Alcohol and Surgery: How Long Before Should You Stop Drinking?

It’s a couple weeks before your first surgery, and you’re feeling a bit nervous. To help calm your nerves, you’ve started having a glass of wine each night at dinner. But is this the best solution — and is it even safe? 

If there’s ever a time to completely abstain from drinking alcohol, it’s before you undergo surgery. Whether it’s cardiovascular surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, or any other surgical procedure, consuming alcohol before going under the knife can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening. 

In this post, we’ll explore the complications associated with drinking alcohol before surgery. We’ll also offer tips for how best to protect your health before an operation. Let’s dive in!

Why You Shouldn’t Drink Alcohol Before Surgery

Many surgeries require general anesthesia — a state of controlled unconsciousness that keeps us from moving or feeling pain during the procedure. Powerful sedative drugs send us to sleep and reduce our bodily functions, such as breathing, heart rate, and blood circulation. 

Alcohol has a similar sedative effect, suppressing our central nervous system. It also disrupts how our body absorbs anesthesia, which could make some drugs ineffective. As a result, the anesthesiologist might have to use a higher dosage, which increases the risk of cardiac events, especially if we already have heart problems. 

Furthermore, since both alcohol and anesthesia can cause nausea and vomiting, taking them together increases our risk of aspiration (inhaling vomit), which can cause pneumonia and even be fatal. 

Drinking alcohol during the weeks leading up to surgery also increases the risk of other serious complications of anesthesia, such as accidental awareness (waking up during surgery) and anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction). 

Let’s explore several other reasons why we shouldn’t drink alcohol before surgery: 

Stress on Our Liver

Our liver processes all the drugs that go through our body, including alcohol and anesthesia medications. Having both in our system at the same time can overwhelm our liver, sending it into overdrive to metabolize both substances. This can put more strain on the liver than it can handle, and, over time, it may fail.

Increased Bleeding 

By their very nature, surgeries can cause bleeding. Thankfully, our body has a built-in mechanism — clotting — for stopping blood loss. However, alcohol is a blood thinner that can interfere with our body’s ability to clot. This can make controlling blood loss during surgery particularly difficult. 

The risk of uncontrolled bleeding or bleeding out is even greater if we’re also taking blood-thinning medications or have a clotting disorder, such as hemophilia.

Problems With Medications

Alcohol can also interact with medications we took before, during, or immediately after surgery, causing serious side effects or making the medicines less effective. This could be particularly problematic if we need pain relievers, sedatives, or antibiotics prior to or following our surgery.

Bleeding 

Since alcohol is a blood thinner, it can cause us to bleed more than average after a surgery. It also increases our risk of developing an infection at our surgical site, in our urinary tract, or in our respiratory system. 

Alcohol can also make it harder to recover from surgery and can make our recovery longer. Since alcohol makes us bleed more and prevents blood from clotting, it can slow the rate at which our wounds heal. 

Recovery time may also be increased if we had alcohol-related complications during the procedure, such as uncontrolled bleeding. In severe cases, we may require a blood transfusion if we lost a lot of blood during surgery. This can further delay our recovery. 

Infection and Sepsis

Infection is one of the biggest post-surgical risks. If bacteria gets into our healing wound, it can create a fertile breeding ground for an infection. If the infection isn’t managed in time, it can spread throughout our body, leading to sepsis or sending us into septic shock, a potentially life-threatening condition.

Extended Recovery Time 

Any surgery requires recovery time. How long it takes to recover depends on a variety of factors, such as our current state of health and what kind of procedure we had.  

Alcohol can cause problems with many of our bodily systems, such as our liver, pancreas, and nervous system. This can make it harder to recover from surgery, as our body is already working overtime to heal itself. 

In fact, research shows that drinking more than two drinks per day can increase the risks of various postoperative complications, such as infections, longer hospital stays, pulmonary complications, and admission to intensive care. 

How Long Before Surgery Should I Stop Drinking Alcohol?

So, when should we stop drinking alcohol? Drinking the day before surgery is not a good idea. In general, it’s best to avoid alcohol for at least 48 hours before a scheduled surgery. This gives our body a chance to remove all the alcohol from our system and helps minimize the risk of serious complications both during and after surgery. 

However, most doctors agree it’s even better if we stop drinking a week or two earlier than that. Remaining sober for a week or two before surgery can help our body heal faster after the operation. In fact, research suggests that abstaining from alcohol for 2-4 weeks before surgery lowers the risk of postoperative complications. 

