Because I am on an anti-anxiety med w/ a no drinking warning label I discussed it w/ my doctor, cause before that med I found a small evening cocktail helpful some days.

My doc told me that because my med dose is so low that I don't have to worry about dangerous interaction, said I could go ahead w/ the glass of wine or etc., but be more cautious about driving.

As it turns out drinking bothers my IBS a lot more than it used to, so I just rarely have alcohol now.

I would check w/ your doc about interaction effects associated with your specific meds and dosage. The pharmacist tends to just talk about blanket warnings and not go into detail.

Also no calories in my med. but 350 in a margarita, so that is another factor in my decision making.

But in terms of the "feeling no pain" effect of alcohol, I say yep, but it doesn't last very long.

l loved my occasional glass of wine which was okay by Dr. with low dose of anti anxiety med as well.......it doesn't love me. I have trouble sleeping even when I drink it early in the evening. Then more pain next day and I am not sure if it is the lack of sleep it seems cause or just the wine.

I do find I have more trouble with headaches from the the tannic acid in the wine so I keep a bottle of pure cranberry wine in the fridge for the times I am really in the mood. The bottle has been in there for six months........and yes I do miss it. No party girl here!

Alcohol really irritates my bladder even a small amount so I can't even imagine becoming a moderate drinker, but before everything took such a turn last year a drink or two was possible but I can't say I remember if it had an effect on the pain or not.

I have always been super sensitive to alcohol so I don't drink. Wine actually is a trigger for my asthma. I used to drink a glass of sangria in the evening but no more. Bummer

I never drink, due to acid reflux I am not even suppose to drink tea.

Anyway, here is one of the articles. I know the other was by Mayo Clinic/


Medscape Medical News

Fibromyalgia: Moderate Drinking May Ease Symptoms

Janis C. Kelly
Mar 15, 2013










Print






Editors' Recommendations
Small Benefit of SNRIs for Fibromyalgia Pain
Fibromyalgia Underdiagnosed, Report Mayo Clinic Experts
One in Eight With Fibromyalgia Uses Cannabis as Medicine



Topic Alert






Receive an email from Medscape whenever new articles on this topic are available.
Add Fibromyalgia to My Topic Alert
















Drug & Reference Information
Rehabilitation and Fibromyalgia
Juvenile Primary Fibromyalgia Syndrome
Fibromyalgia







Patients with fibromyalgia (FM) who drink low or moderate amounts of alcohol have less severe symptoms than nondrinkers, and Mayo Clinic researchers suspect that alcohol's ability to raise -aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels might be the reason. However, the researchers note that the nondrinkers (more than half of the study population) might also have had more severe FM and avoided alcohol out of concern about possible interactions with FM treatment drugs, such as opioids.

"Our study demonstrates that low and moderate alcohol consumption was associated with lower fibromyalgia symptoms and better QOL [quality of life] compared to no alcohol consumption. The reasons for these results are unclear. Since recent studies have demonstrated that -Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) levels are low in fibromyalgia, and alcohol is known to be a GABA-agonist, future studies should examine whether alcohol could have a salutary effect on pain and other symptoms in fibromyalgia," Chul H. Kim, MD, and colleagues reported online March 15 in Arthritis Research & Therapy. The research team was led by Terry H. Oh, MD, from the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The study included 946 patients in Mayo's Fibromyalgia Treatment Program from May 1, 2001, through April 30, 2004. All had confirmed FM and had completed the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36).

The patients were divided into the following self-reported alcohol consumption categories: none (no drinks/week; n = 546 [58%]), low (3 drinks/week; n = 338 [36%]), moderate (7 drinks/week [n = 31] 3%). These were then examined for correlation with FM-related symptoms (FIQ scores) and quality of life (SF-36 scores).

Better QOL, Less Pain

Drinkers had higher education, a lower body mass index (BMI), and a lower frequency of unemployment and opioid use than nondrinkers.

After adjusting for age, employment status, education level, BMI, and opioid use, the researchers found significant group differences in the number of tender points, FIQ total score, FIQ subscales of physical function, work missed, job ability, and pain.

"Moderate drinkers had overall lower fibromyalgia-related symptoms, and higher QOL scores than the other groups. Pairwise comparison among the four groups showed that the moderate and low alcohol drinkers had better physical QOL than nondrinkers, with significant differences for SF-36 physical functioning, pain index, and physical component summary scores," the authors wrote.

The association between low or moderate drinking, fewer FM symptoms, and better QOL held even after adjustment for social variables and BMI. This beneficial effect was not observed in heavy drinkers.



The authors concluded, "We urge caution when generalizing the findings of this study because of the relatively small number of moderate and heavy drinkers in the study. Furthermore, we do not recommend that patients with fibromyalgia start or increase drinking for their symptoms."

"GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, is low in the brain in fibromyalgia, which may go some way to explain why the nervous system reaction to pain is amplified. Alcohol binds to the GABA receptor in the central nervous system which in turn may turn down pain transmission. However the effects of alcohol may also be due to improved mood, socialization and tension, and while moderate drinkers have fewer symptoms there are still many questions about how this happens," Dr. Oh said in a press release.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Arthritis Res Ther. 2013;15:R42. Published online March 15, 2013. Abstract

Think I am going with the statement at the end, drinking improved their mood, tension and socialization.

Wonder why type they used, gin, vodka, rum, etc etc.

If anyone tries this let us know how it goes.

It's funny...I just had this conversation with my mom (an RN) about if I could have a glass of wine to celebrate my birthday. She looked up the effects of alcohol while taking Savella. The verdict was...do so at your own risk. Some had no problems, some had extreme problems and ended up in the emergency room. Needless to say, I did not have that glass of wine.

Magic, I'm like you...In my younger years, I had no problems with pain after a few drinks. Maybe that is why I loved my wine so much, lol.

Hope all are having a good start to this wonderful Saturday.

Warm Hugs,
Nancy

Years and years ago people used to soak golden raisins (or I suppose other raisins would do just fine too) in Gin to combat the pain of Rheumatism.

When I typed my search into google for Gin soaked raisins, lots of hits came up prior to finding a recipe. Seems people are doing this for arthritis, gout, joint pain and even good ole Dr Oz has nothing bad to say about this.

In an old timer post I made several years back, I still remember this one, maybe it's because I've wanted to try it, but never did. It seems people pop anywhere from 3-9/day of these drunken raisins to help combat their pain. (1-3 at morning, noon and evening).

http://www.food.com/recipe/gin-soaked-raisins-purported-arthritis-remedy-236772

The recipe also said a specific kind of Gin was needed (the kind with juniper berries). And someone in one of the reviews posted why both the raisins and juniper berry gin work best (scientifically).

Personally speaking, just a small glass of Chardonnay does the trick for me. Settles my nerves and relaxes my stiffened muscles just enough. LOL, it's gotta be the grapes, right?

I can tell you from experience that it does numb the pain, the best part is that is also relaxes those muscles that are always so tense. WARNING!! it is very easy to get into a habit/addiction to feeling so painfree and relaxed. It is also very easy to start drinking 2 or 3 instead of 1. I know because that is what happened to me. It is also very hard to stop.

Back in the day I used to drink on the weekends, normal drinking. But there came a time (when fibro symptoms began) that I started having a glass of wine with dinner every night, that turned into 2 or 3 after dinner as well, eventually it was 4 or 5. Was I pain free? Hell yes!! Better than pain free for me I was relaxed!

It has been almost 4 years since I stopped drinking and although I miss that relaxed and painfree feeling it is not worth all of the negative things that come with it. So please think carefully before starting that cycle of drinking that is so hard to stop.

Sorry if I am being so negative about it, its just the mother in me not wanting anyone to get themselves in a bad place. Hugs, ellie

Good advice achy, I say the same thing.

I had a friend who did the raisins soaked in gin, she aye some everyday and never went to the dr and passed away sy 88 years old. She fell down steps, I don't know if the was from toooooooooo many ruins or just lost her balance.

I made some up last year, then forget to get thm out and use them.

I have a friend that swears by aloe Vera juice

My rheumy is adamant that I not drink alcohol. I can not anyway with the meds I am on, but I asked him about it before I was put on the meds because I sometimes felt terrible after even just one drink.

He said this is because, in breaking down alcohol, your body briefly converts it to Acetaldehyde - chemically similar to Formaldehyde - which is 30 times more toxic than the original alcohol. Your body then has a limited amount of another substance, glutathione, which breaks down the Acetaldehyde.

For me, and I know we are all different, just the introduction of "toxic" chemicals into my body sometimes caused a painful reaction.

In his words, "Why take a chance of causing yourself more pain?"

Of course, everyone reacts differently. If you are interested in more info, though, this article sums it up pretty well:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/hangover4.htm

I wonder if Mayo Clinic and the others read that study.

Sad part is someone will read that and start drinking, then there goes their liver, kidneys etc etc. esp if they take meds.

I dont know I think researchers are just grabbing for straws sometimes.

Wish they would serious. Some people have a drink they get all friendly then some have a drink and get violent.

Thanks for the article bpd

Here it is nature

Thanks Magic.

As I mentioned in the other thread.

Alcohol just doesn't agree with me anymore.

What that doctor said to bpdistough is interesting. Maybe that is why I don't feel well after.

Oh no... there's no way I could go back to those days. I drank like a tank for goodness sake. Today I'm lucky if I can get down a 1/2 glass of wine. One shot of whisky or tequila will do me good for the week!
It doesn't really help the pain actually. But I do get a head ache sometimes. Anymore than one drink in a day and I feel a bit sick.