Alcohol after mild TBI
 

Hello,

I'm curious as to other peoples' experiences with alcohol after a mild TBI, particularly people who sustained the injury at a young age and were moderate drinkers before.

When I was released from the hospital, they told me that I should wait at least two months before drinking. Well, it's been two months today! I asked my TBI specialist about this, though, and she said that I should wait until I've gone a month without symptoms. While it seems like it might still be a little too soon now, a month without symptoms seems like a conservative recommendation to me. My biggest symptom at this point is anxiety, which I had before but has been worse since the accident. I don't imagine I'll go an entire month without feeling anxious for quite a while.

I'm mostly just concerned about alcohol's effects of inhibiting the brain's healing. A lot of the literature about alcohol and TBI seems to be focused on preventing re-injury and substance abuse, neither of which I am very worried about.

I plan on drinking again at some point, and taking it very slow when I resume. I plan on starting with a half a glass of wine and sipping it slowly over time.

So, what have been other peoples' experiences? How long after injury did you wait? Did you notice any substantial changes in alcohol's effect on you after the injury?

You are prudent to continue to wait until well after symptoms have cleared and then start slow. I'm a non-drinker myself so I don't have any personal experience to share but here are links for articles related to drinking after a brain injury.

http://www.msktc.org/tbi/factsheets/...c-Brain-Injury

http://www.tbicommunity.org/resource...Spring2008.pdf

I'm 29 and was a moderate drinker prior to my injury on July 9th of this year. There are people who say we should put no toxins in our bodies including caffeine and processed foods, and there are those of us who just don't give a damn. I fall in the latter.

I drink a triple latte from starbucks 3-4x a week and it is heavenly. I have a beer or two once or twice a week and I enjoy it. I love pizza and chic-fil-a, and as a single guy that lives alone, I rarely cook. I take my B-complex vitamins and Omega 3-6-9 and everything else I'm supposed to take, but I'm not going "whole hog" on the clean food plan.

Now, let's talk about what alcohol does now vs previously. As I mentioned, I was a moderate drinker before my accident. I LOVE beer. I could easily drink 5-6 beers over the course of a night and not have any ill effects the next day. Now, I can get a buzz before finishing my first beer, and the second beer can cause a roaring hangover with a tremendous headache. I drink beer because it tastes good and for no other reason! Drinking less has allowed me to drink very GOOD beers, but they have much higher alcohol content and I've had to adjust accordingly.

Just take it easy. Listen to your body and be careful. Be aware that 5 or more people after me will tell you how wrong I am and that you shouldn't drink a drop of alcohol. We just won't invite them to our dinner parties :hug:

Hi Graceless,

I am one of the people who will tell you not to drink caffeine and alcohol. But do what's right for you and what makes you feel best. Caffeine and alcohol has caused me detrimental setbacks and there is a strong positive correlation in my experience between drinking caffeine and muscle spasms and between alcohol and anxiety. This may not be exactly how you experience it, but pay attention if you decide to consume these things. Know yourself and then make a decision on the quality of life you want.