Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hey all,

Is it okay to occasionally drink alcohol with Spiro and estradiol.   I don't really drink, but tonight is going to be rough and want to at least have a drink or 4 to handle it.  And I have a wedding to go to in a week, so I would like to have a fun time and not worry about having a few drinks.  I haven't had a drink in a few months,  so it's not a common occurrence.   I just want to know if I can elect to drink responsibly if I choose or if it will destroy my liver.  I'm on a higher get regimen at this point,  so I want to be careful.

Also,  is it okay to skip Spiro for a day.  I take it 2 times daily, but only have one pill for Sunday because my pharmacy won't have things ready until Monday morning.   Is that okay?

Thanks for any feedback!  :)

I know you're a smart cookie LTL, but I just have to add this in: I never drink when I am in a bad mood, because doing that once to help get through a tough day sets you up to do it the next time you're having a bad day. I don't want to see you, or anyone else reading, to become dependent.

Anyways, have fun at the wedding, I have no answers to your question about how it would interact with hormones. :)

Alcohol is bad, m'kay.  :laugh: You probably shouldn't, but a bit of social drinking won't make the world stop spinning. Disclaimer: For me, a bit of social drinking quickly turned into something that made my world stop spinning. Also, consider if you want the full effects of your medication, or effects that may be hampered or slowed down by the alcohol.  Disclaimer #2: I'm not a doctor! The choice is up to you, hon. Hugs, Devlyn

Quote from: LearnedHand on November 16, 2013, 09:20:01 AM
I know you're a smart cookie LTL, but I just have to add this in: I never drink when I am in a bad mood, because doing that once to help get through a tough day sets you up to do it the next time you're having a bad day. I don't want to see you, or anyone else reading, to become dependent.

Anyways, have fun at the wedding, I have no answers to your question about how it would interact with hormones. :)

Yeah I know that.  It's just hard to sit at dinner with someone who believes you deserve to rot in hell eternally.  I do it because I love my sister and will support her relationship, but it's hard when her partner is a very devout socially conservative muslim.  Nothing wrong with any of that.  In fact, I like him despite some of his views and his attempts to force convert my sister.  It's just the first time I'm seeing him since he found out.  I'm very worried.

Also, this is the first time since hormones that I will be seeing my aunts and uncles, some of whom are very hard core catholics. I don't know how much is known and how they will react.  I just want to be prepared for the worst.  It will be an interesting night for sure.

I drink roughly every weekend (see my profile pic), and I think I'm doing okay.

I also have a drink regularly, just never over the top, and have never seen or heard anything which would suggest that it could have any negative effect on HRT.  Same with missing a pill from time to time, whether it be spiro, E or whatever...Sometimes you will actually forget because you are in a hurry or whatever but the effects of such an omission would, IMHO, be absolutely insignificant.
So relax and enjoy the upcoming events and if a drink or two helps make them more fun for you so be it. I'd be more concerned if you actually felt you needed to drink to get through them. That can quickly become a very slippery slope...
Hugs
Donna

I would recommend not drinking. I found out the hard way this summer, that even being slightly buzzed affected my actions when put into an uncomfortable situation. What normally would have only made me upset caused me to act like a complete ass.

Quote from: Bethany Dawn on November 16, 2013, 11:54:22 AM
I would recommend not drinking. I found out the hard way this summer, that even being slightly buzzed affected my actions when put into an uncomfortable situation. What normally would have only made me upset caused me to act like a complete ass.

I don't think this has anything to do with being on HRT. This is more likely an individual issue. Kind of like saying "I act inappropriate on alcohol, so I do not recommend it for you." No offense :)

I would agree with everyone that emotional drinking on a frequent basis is a bad thing.  Also, we do need to watch our intake and know our levels.  For me, it will be 3 or 4 smirnoff ices tonight.  I'm a lightweight and okay with that.  I just need to feel a little at ease to deal with family tonight.  And I'm really looking forward to my friends wedding and want to enjoy myself on that day.

Thanks for all the replies.

P.s.  The Spiro came in, so I won't have to wait for it.  Yay!

