alcohol

[Windsor2k]

What are your experiences with alcohol? some folks say it undoubtedly causes a flare whereas others have little or no problem with booze. Myself- I think it has a moderately irritative effect.

Will

[webslave]

It doesn't usually affect me, unless I drink red wine (whoa!). I drink alcohol three or four times a year.

[Richard.N]

Alcohol seems to cause problems for me. I may have a slight intolerance of it as it affects my sinuses also.

[akia]

I find darker alcohols and beers affect me more. I tend to drink clear alcohols like vodka and gin. Sometimes it bothers me and sometimes it doesn't.

Theres just no telling

[Shawn]

My chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome has been absent for a while, but when it was at its' worst I actually found that drinking alcohol (specifically beer) helped. Apparently my enlarged prostate was blocking the urine flow and trips to the bathroom where far and few between and slightly forced the few times I did have the urge. After having a few beers I didn't have a problem getting a normal flow.

The pain didn't seem to increase when I did drink.

[Richard.N]

Funny you should mention that Shawn, but alcohol does seem to work for me as a short term muscle relaxant. From what I remember.

[Bill in NH]

Red wine seems to have a dramatically GOOD effect on me. I don't know if it's due to the red wine per se or simply the alcohol. Anyway, two glasses seems to greatly reduce my symptoms - pain or discomfort - and enable me to relax (2mg Valium does the same thing). Often the beneficial effect seems to last into the next day. I don't ever recall a negative experience with red wine although I do recall one after beer (whether it had anything to do with the beer I don't know). Because of my positive experiences, I have gradually increased my wine consumption to two glasses, 3-4 nights per week.

Mark, perhaps you just had a red wine from a bad year! I'm keeping track of all the different types I drink and should became quite a expert soon, at least from the warped perspective of a CP sufferer.

[Carlton Higgins]

I used to think that alcohol was a major irritant and avoided it. Then, after my symptoms subsided, I decided to "test the waters" and have a few drinks. I have since found that alcohol does not cause any increase in symptoms, even when taken to a pretty large degree. While I will urinate more when drinking, I usually sleep ok and have no problems the next day. In fact, it sometimes seems to help.

Other liquids such as Soymilk DO cause a problem for me. I will have urgency a frequency if I drink this stuff.

[tom402]

I find I can tolerate most drinks, alcoholic or otherwise. Although when consuming large amounts of beer (which isn't that often) I get the "breaking the seal" syndrome of having to go like every 15 minutes after the first urination of the evening, but then all my friends go through the same thing and most of them don't share my prostatitis symptoms. What I find really irritates my bladder is highly acidic fruit juices. Cranberry juice for example, which is meant to be good for the urinary tract, sets my bladder on FIRE.

[webslave]

Cranberry is a well-known trigger for IC patients. It's only useful if you have chronic bacterial cystitis (which you obviously don't have), and even then you can get the benefits of cranberry in pill form without suffering the acidity of the juice.