Alcohol Consumption After Ostomy Surgery

Hi, I am checking if there is anyone who drinks alcohol after having a stoma... Before my Ostomy, I used to drink alcohol all the time, getting drunk every weekend... After my operation, I stopped drinking altogether, but on the odd occasion, I have a whiskey or two and it does not affect me, but I am just worried if I should be or not... Thanks.

I have done it a few times. I don't do it frequently, but I do it on occasion. Just know that alcohol will make you feel your best in a hurry. Also, it may interact with some of your medications, so be aware of that.

Definitely watch for interactions with medicine but that goes for everyone. As for the stoma, I drink fairly often and haven't had any issues. Nice wine at dinner, just got into whiskey recently, IPAs for beer (don't worry, not a problem drinker, alcoholism seems to run in my family so I am careful). I also had my ileostomy just in time for my senior year in college and drank excessively (and other things) like many college students. It never occurred to me to worry about it (too late now). Beer brings on gas so I usually take Beano to help with that. This is just my experience; other bodies and other surgeries may be different.

Hello BayGal. Having a stoma is probably the least of your problems with regard to drinking alcohol. Taken in the quantities you describe, it is arguably one of the most addictive and destructive drugs on the market, which has so many long-term side effects that it could be viewed as a method of assisted suicide.  Mine is a negatively biased perspective, having spent many hours sitting with alcoholics whilst they slowly die from organ failure.   However, just as with other things in life, taken in moderation, alcohol is probably no more damaging than all the other prescribed drugs that, as a modern generation,  we seem to consume in vast quantities.

Just a personal view! 

Best wishes

Bill

Thanks... I know my bag does fill up quickly.... thankfully I am not on any medication at all......

Hi Baygal

I still enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, sometimes two. I was born and raised in Scotland so I also still enjoy a wee whiskey now and then. As with most things for stoma patients, all things in moderation. After all, we did not get lobotomies with our stoma, we are still us. And the more we keep to our normal, the better we feel mentally. This is not a handicap, just our new normal. Take care and take it easy. Gail aka Rosiesmom.

I have a colostomy and continue to enjoy my daily glass of red wine (which my doctor told me to do after I had emergency heart surgery). Occasionally, I will have a bottle of Stone IPA pale ale or a stronger drink. I've never had any trouble with alcohol once I reduced my intake to just one glass a day. I also try to eat the way the French do, which is a variety of food and not a lot.

Well, I've had my stoma for over 30 years and I've never had an issue with alcohol.

It must be something that affects everyone differently. If you look at the "Foods to avoid" list in the UOAA ostomy guide, it's listed there. It not only dehydrates you quickly, is full of sugar which causes gas, but rapidly causes a "dump" (excess liquid) in the pouch. If I am fully hydrated, I might have a glass of wine once or twice a week. I might add that I am also thin, so it affects me immediately. Anyway, dehydration is the issue that most ileostomates have to battle. Alcohol will certainly dehydrate you quickly.

I also enjoyed a drink or 10 with my stoma. I quit for awhile until I got healthy, but I drank pretty regularly whilst I had it. It will make things watery, so take 2-4 Imodium before you go out, but take a few with you too just in case. It also helps if you ate decent food to thicken things. Every few drinks, drink a pint of water. This will help with the dehydration from losing fluids. Note that some beers are worse than others, so experiment to see what suits you. But I found that the more fluid I drank, like pints, the more I went and the worse I felt the next day. Clear alcohol can be better. The next day, have some Gatorade or something with glucose to replenish and you won't feel as bad.

Kind of gave it up for the new healthy me. Learned that alcohol is not good. If I have a full stomach or am eating, I might be okay. But two drinks or two glasses of wine on an empty stomach is asking for trouble. Had a couple of glasses of wine after work and got hammered, bad. So one is my limit and none is even better. With no longer having a large intestine, it enters your system fast.

Hi BayGal,

I was like you, drank often before surgery, then gave up completely. I try to stay on the wagon as there are recent studies that alcohol is not as okay as people believe. Best of luck with your struggle, avoid if you can, but certainly enjoy when you must.

Hey gal,

Your stomach is one thing, but your liver is another and that will do you in long before your stomach does.

X_

I have an occasional craft beer, but, in general, don't really care for alcohol. My ex was a hardcore alcoholic. Ended up raising my son solo from when he was 10 days old. The ex now suffers from alcohol-induced dementia. Such a waste of a life...

Hi, Baygal. Your question seems to have hit a very sensitive spot with a lot of people. I still maintain that an occasional glass is okay. No dancing on tables though. Ha.

To answer your actual question and not give you a lecture on whether you should or should not drink alcohol, yes, you can still drink with an ostomy. Just remember, it is a challenge to stay hydrated even without drinking alcohol, so make sure you are keeping on top of that. I always make sure that for every drink I have, I have at least a glass of water, if not two. I haven't had any major issues (beyond having a little too much, which wouldn't make any difference if I had an ostomy or not). But I probably don't exceed 2-3 drinks in a week in most cases.

Thanks everyone for your input, sorry if I have touched a few of you but just to let you all know I am not an alcoholic but on some weekends I have about 2 drinks at most and then sometimes I go for a month without. Just that I have been through a lot over the past 13 years with suffering and now I intend to live life to the fullest. I was so close to death's door, so when I want a drink I will have it. I look at life now from a different view... never hold back what you want today as tomorrow might never come...

I must be the odd one out. I stopped drinking around the time that my polyposis was making itself known. I had no idea that I had it and no symptoms other than....drinking alcohol would cause a pain in my gut that would double me over and then I would become flushed and light-headed. 1 sip of anything. Wine, liquor, beer, it didn't matter. If I chose to ignore that first warning and took another sip of that same drink, vomiting and waking up on the floor was happening next. Suddenly I couldn't drink and I was one of those soldiers who used to spend time in the Korean kettle houses every weekend, so of course I had a checkup scheduled. No ulcers or any reason that could be found for it...but he removed 3 polyps and suggested I have another colonoscopy in 5 years. The Castro, New Year's Eve 1993, last time I drank. (sad face)

Never been much of a drinker, get drunk easily, no tolerance. I had a drink the other day, did not affect me at all. My conclusion, passed through the bag too fast.

Agree! As a retired mental health case manager, I have dealt with a great deal of alcoholics. This individual seems like he needs a little good intervention. Some talking with a therapist would be a start. Many of my patients used alcohol to self-medicate what was troubling them.

I love Scotland. When I was stationed in Alconbury, England, I took lots of trips to Scotland. I can almost hear your accent now!! It's true, lochs and purple heather! My friend and I used to sing in some of the pubs when the music folks entertained. That was so much fun! Thanks for tapping into those memories for me! Cheers!

I get together with my sister once or twice a month and we have a few drinks. It's fun and I'm not about to give it up. I have never had a problem with my colostomy. Maybe it depends on the kind of colostomy you have, though. It might mess up an ileostomy. What does your doctor say?

Totally opposite of the trend of this thread... I don't have any problems drinking. 20+ at a time is fine. But I do notice differences. For example, sugary drinks like beer definitely get the bag going a bit. Liquor has for me no change in output. And I never was able to drink 20+ pre-op... it's as if post-op I don't absorb as much. Which I suppose makes sense with less colon, small intestine, etc.

Matt