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Allergy to Alcohol
by DENISE, Apr 22, 2000 12:00AM
I saw a question posted from Nicole on April 14 that as yet had no answer, and I, too, am curious about the symptoms of an allergy to alcohol.
I do not have the "Asian Flush" reaction, rather I can drink as little as half a glass of wine or a couple vodka/crans and spend all night throwing up, having diarrhea, and a massive headache that will not go away no matter what pain reliever I try. Also, the last couple of times I've experienced a really bad reaction, another symptom has cropped up. My whole body feels like it's on fire from the inside out--what I imagine a hot flash would feel like. It literally burns.
Even when I don't have the complete reaction, I almost always have at least diarrhea the next day or a bad headache that begins while I'm drinking. (I'm susceptible to severe headaches even w/o any sort of alcohol.)
Is this an allergy or is my body just intolerant to alcohol consumption? (I guess it doesn't really matter which it is, I need to stay away from the nasty stuff altogether I'm thinking...but I am curious.)
I do not have the "Asian Flush" reaction, rather I can drink as little as half a glass of wine or a couple vodka/crans and spend all night throwing up, having diarrhea, and a massive headache that will not go away no matter what pain reliever I try. Also, the last couple of times I've experienced a really bad reaction, another symptom has cropped up. My whole body feels like it's on fire from the inside out--what I imagine a hot flash would feel like. It literally burns.
Even when I don't have the complete reaction, I almost always have at least diarrhea the next day or a bad headache that begins while I'm drinking. (I'm susceptible to severe headaches even w/o any sort of alcohol.)
Is this an allergy or is my body just intolerant to alcohol consumption? (I guess it doesn't really matter which it is, I need to stay away from the nasty stuff altogether I'm thinking...but I am curious.)
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DrSteve - http://www.headdocs.com
You probably have an allergy to wine. What you said about headaches makes me think so. I am not a doctor, but I have dealt with migraine-like headaches and I know red wine can trigger a migraine.
Alchohol doesn't treat me all that well, either. In my opinion, if it were a new drug, alchohol would be considered just as life-destructive as methamphetamine. You're better off without alchohol in any event. Whatever you do, don't mix you DOC with alchohol. That's an express ride to the morgue. I hope this message stops at least one addict from adding booze to boost their high. Not worth it ...
I believe if you can draw the line somewhere in the practice of your addiction, there is always the possibility of recovery, whatever that might mean. That line should be drawn at the point of mixing alchohol with your DOC. Just my opinion ...
Tom, you are absolutely correct about alcohol being as dangerous a drug as methamphetamine. I never took street drugs in my entire life because of the fear of becoming addicted. No where did anyone teach me about the addictiveness of alcohol. Had I known it was so addictive I would never have started drinking in the first place.
Now I am fighting alcohol dependancy and it really sucks!
I find that when I drink wine, I get very irritable and sensitive. The upshot being that I will be aggressive and rude to people, including my friends, for no good reason. This does not happen to me when I drink spirits and there is no specific quanity required for me react. I am frightened of this, as I know there is only so much people will take before they wear thin of my behavior.
I have decided to cut out drinking wine, as I understand it contains sulphates, which I am allergic to. What I would like to know is if anyone could advise me if they think it is possible that my allergy to suphates could cause me to have this type of reaction.
I have the same response to only the standard 2 drinks with food. I am also Scottish/Irish & American Indian. I avoid drinking ANY alcohol under the circumstances.
I just don't drink much now, maybe the occasional glass on a special occassion. This I think is the only treatment!
Obviously the anwer is don't drink, but I would like to get an opinion if the alcohol sensitivity could be triggering the symptom of something else.
Thanks