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Alcohol makes me sick for weeks

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Vinsssounet

November 2nd, 2011

Hey fellows.

Allow me to present myself ; I'm a 25 years old french guy, and kinda desperate to find some answer to my litle condition.
I've seen several doctors, and asked quite a lot on the internet, without success. And well today I realized I might have more luck asking in english on a big website like this one.
Please excuse any weird english !

I've been a social drinker (and bartender) for the past 4 years.
I've always been fine with alcohol reactions, and actually had none except a few times when I got really really drunk ; but it always disappeared after a day.

Two years ago I started noticing my tolerance level lowering : I was sometimes feeling sick the next day for amount of alcohol that would never have done me any bad before. But, well, I assumed I was not 20 anymore (even if I kinda was Wink

)

This tolerance level kept lowering over month, until it could no more (or so I thought) : 3 drinks, 2 drinks, one beer, and a lovely day, a single non-alcoholic beer was enough to make me sick for 24h (so, with 0,5% of alcohol in it).

As for the symptoms, I'm perfectly fine the evening I'm drinking (or having one drink) : I feel sick when I wake up the next morning. I'm dizzy, extremely tired, find any effort difficult, most of all I feel the back of my brain extremely weird, and just feel... wrong.
I also have crazy heartbeats when it occurs.
I had the same result drinking one beer or 2 packs. Quantity does not seem to affect the power of the symptoms.

So I made drinking a rare occasion, saying to myself "well, if I must be sick for 24h hours with ny amount of alcohol, better make it worth". Basically I did not touched alcohol until my birthday came, and I drank quite a lot.

I've been sick for 15 days after that. I had the very same symptoms, except when I excpected them to disappear the next morning, they went worst. I found thinking was hard, and would not be able to concentrate on anything. It's just like a constant blur, and this feeling something in my head is definitely wrong.
It went worst the 3rd day, and the 4th I found myself so bad (I was stressing out to see I was not going better, so I might very well have some panic attack) I couldn't speak correctly, being totally dislexic. I went to neurological emergency, where I had some tests.
I had a complete health check, and there was nothing on it : my blood tests were quite the same as the year before, and the year before.
Considering my trouble speaking they gave me a scanner, which revealed nothing.

Finally the emergency guy found myself in nice health anc concluded it was some psychosomatic thing.
As it was also my doctor opinion (who I had seen some times about this before it went so bad), I took it into consideration and took an appointment with a designated shrink.
I saw him twice and he could not have been more bored : for him, I had nothing to do here and my symptoms were clearly physical, so I stopped seing him.

I told about this to my doctor who thought this shrink was a jerk. He's still convinced it's psychosomatic.

After that I touched alcohol one more time, I've been sick the same way for 2 weeks. But I spared myself the trouble to go to any doctor and just wait it over.

I finally took the decision I should obviously have taken long before and decided to totally stop alcohol.

That was 8 month ago and I've been fine all this time.
Then this month I had a brunch with friends, and started feeling wrong on the evening. I recognized the nice feelings I have when I have alcohol, but having none I call my friends and ask them if they used alcohol cooking. And they did.

Before that, I had a few meals cooked with alcohol ; it never went wrong.

But this time for a little amount of baked wine I did not even knew was there, I've been sick again for 2 weeks.
This time, among with the usual symptoms, my stomach went wrong for some days. I had like "acid flux" (not sure I'm using the right words here), but I could not tell if it is connected or not.

So here I am, kinda bored not knowing what to think about this.

Thank you for reading this far, and hoping to find some clues here.

Vincent

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First Helper Vinsssounet

rebecca786

replied September 15th, 2012

I hear ya!

Hello Vincent, I don't have much time for a lengthy response but I wanted to say I am a 26 year old female who has the same experiences, exactly as you have described them. If someone was to tell me it is psychosomatic, I would be really offended- It most definitely is not and I that sounds like a bogus answer to give you; most likely they just couldn't find the real answer and went with that. At least, that would be my bet. I'm googling this issue YET AGAIN after having 4 drinks last night over a long period of time, and waking up feeling this same way the next day. One possibility I found was (and search this because I am foggy with this explanation) that there is something, perhaps sulfate, in alcohol that can cause the body to heighten allergy symptoms. So for some people who may already suffer from allergies, even if very lightly, the consumption of any amount of alcohol (And sul...fates that are in alcohol) could potentially cause a crazy rise in your allergy symptoms and lower your immune. I know exactly what you mean by that weird feeling in your brain, I get where my eyes can't seem to focus normally and just feel weird, like they are lagging and not moving in sync with one another. It's so strange and it is absolutely from the alcohol.

But I also want to suggest you having an endoscopy and all, if you have not already. Over a few months ago I was feeling very ill all in all, and they found I had two peptic ulcers and a hiatal hernia. Just cause for the indigestion and acid reflux- and alcohol is one of the WORST things you can consume if you have these problems! So check that out!

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This post has been removed because it did not meet our Community Guidelines.

Vinsssounet

replied November 20th, 2012

Hello potential reader. I received some private messages regarding this particular post, from people who faced the same issue and were glad to find someone else with the same condition - it does not seem very common. If you're interested in talking with more people facing this issue, let me know by mp ; I can't post the link here.

It seems to be the one place were people looking into google about this alcohol thing all end up. It's 8 pages of testimony, and a great reading. No conclusive answer so far, but more and more people keep coming, and hopefully at some point someone will find out - and share.

