How I Enjoy Christmas Drinks and Manage My Endometriosis During the Party Season

For some of us, alcohol can have a negative effect on our endometriosis symptoms. I know some people with endometriosis who don’t find that drinking triggers their symptoms much at all, but if I drink more than one or two glasses, my fatigue is bad all week, I wake up with a throbbing uterus and my anxiety is ten fold. Whilst more research still needs to be done into alcohol and endometriosis, because of my personal reactions to it, I like to be more careful.

Deciding when to drink

However, that doesn’t mean I won’t join in on the Christmas drinks this year. It just means I’m mindful of how I do it. When it comes to the ‘party season’, I space out my Christmas events as much as I can, and I also decide which events I’d rather drink at and which events I’d rather stay sober for. I tend to think about the kind of people, atmosphere and how easy it’ll be to avoid not drinking.

Even when I do drink, I try to stick to alcohols that are better for me. Interestingly enough, hormone expert Alisa Vitti suggests sticking to red wine, champagne, sake, and white wine and drinking water in between each drink.

Don't forget healthy eating

Endometriosis is thought to thrive on estrogen¹, so it’s important we keep our detoxification systems in working order to help clear out any excess and old hormones. This can include our livers, which can take a hit when we drink. I like to help my liver out by eating lots of liver-supporting foods. You can find out more about these which foods to stock up on in books like Womancode and Take Control of Your Endometriosis.

Nervous about giving up alcohol?

If going sober or just drinking less is a little scary for you over Christmas, I recommend listening to my interview with Rachel Welford of Welford Being about how and why she decided to cut down on alcohol and partying. Jessica’s Murnane’s interview with Ruby Warrington on her sober curious journey is also a great listen and she even has a book, Sober Curious. Alcohol isn’t a huge part of my life anymore and I don’t find it much of a struggle to cut it out, but listening to these interviews made me feel less of the ‘boring’ sober one and offered some great tips!

For those of you who are really trying to curb your alcohol intake to help manage endometriosis or just for other health reasons, I’ve been trying some self-hypnosis recently using recordings by hypnotherapist Grace Smith. She has one dedicated to drinking in moderation, so this might be the perfect fit for this time of year.

Finally, if you struggle with what to drink instead, I have a few suggestions for you... Firstly, I try to stay away from the sugar and caffeine laden drinks when I can. This is a personal preference but I do this because sugar and caffeine are believed to increase inflammation in the body, and I try to keep inflammation down so that my pain is reduced. Instead, I drink Seedlip which is a non-alcoholic spirit found in most bars these days, or I ask for a sparkling water packed out with mint, lemon, and lime wedges.

You could even try to get your friends to a ‘dry’ bar, which are popping up everywhere these days. It might be a bit revolutionary, at least it’ll show you know your trends!