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Drinking and CF
If I’m being totally candid, since turning 21, going out and drinking with friends has been my most reckless form of finding normalcy. After all of the pains I take to be good about my CF, I really enjoy unwinding, going out, and drinking with my friends. It’s important that I’m cognizant of how alcohol affects my body, mainly my liver, brain, and stomach. I’m also aware this can be a coping mechanism, so ensuring it doesn’t become a problem is critical.
- Do you enjoy drinking/socializing? Do you feel guilty if you drink, knowing that it could damage your body? Elaborate.
- Do you think it’s reckless or healthy to unwind with CF? Obviously, there are different ways to unwind, so explain what means to you and why it’s reckless or healthy.
- Do you have any other comments on this?
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1 Reply
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Speaking candidly:
From about 19 and until about 23 I definitely was reckless with my drinking. In retrospect, I definitely thought it and I was cool, but it also certainly was a way for me to express some sort of “normalacy,” or to be able to say “yeah I have CF, but I’m doing all the things people my age do AND MORE.”
Hell I remember the NIGHT BEFORE I had my port replacement surgery, I was out at my favorite bar. Which makes me laugh, honestly.
Those were moments that I was proud of, and to an extent I still marvel at. Thankfully, because of my anxiety about my health (and, even while being inebriated, I managed to keep stay anxious — thankfully) I somehow made sure I:
a) did treatments, either before leaving to go out, or at 3AM (often drunkenly) at home
b) kept incredibly hydrated throughout the nightBut, going out and partying every weekend (and often more) definitely caught up with me, as it does everyone. And not at the expense of my health, but I made some really horrible life decisions and had some not so great friends. It eventually all came to a screeching halt in 2016 and my friend group kind of broke up, because of me and my poor choices.
And for a while, I felt SERIOUS FOMO (fear of missing out) and depression. And oddly enough, CF kept me safe at home and away from toxic coping habits. Now, three years later. I still enjoy going out for a drink or margaritas with friends, and sometimes I do get *drunk*, but no way in hell am I interested in 4 AM drunken nights.
However, there are other ways to decompress that I enjoy way more. Sometimes that’s exercise. Sometimes that’s cookies of the green variety.
— thoughts from a 25 yr old w CF
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