Newly diagnosed - Thoughts about drinking alcohol

I am just recently diagnosed. From what I’ve read there is only anecdotal information stating that drinking alcohol can cause prostate cancer. I’ve read nothing that says it makes it worse or go away if you don’t drink alcohol. However it can effect the medications you may be taking so check on that. I’m not a doctor, just doing lots of searches after my biopsy and before my body scan and CT scan. If it was me, I’d enjoy life.

Agree...your not drinking that much (I am not a doc) I am 77, very heavy smoker/drinker for 40 years....no longer smoke, one cocktail per night...blessed with a Polish body which can handle the alcohol (for now) docs have not warned me off...physically strong/active..as the above watch mixing with meds which does not bother me, except for the ocassional Zolpiden/sleeping pill...no-no.

I should think that it will depend on the drug regimen you will be on and the timing before your cruise. As I think I noted to you in the Lupron discussion, I found that my ADT drug (Eligard, newer version of Lupron) seems to have made me a lot more susceptible to the effects of alcohol at least in the early stages. One glass of wine about 10 days after my shot with the addition of the Casodex affected me as much as a Manhattan and a glass of wine would normally make me feel. It's possible that, now 8 weeks out from the initial shot, my body may have adjusted to the "new normal", but I've been reluctant to find out. Perhaps at Easter I'll give it another try, after I've completed my radiation therapy (brachytherapy this morning, regular radiation for 4-5 weeks starting in a couple weeks).

You might want to consider a non-alcoholic beer for now. I work at a retail liquor store and have heard from many of my customers how surprisingly good some of the NA beers are. You might check with your local store for recommendations before your trip.

I was diagnosed in January 2014. I've attached my clinical history. Throughout my treatments and subsequent "off" times, my medical team has never told me to abstain, rather, as in diet, moderation.

So, some nights it's a glass of wine, other nights a beer or two, an old fashioned or something else I make (my friends always say "you have the ingredients to make that...!? My wife "complains" about the cabinet space my liquor takes up, though she likes the Cosmos I make!)

So, I say go ahead and have that drink!

As others have said, not a medical trained person, talk with your medical team and do your homework.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,
Just been looking at your treatment history again and can see you have a couple of AFib episodes. Was that related to the treatment by any chance as my new smartwatch has just picked this up, so I've just worn a cardio monitor for 48 hrs and awaiting results. I don't get any symptoms of irregular heart beat, but have undergone hormone therapy, chemo and radiation in past 15 months, also read that the covid vaccines may have a part to play.
I'm currently still on Lupron and Xanti.
On the question of alcohol, I used to drink a reasonable amount mostly socially at weekends, but since diagnosis have cut back by probably 90 %.
Maybe have one drink a week now and a few more when on vacation. I have read that there is good evidence to link alcohol to inflammation and it can be a contributing factor in PC, so I heed that advice. As others have said there are many great non/low alcohol beers out there now which taste great, just watch out for high sugar content in most of the mass produced ones. In the UK we have some great IPA's.
In my case, since cutting down on beer consumption helped me with my weight reduction along with a whole food plant based diet and me taking up running age 61. Although I sometimes miss the boozy nights out with my friends at weekends, can't say I miss the hangovers next morning 😅

I enjoyed the taste of a good beer/wine before my prostate cancer arrived. During my first year of treatments I lost my taste for beer/wine. It didn't sound good so I didn't have any. My cancer team did informed me that might happen. My taste have returned but my palate changed. I enjoy a beer, cold draft beer, or wine, good wine, once or twice a month. My Oncologist and Cancer Team encourage me to maintain a balanced diet. Alcohol consumption is always listed on my quarterly office visits.

I've had NA beers and they're fine, but I also want to enjoy the effects of some alcohol. I don’t need to get wrecked 😁

Thanks for sharing your details! Your thoughts about alcohol are helpful too. I’ll def be checking with my doc to confirm i can truly enjoy the cruise with the alcohol package i paid for.

The first Afib episode I had was in December 2010, resulting in having a cardio conversion. Subsequently, I had Paroxysmal Afib, occurring episodically. We tried various medications, I still had intermittent episodes, some at the the breakthrough levels with HR climbing to 170 and above with the resulting dizziness, shortness of breath. When that happened riding 50 miles or so on my bike, well...

My cardiologist thought alcohol was the trigger and wanted me to abstain. I reminded him that in our previous consultations, he said I had an extra heart beat and would like begin to experience Afib. Nonetheless, I did abstain, that didn't stop the Afib breakthrough episodes., so went with the ablation, problem solved.

None of my medical team is willing to definitely say the treatment for PCa may have been a factor. I can understand, there is no clear and definitive linkage. Still, in my mind, given the CV side affect profile of the treatments, I cannot say it wasn't. Then again, I am getting older...I do remember one incident while on ADT prior to Afib developing, I was playing basketball and my heart suddenly raced to 200, damn near passed out. It subsided and I continued playing, but...never had that happen before!

When I talk with others who are starting their treatments, I ask them to consider bringing a cardiologist onto their medical team, get a baseline consultation and assessment and then see their cardiologist at any signs of CV problems or at periodic intervals throughout their treatment.

There is no doubt as you say, that moderation of consumption has a wide variety of beneficial affects. I did not agree with my cardiologist about abstinence, rather, moderation. I said "you are too quick to dismiss the root cause as my PCa treatment but are awfully quick and sure to link it to alcohol." I said it may very well be the opposite, think about that! Since the ablation, zero Afib episodes, coming up on six months! And yes, I still enjoy the occasional glass of wine, beer, or mixed drink, all in moderation of course!

Cheers Kujhawk,
That's really intersting about how you managed your Afib. And regarding alcohol, yes of course all about moderation 😁🍻