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jameson74

replied March 3rd, 2013

Hi Vin.... I suffer from this same condition. I can drink alcohol, but if I overindulge I get sick...very sick in the way others described. I am weak, can't think clear, my chest feels very heavy, and other problems. This lasts for a month generally. It is so bad... so debilatating. I loose so much work, can't see friends, and don't drink for that month. I havn't quit drinking alcohol because I enjoy it and it doesnt negatively affect me... until I over indulge. It happens several times each year for past three years. I've had every blood test my hospital offers and no problems. My doctors have given up and say its all in my head.... NO WAY. I am a happy ambitious person. However, no amount of eating right, lots of fluids, moderate excerxcise, stress reduction, vitamins, antibiotics, sleep, not drinking, etc. seems to make me feel better... just time. I feel a tiny bit better each day for a month until it gradually goes away. This has happened so many times I have a name for it... "the slow climb". PLEASE, let me know how to reach you as you mentioned in your post, by "mp" or whatever way. I need to see this link and read these 8 of testimony.

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in_circles

replied December 3rd, 2012

Strange alcohol intolerance

I have very similar problems. I've looked everywhere and can't find answers. Here is a description I wrote for a different website:

About a year ago I started having some strange symptoms. I found myself frequently using the restroom, and generally having gut problems. Since then I've been diagnosed with IBS. Around the same time that my gut issues started, I started having a problem when I drank alcohol. From what I've been told, people with IBS don't typically have the same problems with alcohol that I have. It takes very little to cause my symptoms. At worst a sip of hard alcohol or a couple ounces of beer will cause it and at best it might take a whole beer. I've tried gluten free vodkas, wine, light beer, dark beer... It all makes me sick. I even experimented by drinking a couple of O'Douls NA beer (<.5% alcohol) and even that was enough to wreck me.

My IBS symptoms don't really change when I drink besides my weird alcohol related symptoms. It's similar to a hangover, with the addition of a really bitter creepy neurological sensation. I get weak, tense, uncoordinated, shaky, sweaty and anxious. Also, my eyes hurt, I get light and sound sensitive, and have waves of an uncomfortable tingling sensation. The symptoms start between an hour and 12 hours after a drink and last for a day or two. I takes very little alcohol to cause it, almost like the alcohol is a catalyst. It's hard to explain, but I would do anything to figure it out.

I'm a 27 year old male full time college student, and part time metal fabricator. I've been exposed to plenty of caustic chemicals working with metal and working around racecars for most of my life. I've had a handful of concussions but don't have any apparent damage. I'm slightly hypothyroid, but take thyroid replacement. Besides that I'm an active healthy individual. I'm concerned about this alcohol issue because I'm not entirely sold on the IBS diagnoses, and I'm a fairly quiet guy struggling to maintain a social life since most social activities apparently involve having at least a drink or two. I have zero interest in binge drinking, I just want to be able to have a drink or two with friends or on a date.

I've had a colonoscopy, urine tests, stool tests, and blood work. The only abnormal things are slightly elevated bilirubin levels, and traces of mucus and protein in my urine. All other liver functions are within range. No obvious flags.

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NOmorewine

replied March 23rd, 2013

Alcohol Intolerance - Sick for 10 days

Hey there everyone.. I have just started feeling good after 10 days of 4 glasses of red wine. It seems to get worse each time. if I have one glass of wine I am usually fine. but a couple of weeks ago i had only two glasses of wine and had a real bad hangover. But this time I was fine going to bed. Migraine started during sleep- woke up - puked and for the last 10 days I really thought I might have cancer because I felt sicker then I had ever thought possible. Migraine and just weird hot, sickness like I was serverly poisoned. 5 months ago I went out for Halloween and drank a bunch but was absolutely fine when Leaving that party. I ate, went to bed and started puking around 7am and did not stop until 10pm that evening. I had to force water in me so I had something to puke since the yellow bile was exhausted and turning dark. Oh my this was the first real eposide of this not being normal for me. I was not complete for 3 days. now with this episode it took 10 days. I am 48. I stopped smoking last year and now I can't even have a glass of wine. What next, no coffee. I was ready to get tested for cancer.

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Darla_Miller

replied April 3rd, 2013

Hi. Thanks for sharing. I am a 60-year-old woman, and I noticed a year ago that I was frequently nauseated. After a few months I was able to connect it to drinking alcohol. Lately I have had a glass of wine and been sick for about three days. Drinking about two ounces of wine would make me sick for a whole day. I can have a sip of anything without consequences, but I can't drink enough alcohol to feel the effects or even just really enjoy the taste without being sick for days. I was worried about my liver, so I was glad to read that some of you have had liver tests done and did not find that to be the problem.

Now I am wondering if it has anything to do with GMO foods or food allergies. As soon as the organic vegetables I am growing are ready to eat, I am going to stop eating every possible source of food allergies and see if things change. I would completely change my diet right now, but it is hard to find gluten-free foods and really difficult to find non-GMOs, although Vincent, I understand your government in France protects you from GMO poisoning. I wish the US government was more like France in that regard!

Has anyone with this problem tried diets to eliminate food allergies?

Thanks, and best wishes to all.

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	Tags: panic attack, blood tests, heartbeats, tolerance, Allergies, drinking, symptoms, stomach, cooking, affect

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