drinking some wine

[woodsman]

Is it okay to drink some wine while at dinner or a party on occasion??. I am at 17% kidney function and i always liked to have a couple glasses of wine, What are your thoughts on this.

[Sunny]

Yes, everything in moderation. I am 15% kidney function and my nephrologist says it's fine.Just don't overdo it or you will feel sick and make sure you also stay hydrated.

[Zach]

I'll drink to that!
 

[KICKSTART]

I was told spirits are better ! 

[RightSide]

Yes, everything in moderation. I am 15% kidney function and my nephrologist says it's fine.Just don't overdo it or you will feel sick and make sure you also stay hydrated.

Yep, alcohol is a diuretic.  And it works fast. 

So if you're already on fluid restrictions, the alcohol in your system could actually make you dehydrated.

And since alcohol can be sedating, be careful if you're already taking meds that can be sedating (Benadryl, gabapentin, etc.). You do want to wake up bright and early the next morning!

[RichardMEL]

if you're not on fluid restrictions, ie at ESRD (and at 17% doesn't sound like it) then it's fine. Wine has less potassium than beer so from that perspective it's also OK, though if you're just having a social drink I really don't think it's an issue. My neph never really discussed alcohol as being an issue.

When on fluid restrictions then, as KS says, spirits are "better" from the point of view of a "bang" for less fluid - ie: a 30m shot of a clear spirit like vodka is much better than a beer, which is 10x the volume, and has potassium to boot!

In pure terms the clear spirits would be the "best' since they don't have potassium or phosphates(that I'm aware of).

A glass of wine is fine. Heck I had some French Champagne on the 14th to celebrate Bastille Day. Oooh La La!  Hey, life's for living I reckon - and in moderation there's no problem. Plus my fluids were actually down when I went to D (due to dehydration and it being a part diuretic) so it was all good

[twiggymoo]

Some time ago, with a 20% kidney function, I had two glasses of wine one evening.  At about 2:00am, I was awaken with my heart rate out of control and I felt I was going to die.
I found out that the sulfites in the wine caused this reaction.  The kidneys normally put out enzymes that counteract the sulfites, but mine of course didn't function and I had a scare.
If you can find wine without added sulfites, that would be better.  But it is difficult to find unless you're in France or Italy.

[Riki]

My mom, on occasion will buy me a bottle of strawberry wine.  It's got the same alcohol content as a bottle of beer, and probably has some potassium, but my potassium levels have always be a bit on the low side, so I don't tend to watch that.  I'm not on any fluid restrictions either.  I think that perhaps they think I do well enough on my own without any official restrictions that they just never bothered.  It usually takes me a few days to a week to drink the whole bottle, although, I drank the last half of the last bottle I had in one night.  I was on a writing sprint, and sometimes it helps to be a little tipsy. *L*