Arthritis (young people)
Alcohol, smoking, and illegal drugs
Some of the people we talked to discussed drinking alcohol, smoking and taking illegal drugs. Here they share their experiences of the impact that taking these substances had on arthritis or their treatment.
People who drink, smoke or take illegal drugs should speak to their doctors about how such things impact on their health.
Drinking alcohol
Some medications are known to interact with alcohol and can cause problems. For example, drinking excessive alcohol whilst on methotrexate can cause liver damage. You should always seek advice from your doctor about drinking alcohol whilst on any medication.
The age that people started drinking varied from person to person. Some said they were too young to drink and had never tasted a drop, whilst others started drinking as young teenagers. Sometimes people started drinking when they were 18 years or older.
A few said that they drunk less as they got older. Some drank the odd glass of wine or bottle of beer on special occasions but others drank without watching their limits.
Nowadays Emma watches how much she drinks but as a fresher at university she often got very drunk.
Nowadays Emma watches how much she drinks but as a fresher at university she often got very drunk.
I like my gin OK and I'm not, shouldn't be so pleased to like gin. No I don't know, some consultants I've spoken to are very stiff and very much, 'don’t drink, don't do this, don't do that, yeah. If you can try and cut out caffeine,' all this kind of stuff, you know, 'Try and realise everything,' and there's other people who are like, 'Well actually you be sensible and actually if you just stick to government guide lines,' and because I've never been on the maximum amount of methotrexate anyway, I've, you know, I'd have to be drinking an awful lot to cause irrefutable damage. So I try not to drink too much and like to be honest I mean, I say I drink but for me saying I drink, it's a couple of nights in a pub a week where I'll have a couple of pints and then I'll tend to go to the diet coke. OK admittedly, first year I was a Fresher, I got off my face, you know, four times a week you know, but because I was so disinclined to tell people about how much I've had, you know, problems with my arthritis and people just stare at you when you tell them and they look at you blankly like, 'Why would you take these drugs then?' you know, I just kind of got on with it and maybe I, maybe, you know, did sacrifice my health then but my blood; I always went for my regular blood tests, I was very good, you know, try and have a few nights off a week but as I've gotten older and as you become a boring post-graduate student you don't have much time to be drinking anyway so; my liver should have recovered by now. But yes I had to be a fresher, everyone's got to be a fresher, you come to university for a reason, don’t you?
Charlotte Y drank from a young age but slowed down when she was prescribed arthritis medication. She then stopped drinking altogether because she wanted a baby.
Charlotte Y drank from a young age but slowed down when she was prescribed arthritis medication. She then stopped drinking altogether because she wanted a baby.
People who chose to limit the amount of alcohol they drunk did so for various reasons. Some said it was a personal choice – they simply didn’t like the taste, felt no need to drink lots or found it harder to deal with hangovers as they got older. Others limited their intake for medical reasons.
Doctors and nurses advised people not to drink whilst taking certain medications, such as methotrexate. People also talked about the negative effects of drinking alcohol the next day. They said the fatigue would be more severe, the pain worse, and mobility (such as walking) reduced.
Some said they would suffer for a week if they drank too much. They also said that they worried about “losing control”, hurting themselves or getting into danger.
David Z was careful not to drink too much because having a hangover could make his pain feel worse. It also made his fatigue more severe.
David Z was careful not to drink too much because having a hangover could make his pain feel worse. It also made his fatigue more severe.
People who drank more than the odd glass sometime said that they wanted to go out, relax and have a good time. Some felt that having fun on a night out was worth the pain the next day.
Rebecca liked to 'let loose' at the weekend and 'have fun'. She understood the risks of drinking with her medication but would 'rather not worry about it'.
Rebecca liked to 'let loose' at the weekend and 'have fun'. She understood the risks of drinking with her medication but would 'rather not worry about it'.
Sometimes people’s symptoms appeared to improve after a few drinks. Some said they temporarily felt less pain and would become more mobile.
After drinking Michelle felt like she could “walk for a mile” and “jump up and down”. She would overdo it physically and be in “agony” the next day. If Rebecca was having difficulties with pain and mobility her friends would pick her up in the car and take her to the pub to take her mind off things.
Rebecca liked to 'let loose' at the weekend and 'have fun'. She understood the risks of drinking with her medication but would 'rather not worry about it'.
Rebecca liked to 'let loose' at the weekend and 'have fun'. She understood the risks of drinking with her medication but would 'rather not worry about it'.
People on medication planned their drinking so it interacted less with whatever medication they were on. Deni said she was able to drink because she was not on any medication.
Kyrun avoids drink around the time he takes tocilizumab because it makes him sick and dehydrated. When he did drink it was out of personal choice and made him feel good.
Kyrun avoids drink around the time he takes tocilizumab because it makes him sick and dehydrated. When he did drink it was out of personal choice and made him feel good.
I don’t drink when I have my tocilizumab a week before or a week after. Because it affects it really badly, because I learnt from my mistakes. It makes me puke tremendously, I’m out and it makes me so dehydrated when I haven’t got like the tocilizumab in my system, and I know like when I have it, loads of it pumped into me in the week after, before it’s like proper getting like all over my body you can feel it and it makes you when you drink it makes you just try to chuck out all like the substances that the drug, drink so. But my nurses said there’s no harm in you having a drink now and then, but doctors are like, “No don’t drink.” But it’s, they say you can, it’s not, it’s not illegal to drink with medication so it’s your own personal choice, that’s how I think about it. And if it makes you feel good at that particular time then do it.
