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Dizziness/lightheaded after binge drinking?

I am 20 years old. I drink with my friends socially about once every two weeks. Last week I got really drunk (which I regret). I had around 8-9 drinks. I ended up puking. The next day I felt hungover as usual, but now 5-6 days later I have a feeling of dizziness and lightheadedness which will not go away. I tried drinking water but it has not helped. I saw my GP and he didnt think much of it, just said give it time.

Please help.
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Avatar universal
Hey all -

I'm hoping I bring help for a few percent of you. I suffered from these symptoms for about a year after going on a super heavy drinking session (dizzy after drinking, dizzy in busy places and really losing alot of energy and foggyness of the brain). It was really ruining everything I wanted to do. I went to a doctors multiple times and got no help until one thought it could be an inner ear inflection:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/labyrinthitis/

Within 2 days of taking antibiotics and after suffering for a year I felt 50% better - was really amazing.  Within 2 months I would say I was 90%.
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Brother Please tell me how doctor Dignosis your problem ..and How much it cost to You ..
Avatar universal
I am experiencing this as well. I have been reading this thread and decided to try probiotics. I am praying that this is only “Candida”. I started taking probiotics yesterday and haven’t drank in a week. I have been dizzy/lightheaded for the past 2 weeks, but since starting probiotics I haven’t been as dizzy/lightheaded (less than 24 hours)...I’ll keep updating
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Avatar universal
Hey my name is Candice and I have the same problem. I’m 34 yrs old and this problem started in November of 2016. After a night of drinking, I woke up feeling fine. I got in my car to go grab breakfast and as soon as I started driving, I instantly because dizzy. It was something I’ve never experienced before and it scared the hell out of me. I was thinking that I was just hungover and the feeling would go away after laying down. Well it didn’t! For 2 1/2 months, I had that feeling every day. I couldn’t even take a sip of a beer because it would make the dizziness worse. It was horrible! Driving, walking and pretty much anything that involved me moving, caused me to get super dizzy. It got to a point where I didn’t even want to leave the house because it was just uncomfortable. I couldn’t enjoy anything. Eventually the feeling went away and I was back to normal. I was able to go out and have fun. Happy hour here and there...nothing out of the ordinary when comes to drinking. I wasn’t binge drinking or anything. That lasted for a little over a month. Then one night I had a little to much to drink at a birthday party and woke up with a killer hangover. And just like that, it was back. I researched everything there is about dizziness and the causes and treatment. Trying to self diagnose myself. I tried everything from chewing raw ginger to drinking mustard and pepper mixed with water.(it really doesn’t taste that bad) At the time, I didn’t have health insurance, so going to the doctor wasn’t really an option. I figured I’d wait it out, praying that it would eventually go away. This time it only lasted for a little over a month. So from April of 2017 til now, I’ve been great. No problems at all! Same thing...happy hour a couple times a week and dinner and drinks on the weekend. Nothing in excess, just a couple rum and cokes and maybe a beer. Then all of a sudden, it came back 4 days ago. The dizziness isn’t as severe as it’s been in the past, but it’s still super uncomfortable. This particular time, my dizziness has come with migraines. Every day almost. I don’t know if it’s the migraines that are making me dizzy, or if it’s the dizziness that’s causing the migraines, but I hope to get an answer soon. I now have insurance and I’ll be making an appointment ASAP to hopefully get an answer. If there’s anyone here that actually took something that made this feeling go away, please let me know. I can’t go another month or 2 with this feeling.
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1 Comments
Doesnt sound exactly like what i have but i hope you find your anwser, all luck to you my friend :)
Avatar universal
Yo i'm like 5 months in now, i've had like what everyone has been describing. Having it more difficult lifting weights now, feeling very dizzy sometimes which i didn't before. Many times it feels like i'm not really present and my vision isn't that clear. Pretty messed up. Difficult reading text on the computer and watching sudden camera moves or scrolling fast makes me get nasua. My eye doctor said my pupils was larger than normal people so might be something to do with my brain, gonna go check it in a month or so maybe. I feel like i'm sensitive of lights.
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2 Comments
I am now in situation where I am lightheaded even after non-alcoholic beer which has only 0,5 percent of alcohol. I am also lightheaded after smoking tobacco, also after smoking electronic cigarette. And all these things affecs my brains in the end.
And this is definitelly not problem of the liver, body and blood system as other commented in previous messages. It is definitelly problem of the brain I think.
Alcohol affect your brain system in lot of ways and I think one point what you should try is to take some pills for nervous system. I will never try to drink alcoholic drink so I cant test it :-) but it is way for some peoples which are lightheaded for many months and cant get better. Go to psychiatrist and try to consult this problem with him and try to take some pills for your broken nervous system. If you get better - write it here so other peoples know!
Hiho, well i went to an eye specialist and they didnt find anything, i went to do Xray on my brain and everything was fine. Feel like im getting more dizzy when eating food, not sure but might be something with that? Im guessing its mental but the doctor said for me to start over and rule out the eyes and brain. So if no one finds anything else in my body, i'll go and talk with a psychiatrist. It's strange because what i'm feeling is like im not really here, im feeling away and not present. Feel very empty in my brain and head. This situation is messed up. Soon been like this for 1 year. I'll check out those pills u talked about :) The body is too complicated...
Avatar universal
Hi, same thing happened to me. I'm 23, good overall fitness, had some time since I last drank too much. Drank about 300 ml vodka + 100 ml whisky + 1 litre of beer. In my previous history, I drank this much and the worst symptoms I had had were the next day hangover. This time I had a blackout and overall sickness the next day, nothing unusual.

