get drunk every now and again when I was in rehab, and pretty much most days I would have one or two glasses of wine, it didn't affect my recovery... but the most important thing to remember is that lots of alcohol can help bring bowel movements forward, I learnt that the hard way so just be careful!

[Tinbasher]

I think the warning we all get at rehab about drinking is more to do with the medical view that SCI are well represented in the ranks of all kinds of addicts! Also getting drunk does cause a degree of neglact in pressure lifting cathing etc all the stuff that new SCI's are told they must do or DIE!

T

[glamisgirl]

my doctor said alchol was fine, but what he worried about was the amount I was drinking, he was afraid I would be falling out of my chair every time I drank. He was right, I fell out of my chair last weekend, goldenschlager-yum.

[silone74]

Hi when i was in hospital we used to go down the pub every week with the nurses we used to keep an eye out for expanding leg bags lol and enjoy it,the staff at the pub used to help push us back to hospital at closing time 2,used to take some time to get into bed mind you lol never get hang overs dont know why just lucky i guess and guiness is great to help bowel movement LOL. Just remember you still are the same person as before and if you enjoy a good social life why should you stop going out and enjoying your self its also a good way to break down the barriers between the small minded people out there espescially when you beat them at pool LOL.



Silone74.

[milosh]

yeah! beer is good for bladde while wine helps your blood circulation. ;) things SCI people often have problems with.