Rebecca planned her drinking around her methotrexate medication. She took her medication on a Sunday and didn't drink until the following Friday and Saturday.
Rebecca planned her drinking around her methotrexate medication. She took her medication on a Sunday and didn't drink until the following Friday and Saturday.
People sometimes felt pressured by peers to drink alcohol. For example, David Z had a drink on people’s birthdays so he didn’t “stick out like a sore thumb”. He said the amount of drinking that went on at his university went down in years 2 and 3 because people had more work to concentrate on.
Lu was told she was “boring” by a stranger in a club because she didn’t order an alcoholic drink. Some didn’t want to reveal that they had arthritis so made up excuses about why they couldn’t drink.
Lu discovered that there was a 'massive pressure' for people to drink at university. She felt 'lucky' to have friends that kept an eye on her when there was alcohol around.
Lu discovered that there was a 'massive pressure' for people to drink at university. She felt 'lucky' to have friends that kept an eye on her when there was alcohol around.
But maybe that’s something that I’m just really sort of lucky to have. Now it’s a bit different at work because I’ve quite recently started, there’s only like one person that knows I can’t drink, so he’s constantly on the lookout now, so he’ll, when he’s pouring my drink he’ll just pour something that we pass off as vodka and coke, but it’s not, it’s just coke. Or you know I’ll get to my third drink and he’ll be like, “Okay, have you had enough?” But yeah I’m lucky in that sense. But yeah there is a massive stigma, there’s a massive pressure, definitely at university, even at school, later on at school, even now there’s a pressure to drink. But you’ve just got to be strong willed enough to be like, “Well look, I’m having you know, no I’m not drinking tonight,” or, “I’m gonna have two, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t have a good time.”Or that I’m any less of a, you know a better person for it. ‘Cos you know if you’re still fun then what’s, what’s the issue really?
Some of the people we spoke to enjoyed going to pubs and clubs even though they only drank soft drinks. They saved money that would have been spent on alcohol and were able to drive home after a night out.
People who avoided alcohol even joined in drinking games: instead of drinking alcohol they drank soft drinks or ate chocolate.
Some found activities that they could enjoy with friends that didn’t revolve around alcohol, such as eating in restaurants or gaming. Others hung around more with friends who didn’t drink.
Smoking
There are decreasing numbers of young people smoking these days. Smoking is known to cause serious conditions like heart disease and lung cancer.
People with arthritis may have additional problems related to smoking. For example, people with ankylosing spondylitis sometimes have reduced ribcage movement when they breathe which can then in turn make smoking related problems such as cough and recurrent chest infections more troublesome.
To prevent lung damage the best thing people can do is stop smoking altogether but this can be difficult if you have been smoking for some time. Speak to your doctor about quitting smoking.
Some of the people we spoke to didn’t smoke for health reasons. David Z had asthma and said smoking would make it worse.
Kyrun knew that smoking could cause damage to his lungs, or even give him lung cancer. He said it was his problem to worry about. He felt that smoking hadn’t affected him yet. Dean felt that smoking “takes the edge off” stress.
Several people smoked to be social on a night out, but didn’t smoke regularly.
Kerrie didn't class herself as a smoker but she used to smoke because she couldn't drink on her medications.
Kerrie didn't class herself as a smoker but she used to smoke because she couldn't drink on her medications.
That’s my one downfall. I think I take it a bit more seriously now like I think for so long I was told that I couldn’t drink, couldn’t do all these things and it was kind of like that was the one habit that I was like, “Well, that’s mine. You know, I’ve always done that. So you can’t take that away from me.” But now it’s more of a case of social smoking, so I’ve gone from, you know, considering what aspects it has on my health quite seriously now. So no, I’m not allowed to do it as much as I’d like to but I suppose the odd one occasion when I’m with friends in the pub or something like that but no, I wouldn’t class myself as a smoker.
Recreational drugs
Some of the people we spoke to talked about illegal drugs. Some felt indifferent to illegal drugs but others were against them for health reasons, particularly if they were taking prescribed medications. A few people told us they had used marijuana (cannabis) for pain relief.
One person smoked a lot of marijuana over a long period of time and said it was the best pain relief she had tried. She would like to see more medical research into its benefits and believes the law should be changed.
There is no medical evidence to date that supports the use of marijuana for pain relief in arthritis. However, there’s increasing concern around the use of cannabis during the adolescent years when the brain is still developing, so excessive use in all young people remains concerning for health reasons.
Visit our 'Drugs & Alcohol' section for more information about young people's experiences of alcohol and illegal drugs.
Kerrie would never contemplate taking illegal drugs because of the 'cocktail' of medications she was on. She thinks health is too important to take illegal drugs.
Kerrie would never contemplate taking illegal drugs because of the 'cocktail' of medications she was on. She thinks health is too important to take illegal drugs.
Last reviewed: November 2018.
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