Methotrexate & Alcohol | Arthritis Information

Having tasted and collected wines over the years, I hate to think of abandoning my wine cellar now that I am going on Methotrexate. Any one have any experience mixing the two? It seems most all meds say "no alcohol".
Geneo39184.5574074074

The general rule of thumb regarding alcohol and mtx is in moderation. A glass or 2 of wine a week is ok. You just really have to watch your liver enzymes with mtx and adding alcohol to that you just have to do it in moderation. There is a supplement Bonny takes that I can never remember the name of to help with the liver. She is going to tattoo it to my forehead one of these days lol.

It is best to also check with your doc on this too.

Welcome Geneo. I've been on MTX for years and drink several glasses of wine a week. Some disagree.....some agree; seems to be a matter of opinion.

Check out a recent thread here on AI where we talked about it:

http://arthritisinsight.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7195&a mp;PN=8

Again; Welcome to AI.

I understand that wheat grass juice cleans the liver. It can be bought at Whole Foods in the frozen food section. I want to do more reading on the subject.

I think the supplement grammaskittles is referring to is Milk Thistle. It cleanses the liver.

kweenb39184.5237268519WHEAT GRASS JUICE? My doc is really old-fashioned and has said a big NO.

My mom is also a doctor (non-rheumy) and says a glass a week won't
hurt.

I go a glass every two weeks as compromise! But I"m also on a low dose
(7.5 mg's)

Best, Thank you kweenb!! Yep, that is it. Milk Thistle. One of these days I will remember it. I blame RA brain fog LOL!I've been on MTX for about a year and a half. I'll have an occasional glass of wine or margarita. Probably about once or twice a month. I've never had any problems with my liver tests so far--they've always been well within the normal range.

My doctor would rather I didn't have any alcohol, but I figure once in a while is okay--as long as I get my bloodwork done regularly and it doesn't show any problems.

dordale

I'm not much of a drinker, but another supplement for protecting the liver from all the meds we're on is SAM-e (s-adenosylmethionine). It has the added benefits of helping your joints and fighting depression.

However, a study last year suggested that it may reduce the effectiveness of the mtx. It is my understanding that it was not conclusive, and there have been no further studies.

I've been on 400 mg of SAM-e twice daily for years. When I started on the mtx, RD and pharmacist agreed that I should reduce it to 400 mg once a day to be safe.

I am very lucky that in the twenty years I've been taking daily medication (now up to 13 prescriptions), I have never had problems with my liver.

I cant go without my MTX. I have had high liver enzymes, so I don't drink. period.