Keep Friends Up to Speed
When you are out drinking with friends, lupus or not, it is always important to ensure you are looking out for one another. This is even more important when you have lupus — someone needs to be very aware of the fact that you could be sick or have an issue due to your medication before you even go out.
You'll also want to make sure your friends know why you may not be able to drink like they can, or like you used to. In college, I am very aware that this can be an issue, as people like to peer pressure and be very nosy about why someone isn’t drinking.
Because of this, you may want to choose friends who don’t drink very often, or sit your friends down and explain lupus means that drinking has to be a moderate activity for you. Good friends will definitely understand this and will leave you alone when you know you’ve reached your limit.
Remember, Binge Drinking Is Never Healthy
Although college culture (and sometimes post-college culture, depending on where you live) often encourages binge drinking, it is important to remember that this isn’t healthy for anyone, lupus or not.
If you are trying to lead a healthy lifestyle and keep your lupus symptoms at bay, binge drinking isn’t going to help. Besides, when you’ve got lupus, the hangovers can be even more brutal than “normal” people’s, so why make yourself feel worse?
The upside to all of this is that you can get a little buzz going long before everyone else and it is typically only generated after only a couple of drinks. This means your bar tab is going to be a heck of a lot lower than your peers.
Everything in Moderation
If you do choose to drink, moderation is key. There is definitely no harm in having a few drinks every once in a while (if your doctor is in agreement).
But, as with everything involving lupus, you still need to pay close attention to your body while you’re doing it.
For me, certain alcohols have negative effects on my body. As much as I really want to love red wine, it gives me a huge headache, so I have to stick to white or bubbly wine. Similarly, some hard alcohol will make me feel sick immediately, so I steer clear of it.
Personally, I’m in for more of the fruity/sweet drinks with limited alcohol content. I’m not sure whether it is my personality or because I experience interactions with my medication, but personally I don’t see a point in drinking if I am not enjoying the taste of it. Therefore, I stick to what I like, which is usually a lot less alcoholic than what most people are drinking.
Keeping your alcohol intake to a moderate level is going to have a much more positive impact on you and your physical and mental health. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you any differently.
