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Alcohol
#1
Alcohol
Does no one here drink or is it a skirted around, subject avoided? My very first post was worded like an AA intro on purpose.

None of my friends would call me an alcoholic but my GP does. Any more than four a day you are DOOMED!!!

In the real world, before I did my sleep test, I programmed two booze-free days, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and that has been surprisingly easy. Trouble is that on Wednesdays and football nights on TV I catch up on what I missed out on those days.

I do need to get straight but when chronic fatigue and insomnia are your perennial friends, those couple of hours of anaesthetic are invaluable.

Am I alone?
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#2
RE: Alcohol
Probably you are not alone, mate, but speaking as a physician, I agree with your doc, and you DO need to kick the habit. Given the high levels of alcohol in Aussie beer (compared to American beer, which is like making love in a canoe) you are absorbing way too much, and limiting yourself to half a glass per day would be a good first step. Besides the depressive effects of alcohol on your system (and night time respiration) and ignoring what it is doing to your liver (which is starting to really hate you and plan revenge - while it is the most amazing and wonderful organ, it can only take so much), the amount sugar you are absorbing is enormous and is a nice sized factor in weight gain (which in turn is a factor in obstructive sleep apnoea) and eventual diabetes.

Do I drink? No. Did I drink? Yes. Guinness and good whiskey were my best friends (and I could easily put down 6 pints of the Guinness in a pub without getting roaring drunk) and I was a oenophile to boot (doesn't hurt to have a sister with a farm in Tuscan wine country). But I saw where it was leading, and I stopped over a decade ago, no need for AA or any other such stuff. I don't miss it, and I feel way better for it. No preaching here, just a good (and well informed) two quid's worth of comment.

I am sure others on this forum will also be habitual users, but my advice is that there is no health benefit to drinking (and the people who point to red wine ignore all the other factors involved, and the amounts of wine you would need to consume to get the requisite "benefit" from the active ingredients, so no, forget red wine as well, that is a myth concocted by the press based on a misunderstanding of the science involved). You want healthy, and prevent cancer? Drink a cup of broccoli soup a day. Really, it actually shrinks certain tumours.
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#3
RE: Alcohol
While I've never consumed mass quantities of any alcoholic beverage, I used to have a beer a day; that is until I developed gout! Since then I've virtually cut out all beer (still have beer in the frig from my 60th birthday party - nine years ago). I do have some wine with Sunday dinner - always white or rose'; the tannin in red wines tear up my stomach. And a couple of nights a week I'll have a shot of Wild Turkey's American Honey.

I used to have one or two drinks every night, but over the years i have slowed down my consumption. Heck, even though we have a well stocked bar in our entertainment area, we still have a partial bottle of gin that moved with us to Indy in 1975.

I doubt my "social drinking" has ever affected my OSA or my sleep.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. 
ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA.
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#4
RE: Alcohol
If I have one drink a couple of hours before bed my numbers stay pretty good, two or more and the numbers go up, same for my coffee consumption. If I have coffee too late in the day it impacts my Apnea.
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#5
RE: Alcohol
I have polished of a bottle of wine and had great AHI numbers, but the dehydration the next morning was not cool. I love craft beer and I also home brew. I don't have apnea problems from it, but DocWils is right on about the excess caloric intake that this can add up to.
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#6
RE: Alcohol
(07-22-2015, 08:32 AM)DocWils Wrote: which is like making love in a canoe

Don't knock it unless you have tried it!! And if you want a real challenge try it standing up in a canoe. Big Grin

As for the alcohol, I am not a teetotaler but I only drink rarely any more. I never really drank all that frequently to begin with. I do not know why I "almost" quit. I guess I just lost interest.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Admin Note:
PaytonA passed away in September 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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#7
RE: Alcohol
"Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore always carry a small snake."
-- W. C. Fields
Admin Note:
JustMongo passed away in August 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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#8
RE: Alcohol
(07-22-2015, 08:32 AM)DocWils Wrote: Given the high levels of alcohol in Aussie beer (compared to American beer, which is like making love in a canoe) you are absorbing way too much, and limiting yourself to half a glass per day would be a good first step.

As I sit here with my Great Lakes (Lake Erie Monster) Double IPA brewed in the U.S.A. Ohio with 9.1% ABV, I have to ask...WTF are you talking about? The only wimpy "American Beer" is the mass produced Pilsner. We have some really great craft brewing here. Not everyone is tossing a Bud Lite can out the window of their pickup truck.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#9
RE: Alcohol
My brother in law swears since going on CPAP he hasn't had a hangover!!!
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#10
RE: Alcohol
Me - Love a Shiner Bok, or a Sam Adams - great US beers but lets be fair, they are the exception where nearly every Aussie beer is drinkable (Except Fosters)

As to drinking with Apnea - I have one most nights with my meal, either a beer (good ole XXXX Gold) or a Cider.
I used to drink scotch until I developed an intolerance to the iodine in it - I am still weeping over that.
My AHI is sub 1. It does not show any change for the nights I don't drink.

As for you - 4 a night seems to be pushing the friendship and I expect it is distorting the treatment. Apart from anything else I think my bladder would explode halfway through the night. I am sure you can probably adjust the CPAP so you do not get apneas but the other downstream impacts, and the fact that alcohol tends to lock you into a lighter sleep so you just do not get rested would mean you are not winning even if sleepyhead is giving good stats.

I have nothing against hitting the sauce solidly for an occasion (say - its Saturday and the Maroons won, or just that its saturday) but every night....
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