Yay for early Spiro! One less thing to worry about. Hugs, Devlyn

No comment on the alcohol,

Remember, you are a great person and have great value. You are a caring person and help others in need of support.

Bigots will always be there and your ability to be the fantastic "you" will overshadow their cloud of hate.

Have fun and associate with those who welcome you.

The medical guidelines say no more than one standard (alcohol) drink a day for females.

I'm also a person who lived in the bottle, it was easy to get in - I didn't realise how far I had degraded myself - it was hard to get out.

Good luck with your family dinner. Just remember, there is nothing wrong with you. You are normal healthy young woman who deserves the love and respect of her family. If they cannot give that then they are lesser people and do not deserve to have the joy of your life light up theirs.

Two days ago I had a pint of guiness. If my memory is correct, that's my first beer since... October. And the previous one in August. Espiro + Estradiol. What I have found is that anything over an specific graduation will make me think really awful things. Literally, high fermentation beers and liquors give me dysphoric peaks. So that's why I only drink alcohol free beer or weak beer nowadays.


Talked about it with the endo today... "Don't worry at all, I can see that you have zero issues with alcohol"


PS: Oh, I almost forgot. The reason why I will avoid drinking alcohol while in spiro... You know, mixing two diuretics can be a real problem, specially when you can't pee in the first wall you see anymore.

How bad can drinking alcohol really be if it's not in excess? Doesn't alcohol lower testosterone?

Well I think what we all need to keep in mind when we drink is that we are now hormonally female. So alcohol hits us way differently now for those of us on hrt. Just like cis women, we're much more sensitive to alcohol's effects so we need to stay cautious as to how much we consume.

Quote from: EmilyGlass on December 12, 2013, 12:29:36 PM
How bad can drinking alcohol really be if it's not in excess? Doesn't alcohol lower testosterone?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism#Early_signs

"The risk of alcohol dependence begins at low levels of drinking and increases directly with both the volume of alcohol consumed and a pattern of drinking larger amounts on an occasion. Young adults are particularly at risk."

You need to understand alcohol before you make assumptions about how dangerous it is, hon. Hugs, Devlyn

Well, since this thread has re-emerged I would like to say that my fears were overblown.  Nothing bad occured that weekend with family, and I shouldn't have drank.  Nothing bad occurred, but I should have dealt with it without substance because that can cause issues.  In fact, one of the people I was afraid to see, was actually upset that I was uncomfortable around them.  And he couldn't have been nicer to me that day and the last time I saw him. 

As for the wedding, let's just say I had a good time.  I haven't had a drink since nor do I really care too.  Drinking is more of an occasional social thing for me than a vice. 

I am taking Spironolactone. I took it a few hours before I went out for drinks with friends once... the side effects of the spiro were escalated...felt very foggy and had to pee much more frequently than what was normal. So... I advise not to drink  ::) . I had 2 shots, so maybe this incident doesn't count lol. But another advice would be to drink 4 part water to 1 part alcohol. I heard that helps to neutralize the alcohol as it really dilutes the content your body breaks down :)

BTW, since the thread is revived.. This year I'm staying at home on New Year's Eve, but after I take the Androcur train...


Alcohol, nay or nay?

Quote from: EmilyGlass on December 12, 2013, 12:29:36 PM
How bad can drinking alcohol really be if it's not in excess? Doesn't alcohol lower testosterone?

Moderation in everything is a good motto, some people are able to drink in moderation and are not adversely affected whereas others have an inherent alcohol addictive propensity, one or two drinks and they're hooked and their life starts down a slippery slope. Emily is right, that alcohol elevates estrogen levels but that is a poor reason to start drinking. Unfortunately we see more domestic violence issues occurring during the holiday season that is triggered by alcohol consumption coupled with seasonal stresses. Chances are that each drink consumed simply becomes nothing more than another shot of loudmouth, something we will learn to regret!

