Hi all,
I noticed in a previous post - vitamin D - I think - that red wine and it's effects came up, interesting to note that the effects may be due to pred rather than the illness itself.
I am now way recommending the consumption of alcohol, but, the season is upon us and I though I would share my limited experience:
Wine feel very stiff/achey the next day, especially red wine
Gin, I drink it with tonic water - moderate amounts seem not to have any ill effects
Beer - very unpleasant the next day, achey/stiff
Guinness - no ill effects
Cheers
Kimster
Hi Kimster - yes, I visited MrsK a few weeks ago and we discovered that neither of us is able to drink red wine with impunity any more. I should qualify that by saying that I DO have a selection of reds that I can drink in small quantities with no ill effects but none of them would be find-able in a normal British shop as they are from this local region in northern Italy! Most of our reds are lightish but there are one or two which are beautiful deep dark purplish in colour - but they are very soft on the palate, unlike the stuff you usually find in the UK. I don't know whether it is just the way they make wine here or whether it is something to do with the grape variety. Whatever - MrsK and I enjoyed a white from an area in Germany where the wines don't usually get a passport either! It's called Franconia, around Wurzburg, and the wines are dry and fruity and the best in Germany (or maybe I'm just biased cos I like them!). They are very different from what you usually get in Germany.
Beer and Guinness - yuk on either count! So I have no idea what they do to me. I gave up G&T because you can't get diet tonic here and I really don't like G with ordinary tonic. Gluhwein season now :tea: :redwine: :snowball: - I think it's time we complained about the emoticons being a bit too british!! But the cup will do for the hot wine...
EileenH
Hi Eileen
I can smell the Gluewein from here !! We did a few trips to Germany before Christmas and loved them It was so Christmassy wandering around with the smell of Gluewein all the time Not sure if all day in the cold would do me any good at present
I dont think I have had any reaction to any different kinds of alchohol since I have been on steroids I dont drink as much red wine as I used to
I tend to drink white if I am out to lunch When we are away in the sun we tend to drink a fair bit of Rose When I was in Rhodes I managed to find some Stroh ( Austrian Rum ) which I hadnt had for ages and I just love the Caramel smell of it but they only had the 80% proof version !!!! so I have to be careful if I have that
I could do with some Gluewein to warm me up now !!
Best wishes
Mrs G
Sounds as though you all know how to enjoy yourselves despite PMR/GCA
I drink Scotch and red wine and steroids have not made any difference I am glad to say. Have never got on with white wine; it has always been too sweet or too vinegary and thin but perhaps I have not been introduced to the right ones.
Years ago we used to do home-made wines and all the books said that strawberries were not suitable but we tried anyway in a glut year and it was one of our best. But it's all a matter of opinion.
:redwine: :P
Hi everyone
On the subject of home-made wines, my hubbie used to make elderberry wine years ago and I remember him heating some up for me when I once started to ache all over and seemed to be going down with flu - within minutes of drinking it I felt very woozy and even worse (can't take my drink!) so went to bed. Next morning.......no sign of flu! Definitely recommend it.
MrsO
Betty - visit Wurzburg and go on a wine tasting! The one thing I can't say about the 3 versions of wine made with the Bacchus grape that we pick up on our way to and from here is that it is \"thin\"!! I think it is the same with wine and single malts - if you don't like it you just haven't found the right one yet. Trouble with the UK is they make it too much of a posh thing and it gets all snobby and knowledge-based - which would be fine if the ones spouting off REALLY knew what they were talking about! Which loads of them don't (I'm thinking of the cousin who turns his nose up at our red and white wines as having \"too much residual sugar\" instead of knowing about the skill of balancing sugar and acidity so you get a depth of flavour without that \"taking the top off your mouth\" effect you get with lots of wines). And I really can't be doing with oak aging - used far too often to give something to a poor wine so they can charge more for it. And I'm sure you can get strawberry prosecco here.
MrsG - Stroh????? We always go to Munich from here via Seefeld and Garmisch and there is this strange little village at the border where every shop and a few houses have signs outside selling Stroh. And something tells me it could even be above 80%. However - aren't the ways of measuring the percent different?
Last year I started making my gluhwein with half apple juice and half wine (red or white) instead of using sugar and get a very pleasant and warming beverage that doesn't kill the knees! Got the ski stuff out this morning - will see if the sun is shining tomorrow. Cold but not damp, that's fine. We've had about half a metre of new snow up top in the last few days and the pistes are said to be the best they've been for years at this time of year. :lol: Have to do it gently, bit at a time!!
Same applies to the gluhwein too!
EileenH
Hi Eileen
My Stroh rum is definately Austrian They do a 40% and 60% too but in Rhodes the only one they had was the 80%
I used to have an Austrian hairdresser and she gave it to me originally it has a very strong caramel flavour and I think they use it in Rumtopf It is very strong !! and very warming
Best wishes Mrs G
PS My sister in law who lives in Modena has had snow and she said they have their snow tyres on !!
I'm impressed that someone in Modena even knows what snow tyres are! Yes - this place on the border is just in Austria (Austro-German border). Have you ever made rumtopf? I have - when we livved in Germany. Had to give up eventually in GB as the fruit was just too watery and it didn't keep as well. WONDERFUL on vanilla ice-cream though!! Yum! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
EileenH
Hello you boozy lot! Must be the weather and coming up to Christmas making us all thinking about drowning our (PMR) sorrows.....
I've mostly found that it's how alcohol effects my digestion that counts e.g. white wine too acidic, lager, which I like especially in the summer, too gassy etc.
