Ok, given up the Rioja for January as a weight loss measure (seemed easier than eating less and exercising more…). The joint pain has subsided considerably! Also am a month in to taking leflunomide (Arava).
My question is, can drinking alcohol agitate the PsA beast? Can leflunomide take a month to kick in? Or could it just be a random coincidence?
It could be the Rioja..... As you probably know this is a pretty unique wine produced from carbolic fermentation of the grapes prior to crushing. Its pretty heavily oaked even though its only bulk aged for a year or so (reserves are longer of course) its sealed with wheat paste which is almost pure gluten for the aging process...
If anything its the gluten content. Seenie probably could tell us lot more about the wine if she isn't getting her new hip this week, I thought she mentioned it.....
You could do a series of experiments though I'd start with whites as they are less likley to be oaked.... There must be thousands of wine to try and see if they affect you.
FWIW IPA's send me (beer) but my own brew using sorghum malt does not. So it could be combination of alcohol AND gluten. I'll start an experiment tonight. I promise you I'll keep it up until i get it right.
A month for the Aravaseems about right....
I can do white. I can do champagne. I’m versatile like that. Will try adn do some empirical research and get back to you.
Alcohol, even a little wine in a sauce, can send me into a flare. Unfortunately. I spent a few of my college years determined to drink a whole margarita or some such, but I swear I would flare so badly I thought I was going to die. Repeat (I was young and stupid).
Happy New Year, Gwynneth! A month sounds about right for Arava, although apparently full blood concentrations continue to rise for several months because of its very long half life.
As for wine, everybody is different, I think. My pain levels are up these days, even though I’m on Arava and on The Wagon. Who knows? But if any kind of wine would “do” it, a red, especially a tannic one with oaking would be a likely suspect. Whatever, do what works for you! And if that means having to resort to drinking champagne, well, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. LOL!
Hmm interesting. My mum’s allergic rhinitis (thank god I didn’t inherit that one too) is worse after drinking red wine. Perhaps we have a genetic intolerance to it! Will try and continue the alcohol free January anyway, partly experiment, partly weight loss.
You need off the wagon and on a Cadillac for a much smoother ride (all that bouncing in a wagon raises pain levels)
Seenie said:
Happy New Year, Gwynneth! A month sounds about right for Arava, although apparently full blood concentrations continue to rise for several months because of its very long half life.
As for wine, everybody is different, I think. My pain levels are up these days, even though I'm on Arava and on The Wagon. Who knows? But if any kind of wine would "do" it, a red, especially a tannic one with oaking would be a likely suspect. Whatever, do what works for you! And if that means having to resort to drinking champagne, well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. LOL!
Ah, Lamb. Thanks for giving me a good laugh. 
You need off the wagon and on a Cadillac for a much smoother ride (all that bouncing in a wagon raises pain levels)
Seenie said:
Hi GWY,
Just be very careful with drinking too much alcohol when taking arava. It can increase your liver enzymes so be sure to get them checked periodically. I have been on Arava for about 10 years with no liver increase but I am very careful about using alcohol. If I have a drink it is only an occasional glass of white wine and nothing more. i don't want to have any liver problems. you may also want to try a biologic for your PSA.
Hope this helps.
Rosebud
I have read alcohol makes it worse.
Sulfa can bother some period in red wines. For special dinners, few times a year, i allow myself to try about 1/4 cup and if that seems to feel okay and not any negative feelings, will have another so 1/2 of wine all together.
With the pills one is one, most say to not drink or be careful. Personally, it can really upset my stomach even with food due to mixture of it and my pills.
sad, since i really enjoyed a glass of decent wine with dinner, red preferable But it made me sick too many times and even had to leave restaurants because it made me sick that quickly. So now...at home, i try like i said above and that is it.
I agree that whites might be easier ...i just have not cared for whites as much as reds.
AS to barrels ...not all wine is made as aging in barrels anymore but sterile vats...not saying it is the best wines nor are they trying to be but that is option if people have gluten issues.
If you want to drink it for benefits, red grape juice can give you same benefits without making one sick. It can cost as much as decent bottle though if you are searching for pure grape juice. lol! At least in my one grocery store town...charges more than twice as much except alcohol. Guess they think people need it to keep warm here! lol!
You can buy sulfite free wines. I agree the sulfites can cause problems for some folks. Interesting as sulfites are the bases of sulfazines (an older DMARD)
The actually are a pretty good bargain as they are USUALLY a young red. You should consume pretty quickly however as wild yeast can do some strange things. They are sometimes lacking in flavor as they are pretty heavily filtered as they they also don't use fining agents and bulk aging is pretty short (without the use of sulfites they can spoil pretty easier as gasses are relativley unpredictable.)
In any event Siskya, you might give them a try. They are great dinner wines. Heres a producer near and dear to my heart:
We’ll make that the official wine of Livingwithpsoriaticarthritis.org.
When you’re running outta spoons … Reach for Tenspoon!
Now thats Funny.....
You two are very funny. The wine looks great, count me in!
Very good. I could do with an extra tenspoons myself.
Oh my gosh - alcohol totally flares me. I realised this link early in my PsA experience. The day after drinking just one or two glasses of wine (particularly red) would be horrendous. I went off all alcohol when I was on Prednisone relatively recently as I wanted to give myself the best chance of settling if I was going to take the demon drug. It did seem to help. I am off predi now and only take the occasional NSAID (Ibuprofen). I am at a point when I'm not clear when to start the next level of drugs (DMARDS and Biologics). I figure crippling pain would be the answer to that question?? LOL!
Interestingly I decided a holiday is a holiday and over Christmas drank white wine and while the occasional glass didn't seem to be a problem, when I drank a few days in a row I flared. I am still sore, so have gone back on the "wagon". Red wine is indeed the very worst - Champagne is the best (does not effect me as much).
I’m afraid its not so easy to get on a biologic here in the UK, we usually have to fail on 2 DMARDs before we can be considered for biologics as the NHS has to safeguard public money. Its all set out in the NICE (National lnstitute of Clinical Excellence)guidelines which informs caregivers and patients the clinical pathways for most conditions
Rosebud said:
Hi GWY,
Just be very careful with drinking too much alcohol when taking arava. It can increase your liver enzymes so be sure to get them checked periodically. I have been on Arava for about 10 years with no liver increase but I am very careful about using alcohol. If I have a drink it is only an occasional glass of white wine and nothing more. i don’t want to have any liver problems. you may also want to try a biologic for your PSA.
Hope this helps.
Rosebud
Better to abstain and stay away from anything that'll trigger you're symptoms. Alcohol is a well known trigger. Avoid it like the plague.