I have a 23 year old Short Gut Syndrome daughter. After reading this forum I continue to thank the Lord for the mracles in her life.
Does anyone know how alcoholic beverages affect those with short gut syndrome? She drinks heavily at times and still is able to function at a very high level. Is this a personal tolerance or a malabsorption issue?
I know that most of you are dealing with infants … I wish there was a group like this 23 years ago but trust me, angels live among us and hope is not just a four letter word.
Thank you for any input that can be gleaned from this post.
Bobbie
Hi rbarkr,
I’m now 36 years old and was diagnosed with sbs about 6 years ago (though I’m sure I would have been diagnosed much sooner because I was symptomatic through childhood and adolescence). I can’t offer you a “clinical” explanation for your daughter’s alcohol tolerance but I will say that I too had strange tolerance for alcohol when I was younger despite the fact that I am only 5 ft. tall and at my heaviest weighed 103 pounds. My tolerance level has stablized as I have gotten older and alcohol tends to affect me in much the same way that it effects my friends who are the same age and healthy. I do tend to think it is an absorbtion issue which means you may want to encourage your daughter to try to set limits on how much she drinks (because our bodies are not sending us the same “it’s time to stop” messages on their own).
I had the same thing happen to me in my teenage years but now in my adult years it affects me normally. Though I would let your daughter know that people with SGB or SBS risks go up with liver functions. I saw it on emed an article about long time side affects having liver problems. It scared me enough to reasses my extra curricular activities.