Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hello everyone. I started hormones two weeks ago and I'm super happy so far. But I wanted to know your experiences with drinking alcohol while on HRT?

I know it's best to not drink at all, but is 2-3 drinks max really that bad? I haven't had a single drink in like 4 months and all my blood tests (liver etc) came back perfect. Also, I don't smoke, ever.

The reason I ask is because I really want to tell one of my closer friends that I'm trans (he literally has no idea at all anything has been going on with me). But honestly, the only way the words will come out of my mouth is if I have a buzz to calm me down beforehand. My anxiety will make me choke up if I don't and thats the last thing I need at that moment. Im terrified of telling him but I kind of have to at this point.

So if I do do it, can I drink without having to skip my mones that day? And how many hours should I separate the drinks and the (night) dose of my hormones? Does that even matter?

Thanks everyone (:

Hi there.
HRT affected my alcohol tolerance hugely! I basically had to "relearn" my limits when having a few drinks...

I enjoy my red wine, and often have a glass or two in the evenings. I do try and limit the consumption of alcohol  for an hour or two after taking my meds, if possible.

My endo claims it doesn't matter if you have a drink or two and it shouldn't affect the medication much.

This is just my opinion and i guess others might feel different about it, so draw your own conclusion.

Yeah I'm really not good with alco now. One or two drinks and I'm done.
Besides with type 2 diabetes and medication I cannot drink much anyway, so I don't.

I drink like a fish. It's the only way I make it from one day to the next. I don't think it's interfered with my HRT at all. Other aspects of my life, yes... HRT, no. I have never seen ethanol contraindicated for HRT (mtf).

Mila2015. Many are on HRT and still do drink and they don''t have any issues, but when in doubt in never hurts to check with your doctor/ Endo. I don't drink, but i would imagine that in moderation it shouldn't be an issue. Hugs
Mariah

For me since HRT I can only handle a few drinks, after 2 glasses of wine, I can start feeling a little woozy... shame I love my wine, especially out eating....

FWIW - We have a National guideline here in Australia for Alcohol is 2 std drinks for males per day, 1 std for women... Shame as they used to say a glass or two of red per day is beneficial... now  :'(

L Katy

Aside from my tolerance greatly decreasing, I don't think there is a reason to worry. Provided you aren't otherwise abusing your liver, etc, with recreational drugs or self med' ing.

In fact I attribute most of my alcohol intolerance to simply "being out of shape". Pre-HRT I would drink a lot. Often binge. Now my wife says after just 1 glass of wine I get goofy. I believe it. I am waaayyy out of shape now.

I am also Wayyyyy happier. A lot less noise in my head to drown

Quote from: Kira357 on April 30, 2015, 08:19:42 AM
I drink like a fish. It's the only way I make it from one day to the next. I don't think it's interfered with my HRT at all. Other aspects of my life, yes... HRT, no. I have never seen ethanol contraindicated for HRT (mtf).

I'ze a fish drinker too!
:D  :D  :D

I like to have a social drink - always in moderation. If you cause damage to your liver through binge or excessive drinking then it may complicate your HRT treatment.

Drinking and HRT don't mix well (pun intended).  Breast cancer risk increases. Gastrointestinal problems. Pancreatitis. Exacerbation of potassium problems. That's a good start.

My question for the OP is why you would tell ANYONE if they didn't have a NEED to know.  I'm an advocate of saying nothing until necessary.  If you're transitioning - assumed - control the message.

As with others, my tolerance was greatly diminished once I am on HRT. I still drink but wayyy less than before, which is good because my wallet is happier :l haha.

LeaP, the OP says "closer" friends. I can see how hard it is to hide your truth with someone close, it is like being in the closet all over again. I personally will let my close friends know, so that I will feel more comfortable around them and won't have anything to hide.

Everyone feels an urge to tell.  You're busting out to bust out.  I get it. 

But hold the thought.  Because the second you tell someone, you've lost a degree of control over your transition.  You are close to your friends.  I guarantee your friends are close to yet others.  And pretty soon people are talking about you before you're prepared to deal with it, without having had the opportunity to do it on your terms, and quite possibly in ways that may hurt you.  Including some of those "closer" friends.  You cannot predict how they will react and you will not be able to tell from their reactions.  Those will be almost universally positive, by the way, but I know plenty of transitions who slowly but surely lost ALL of their closest friends. 

I don't normally drink much, but I certainly did last week. I had a drink almost every day if not every day. Normally its months per drink. It was a stressful week and it helped. This week I'm back to my regular schedule at work and it already feels like a vacation.

When my doctor asked about my alcohol consumption, I told her I drink very infrequently and she said that a drink or two every now and then wouldn't hurt. It doesn't seem to be a problem so long as you don't make your liver work too hard, it's got enough to do already. ;)

My doc said the exact same thing. Ive lost my tolerance big time, but then again, since starting hrt, i dont feel the need to drink as much anyway

I drink less than before since my tolerance has decreased, but other than that I decided quite early that other than keeping in mind the lower recommended maximum intake for women (I presume this is based on hormones as well as body weight), I would not stop drinking or become exceedingly moderate. While I'm sure alcohol has some minor effect on HRT, a lot of things do, and avoiding them all would make life quite boring. I focus on healthy eating (though also I have to take care not to make too strict rules, as I'm prone to orthorexia), and I stopped using tobacco (Swedish snus) around when I started HRT. I think such things are more important, since we after all eat several times a day, and people who use tobacco tend to do so quite often; in my case it was continuous.

HRT seems to be working well with me (I'm positively surprised to be honest), and my liver values (ALAT, ASAT and so on) are at the lower end of normal range, so it does not seem to affect my liver negatively in any way. I'm on Spiro and Estradot patches; whether this would be different if I was taking estrogens orally, I don't know.

Lastly, I think it's important to listen to your doctor, especially if their advice is due to changes in your blood tests. HRT does affect the liver to varying degrees depending on delivery mechanism, and obviously alcohol could have a detrimental effect if the liver values are elevated, or under any circumstance if used excessively.