Taking Time Off From Alcohol-Consumption (Due to a Medicine)

Having been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, the rheumatologist who has been treating me has tried different medicines on me, with the most recent addition to my medicine being one that, unfortunately, is not good for my liver. Because it is not good for my liver, I am supposed to severely restrict my alcohol intake. When the rheumatologist first mentioned an alcohol intake restriction and began by saying "3-4 drinks...", I thought "He's not going to say 'a day', but maybe it'll be down to just 3-4 drinks per week (which is something I can figure out to manage)", then he concluded by saying "...a month." That was quite a shock!

So now, I am limited to just 3-4 drinks a month, lest my liver suffer more, due to this new medicine.

Therefore, I won't be drinking much these days.... That isn't to say that alcohol is entirely out of my life, but I restrict my consumption to about a drink on Friday evenings (usually, some sips of a variety of beers). Although I may make exceptions and sip some beer here and there if need be, alcohol is otherwise out of my life.

That also means I will not be getting drunk or even buzzed these days. Fortunately, I made sure to have one last hurrah a few days before beginning the medicine a couple of weeks ago, sharing plenty of beer with a drinking buddy, and getting pleasantly drunk. That will be the last time I get drunk for the foreseeable future....

While it is a gamble to take off from alcohol consumption for a few months just to see if this new medicine works (the effects are not expected to be take place for 10-12 weeks), I'm looking on the bright side: it's a significant decrease in my caloric intake. I am hoping, if nothing else works, that at least I should, hopefully, lose some weight by [mostly] cutting out alcohol from my life.

Let's see how this goes....