BUT I've just tried Stone's ginger wine (on offer at local supermarket) and it really ticks the boxes, though definitely not to have with a meal. More a warming mid-morning drink or a nightcap. It's really warming in this weather and if you like ginger ......mmmmmm :D :D :D
Back to home made wines, it was quite a fashion 20 or 30 years ago, but I think it would be quite hard to get even the equipment these days. Ours was always very unpredictable, we never tried pea pod a la Good Life, but parsnip was good. And powerful!
Made sloe gin last year which went down very well.
Warm hugs from Pam
Good morning Green Granny!
Your mention of home-made Parsnip wine...mmmm! It's a wonder my hubbie was ever allowed to make wine again following his first experience with plums from the garden. Newly married, new white bed linen in the airing cupboard, fermenting wine in demijohns on the floor.........then one exploded......... :shock: :roll: :evil:!!!
MrsO
Hi all,
I am feeling very relieved....had thought that I was the only one who took a few drinks while on the steroids :wink:
When I was on holiday,the bar made a different cocktail each day, and I tried each and every one with no ill effects :magic: . Also had wine, vodka and baileys ...not all at the same time or even the same evening though:lol:
This bad weather we are having is enough to drive anyone to drink...but thankfully the cold doesn't seem to be affecting my PMR and have reduced to 12mgs today to see how that goes.
Hope the snow clears soon as I have NO Christmas shopping done yet and time is slipping by rapidly. :yikes:
Stay warm & cosy. Best wishes to all, Pauline.
Hi All
Dropped by, needed a break from producing a newsletter, yes someday I will add my bit to who is who - going under the thread - where is everyone.
Well when I first started both GP and Rheumy asked the same stock two questions
Stock Q 1. Do you smoke? Yes.
How many? Who counts.
How long? Listen guys I should not be sitting here talking to you, I should have been dead years ago, I started at 17 and am now 68.
They gave up. In fact Rheumy said, I would not advise you stop, as now your immune system is compromised, it could not take the extra strain (Should have kissed him).
Stock Q 2. Do you drink? Yes.
You should give it up now. me - No chance, I am now 68 and will stick to your 14 units, if I ever find out what 14 units are.
I remember the days, when eggs where a no no, this was a no no and you all keep changing your minds. So I will do what I always do, everything in moderation.
They both then gave up.
I am now coming up to 73, still smoke like a chimney, drink like a fish and sign myself off as 'Queen of the Brandy'. Why Brandy, it is a medicine devised by Medieval Monks as a medicine - go figure.
Afternoon to all.
Just back from my Volunteer work at the local Market cafe........would you believe, 6 customers (was it really worth the effort I ask myself )......Of course the Temperature does not induce people to be out and about, and I was feeling quite cross about the very poor takings...27£.
Then a lady of about 40 came in with her motorised wheel chair, (she said she needed to get out of the house ) and asked for a bowl of Hot soup.
As we were not busy I sat down to chat with her.
She told me it had taken her and her carer 1 hour to dress...... Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis plus Raynaud's Disease. She took ages to to off her 3 pairs of gloves, and her hands were white as marble (probably just as cold )
Then I started to think. On Sunday the Vicaresse's Sermon was about waiting and watching during the Advent period, and I immediately turned that inwards.
What am I.....me...waiting for. My teeth to drop out ? My hair to grow so thin I don't need a comb ? My brain to become addled ? All sorts of nasty long lasting effects after taking Steroids for so long....another big birthday O next year ?
Then I re looked at this Lady locked in her chair, very cheerful and happy to have a few minutes sipping her soup and a little chat....and I realised that I had to shut out all my Negative thoughts and play the grateful game.
Grateful I am not Blind, can converse, can paint, can cook, can walk, grateful too that due to a very Humanistic Surgical Oncologist got over the really Big News 14 years ago.....so for today I am grateful (I only hope it lasts for a while, as I have to see the Dr tomorrow for my latest Bloods )
Just had to share with you ............[/b]
Hi Milly and thank you for a very thought-provoking post. We can look all around us can't we and see so many poor souls who are so much worse than us and with no hope of any improvement. You deserve to have a little bit of a glow knowing that you have given this lady some cheer today - well done!
Milly - over on the arthritisinsight forum, which is mainly US-based (with a few from Oz) there has just been a Thanksgiving theme to parallel your post. I recommend a trip over there as a supplement to our forum here.
It highlights the fact that we should be very grateful in (most of) Europe for the treatment we are entitled to as a fundamental part of our life. Our cousins across the pond may not even be able to afford the steroids (which are cheap) because they can't afford to go to the doctor in the first place.
When all is said and done, PMR is a pain, it robs us of so much - but it is not life-threatening and it is possible to control the symptoms and have a reasonable quality of life. Whilst I am not prepared to accept the \"you're getting older, what do you expect\" attitude, at the same time I am so grateful that the autoimmune disease I developed was not RA, lupus or MS. I'll take cuddly-ness and hairy bits against the really horrid aspects of the other diseases. My daughter is a nurse and was telling me about the amazing RA patients she cares for on occasions: no self-pity despite the way that disease affects body image. We don't disintegrate, just get cuddly.
I went skiing today - I will be thankful. Thank you Milly for reminding us.
EileenH
Eileen, thanks for the claudication definition. I certainly think my legs have been affected a while back but more or less ok now on the weakness front if not painwise. I'd rather the pain than the weird side effects that sem to plague my muscles when on highish doses.
Cuddly?? not one of my benefits(?) but I started from a pretty low base, having difficulty attaining 8 stone most of my life.
Happy skiing.
Thanks Betty - that wasn't the sort of helpful comment I wanted! :lol: I too have had difficulty attaining 8 stone all my life (I'm a whole 5 foot nothing on a tall day) but in not quite the same way. This has been the crowning glory - although most of the weight gain was due to restricted ability to exercise after the PMR started combined with a craving for carbs. That, at least, improved as soon as I went on steroids but I still can't shift the weight.
EileenH