I never had any issues when it came to drinking and HRT. Once I was on drugs like Quetiapine ( A generic version of Seroquel) and Alprazolam due to these strange panic/anxiety attacks that popped up out of nowhere, I found out the hard way that I couldn't drink anymore. I normally would just have a cocktail or two and it was rare when I did drink. But last 4th of July, I drank a large amount for me (these days). It was almost a fifth of various mixed drinks. Well, the next day was pretty damn scary. I KNEW it was due to the alcohol interacting with those meds because I had never, ever felt like this before. It's hard to describe, really, but it scared me off from touching a drop of booze after that. (Which I suppose is for the best anyway...ya know...health reasons and all that.)

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on December 26, 2013, 11:09:07 AM
I never had any issues when it came to drinking and HRT. Once I was on drugs like Quetiapine ( A generic version of Seroquel) and Alprazolam due to these strange panic/anxiety attacks that popped up out of nowhere, I found out the hard wayt that I couldn't drink anymore. I normally would just have a cocktail or two and it was rare when I did drink. But last 4th of July, I drank a large for me (these days). It was almost a fifth of various mixed drinks. Well, the next day was pretty damn scary. I KNEW it was due to the alcohol interacting with those meds because I had never, ever felt like this before. It's hard to describe, really, but it scared me off from touching a drop of booze after that. (Which I suppose is for the best anyway...ya know...health reasons and all that.)

Last summer I enjoyed quite a few Electric Ice Teas on my patio, unbeknownst to me it was interacting adversely with my HRT and I wound up in the ER with blood pressure at 220/98, so it's off my list even as an occasional social thing.

Quote from: Shantel on December 26, 2013, 11:13:17 AM
Last summer I enjoyed quite a few Electric Ice Teas on my patio, unbeknownst to me it was interacting adversely with my HRT and I wound up in the ER with blood pressure at 220/98, so it's off my list even as an occasional social thing.

That's weird. I never had any BP issues when it came to that. Mine was always normal or near normal. Even when I was having these weird attacks.

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on December 26, 2013, 11:24:36 AM
That's weird. I never had any BP issues when it came to that. Mine was always normal or near normal. Even when I was having these weird attacks.

Everyone's body reacts differently to stimulants and depressants.

Had a few glasses wine last night. I've always been a lightweight, but wow did I feel tipsy.

Best not to, methinks.  :-\

My tolerance for alcohol has pretty much dropped to zilch on estrogen. I was at a friends house last night and had a very few sips of a couple of things and I definitely felt it. Back in my guy mode days it wasn't unusual for me to knock back 6-8 beers every night and not really feel it.

The good thing about my new tolerance level is that I'm saving money while not getting a beer gut :)

Prior to transition I could easily find a open, partially finished beer in my hand at night that I didn't want to have. It's been really hard to admit that I had a problem. At the time I used all kinds of excuses and justifications for why it was okay. Each excuse and justification ignoring the most important point of, I didn't want the bottle there.

When my SO's dad died this October we had to clean out his trailer. Inside, we found he'd been trying to ferment his own booze with rotting fruit. He'd had a long battle with alcoholism and seeing that bottle, struck me as like a peek into another life that mine might have ended up resembling had I not stopped picking up bottles. At least I hope I stopped.

Alcohol scares me on some level now.

Maybe this post is more for me than anyone who may read it. I've been admitting this more and more, but I want to keep admitting it to make sure I keep the memory fresh.

Hi I am Vicky and I am an Alcoholic with 5 years two months sobriety and 4 years 5 months on HRT and  11 and half months Post Op.  I had to do the sobriety issue before getting talked to about GD and over 6 months clean before my medical providers would prescribe the HRT.  From a miserable Alcohol user to a happy HRT user who has the Spiro now JUST for my now near normal blood pressure, what more can I say!! 

Quote from: Vicky on December 27, 2013, 12:18:07 AM
Hi I am Vicky and I am an Alcoholic with 5 years two months sobriety and 4 years 5 months on HRT and  11 and half months Post Op.  I had to do the sobriety issue before getting talked to about GD and over 6 months clean before my medical providers would prescribe the HRT.  From a miserable Alcohol user to a happy HRT user who has the Spiro now JUST for my now near normal blood pressure, what more can I say!!

Hi Vicky! Good for you girl, we all need to take a page from your playbook dear!