Abstaining from alcohol allows us to go into surgery better hydrated, helps our liver function better, and lets our body better process the anesthesia. Keep in mind that any amount of alcohol before surgery can be dangerous — it’s just not worth the risk!

Be Honest With Your Doctor

If you’re planning to have surgery, it’s important to be completely honest with your doctor about how much you drink. Doctors aren’t there to judge or berate us but to make sure we come out of surgery as healthy as possible. If we’re not honest or upfront, we’re essentially putting our life at risk. 

Remember to get specific: communicate how much and how frequently you drink. If you suspect you might have trouble not drinking before surgery, your doctor can help you develop a plan. Keep in mind that if our body is dependent on alcohol, stopping abruptly can lead to alcohol withdrawal syndrome. It’s also worth noting that if we do drink alcohol before surgery, our doctor may cancel or reschedule the operation. 

How Soon After Surgery Can I Drink Alcohol?

So when can we start drinking again after surgery? It largely depends on the type of surgery we had and how long we’re taking any prescribed medications. For more invasive surgeries that require extensive recovery time, this might mean weeks or even months. 

Given alcohol’s effect on swelling, bleeding, and infection, it’s probably best to wait until our body is fully healed and we’re no longer taking any drugs. However, it’s important to ask our doctor when it’s safe to consume alcohol after our specific operation. Even if we’re feeling better and stronger, it’s important to wait till we get our doctor’s go-ahead. 

How To Prepare for Surgery: 8 Tips

Undergoing surgery can be scary, and the days leading up to it can be nerve wracking. Here are 8 tips to help prepare our body and minds for surgery. 

1. Abstain from alcohol. As we’ve learned, consuming alcohol before surgery can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening. At the very least, don’t drink alcohol for 48 hours before surgery. However, it’s best to stop drinking a couple of weeks beforehand.
2. Don’t smoke. Smoking decreases our body’s ability to heal after surgery. Similar to alcohol, it also increases our risk of complications from anesthesia. At the very least, we should decrease our smoking prior to surgery, but it’s best to quit well in advance. 
3. Drink plenty of water. Surgery puts a lot of stress and strain on the body, increasing our risk of dehydration. It’s important to consume plenty of water in the days leading up to surgery. Aim to drink at least six 8-ounce glasses of water each day (but more is better).
4. Eat healthy foods. Food is energy for our body, so consuming healthy food before surgery can help our body stay strong during and after surgery. Opt for nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods, such as lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Seeds and nuts are also good as they contain important nutrients that help our body function optimally. 
5. Be physically active. If you have your doctor’s approval, get physical activity in the time leading up to surgery. Exercise and physical activity can help our body recover from surgery and reduce the risk of complications. Even just walking 20-30 minutes each day can be beneficial as it helps get our blood pumping.
6. Practice mindfulness. It’s important to care for our mental health before going into surgery. Mindfulness can reduce anxiety and calm nerves. We can practice mindfulness by drawing attention to our breath and allowing thoughts to flow in and out of our mind without judgment.
7. Practice relaxation techniques. Surgery can put stress on our body and mind. Try practicing relaxation techniques, such as meditation, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, aromatherapy, or even yoga. These types of activities can help reduce stress and set us up — both mentally and physically — for a successful recovery.
8. Follow pre-surgery instructions and medications. It’s vitally important to follow our doctor’s instructions and take any medications they’ve prescribed. On the flip side, they might advise us to stop taking certain medications, such as blood thinners and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Either way, listen to their directions and follow them!

By taking these steps, we’re proactively protecting our health and reducing the risk of complications from surgery, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and wound infections. If we have any concerns or questions about what to expect for surgery, it’s important to voice them to our doctor. No question is stupid! After all, this is your health we’re talking about. 

The Bottom Line

Drinking alcohol before surgery can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening. It can cause a variety of complications, from interfering with anesthesia to causing excessive bleeding. Any amount of alcohol — even one “little” drink — in the days leading up to surgery can be harmful. At the very least, don’t consume any alcohol at least 48 hours prior to surgery. But it’s best to stop drinking a week or two ahead of time. 

If you’re struggling to control your alcohol intake, consider trying Reframe. We’ve helped millions of people cut back on their alcohol consumption and enhance their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.