can you drink alcohol with polycystic kidney diseaseWhen it comes to drinking alcohol, for anyone who can drink it safely, moderation is the key. Drinking too much alcohol—even for a completely healthy person—can cause heart disease, liver disease, high blood pressure and kidney disease, in addition to many other medical problems. Drinking too much alcohol can also impair judgment—and this could interfere with decision making related to remembering to take medicines and following fluid and diet guidelines.
Alcohol stresses the kidneys by causing dehydration, which is hard even on healthy kidneys. It may also interfere with antibiotics by causing them to move through the system too rapidly.
In order to recover from PKD, patients should give up smoking and drinking. According to the experts’ explanation, alcohol will cause the increase of the blood pressure, which is bad for the cysts to recovery. Excessive drinking will cause the loss of bound water in the muscle and abnormal metabolism of the creatine, so the serum creatinine level will increase. Drinking will affect the body’s nitrogen balance and increase the protein breakdown. This will increase the burden of the kidneys. Besides, the alcohol decomposition can produce acid metabolic acidosis which will cause nausea, loss of appetite, depression, headache and many other symptoms in the patients. Medical scientists have found out that alcohol should be prohibited to kidney patients, especially for PKD patients. Alcohol can activate the polycystic protein and speed up the secretion of cystic fluids, so the cysts will grow larger and larger. So it is very necessary for PKD patients to quit drinking.
If you are on dialysis, drinking alcohol may be allowable, but it must be counted within your normal fluid allowance and diet, and medicines must be taken into consideration. Talk to your doctor or renal dietitian before you drink to find out if alcohol will have a negative impact on your health.
For those with diabetes and chronic kidney disease alcohol may be safe to drink if you have your blood sugar level under control. After checking with your doctor or dietitian and getting the okay to drink, it is recommended that you drink with food or at mealtime. Alcohol on an empty stomach can cause blood sugar levels to drop in those with diabetes. Additional ingredients in mixed drinks may add carbohydrate that must be considered. You will also have to fit alcohol into your meal plan.
Alcohol has no nutritional benefit, but it does have calories. And calories from alcoholic beverages add up quickly. Make sure you take this into consideration when planning your daily menus.