The not so usual thing started on day 2, when I was still dizzy and sleepy. I thought it is from the big quantity of alcohol that I had ingested. I kind of panicked. Day 3 and 4: I was feeling 5-10% better, but not that much - still dizzy and sleepy - started to panick more and more about brain damage. Day 5 - after sleeping 2 hours afternoon, I felt 30-40% better. Now it's day 6 in the morning and I'm feeling 90-95% better.

As for the causes, I'm not sure. I drank this much in the past and I did not have these symptoms. I suspect that it may be the dehydration. I was at the beach in that day and I only drank 1-1.5 liters of water in that day. So this may be a cause, I'm not sure. I didn't have any blood tests nor GI checks.
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Still there buddy?
Avatar universal
Wow, I feel a little relief seeing someone suffer the same thing as me. I was actually trying to recover from some GI symptoms back in march, and one morning after getting pretty drunk with my friends I woke up with a hangover that never went away!

It's been with me for over 4 months now! Some days are worse than others. Sometimes sitting or lying down for a while and then standing up makes it worse momentarily. It's this chronic lightheadedness. I don't call it vertigo or dizziness because I don't feel like I'll fall over or the room is spinning.

I've had a brain MRI, seen countless specialists, two neurologists, done so much blood work. Never found a thing! I'm just starting to see a neuropsychologist, and I'm very excited to try some treatment for this... I really think it must be depression and anxiety related! I never thought I had a problem, but it does make sense looking back on things. I had childhood depression when I was younger. Something must have happened that night drinking that finally pushed my brain over a cliff it was teetering on. I hope some treatments or possibly SSRIs can help.
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1 Comments
Hello bro,
How are You now...
Avatar universal
Wow, this discussion/thread makes a lot of sense. I started drinking when I turned 23 (I am 32 now), not a single drop of alcohol before then. I started drinking only on occasions, like weekends  and such but as I turned 24, I started drinking almost every night. I was fine until in August of 2013, I lost almost 20 pounds within a week, I was super dizzy, disoriented and light headed. I went to see a doctor and was diagnosed with c-diff, had that cured but it all came back after 2 days, this time it was H-Pylori. I got treated for H-Pylori but then afterwards never felt the same way. I gave up on alcohol while I was on medications but still did not feel normal. I was  tested for vitamin deficiency, stomach issues, infections and what not, but everything came back normal, even the blood test for liver enzymes. Last year, I went to a GI, and it appeared that I had a slight fatty liver. I kept drinking almost every night until now. Three days ago, I had super bloated stomach, severe dizziness and it lasted until yesterday. I did not drink after a long time last night. I feel a little better today but dizziness, vertigo and lightheadedness is there. I had days in last 3-4 years when I felt better. Here is the list of things I have been taking and they might have helped me: Milk Thistle, Multi Vitamins, Probiotics, lots of vitamin supplements, magnesium, anxiety medication (prozac), on the natural side, I always take Apple Cider Vinegar, Cinnamon, Turmeric powder, cumin seeds etc. I know that I felt a little better a few months ago for some reason but I am not sure why. I was also put on medication for acid reflux, candida and such. My understanding so far is that two things can help you:

Taking all the supplements including home remedies I mentioned and quitting alcohol.

Obviously exercising, meditation and staying positive play a huge role as well. Is anyone there with similar case? What exactly helped? How many years of binge drinking can cause that?
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Avatar universal
Let me  explain something  here,  if you binge drink , even if you binge drink for  20 years ,  lets say  once or twice a week  on the weekends  ,  but heavily  ,  heavily meaning  10 shots  within a 2 or three hour period ,  or  a bottle of whiskey  in  a few hours, this still does not make you an alcoholic, because  you   are not drinking in the morning  , afternoon  ,  night everyday ,  but it is making you someone who is probably addicted  to  binging,  as your body ask for it  every 5 days or so . Now if we move on to the dizziness , some days it will be worse than others  especially in the begining, SO you ask why? Well here is why ,  yes your body is asking for the alcohol, only problem here  is that  for your body to  have the alcohol, you  nee to "think"  of having  the alcohol  to put in your body, and that is where it  screws with your head, Your brain has gotten use to the thought of drinking  every 5 days so its programmed. So now   its been programmed for 10  20 30 years  to do the same thing, and if you turn that program off, it will have a huge impact on the brain.  You can use the example of eating food every day,
what happens if we dont  think to eat and quit eating? We die right?Remember  if your body ask you for alcohol,  the thought has to go through your brain first to get the alcohol in your body , so clearly it screws with your head.  Also  reading these post's you can see its different for everyone   the time period the dizziness lasts , but the best bet  is not to drink  EVER again if you go through a  dramatic  change!!! Let me know what you think ?
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Avatar universal
Let me  explain something  here,  if you binge drink , even if you binge drink for  20 years ,  lets say  once or twice a week  on the weekends  ,  but heavily  ,  heavily meaning  10 shots  within a 2 or three hour period ,  or  a bottle of whiskey  in  a few hours, this still does not make you an alcoholic, because  you   are not drinking in the morning  , afternoon  ,  night everyday ,  but it is making you someone who is probably addicted  to  binging,  as your body ask for it  every 5 days or so . Now if we move on to the dizziness , some days it will be worse than others  especially in the begining, SO you ask why? Well here is why ,  yes your body is asking for the alcohol, only problem here  is that  for your body to  have the alcohol, you  nee to "think"  of having  the alcohol  to put in your body, and that is where it  screws with your head, Your brain has gotten use to the thought of drinking  every 5 days so its programmed. So now   its been programmed for 10  20 30 years  to do the same thing, and if you turn that program off, it will have a huge impact on the brain.  You can use the example of eating food every day,
what happens if we dont  think to eat and quit eating? We die right?Remember  if your body ask you for alcohol,  the thought has to go through your brain first to get the alcohol in your body , so clearly it screws with your head.  Also  reading these post's you can see its different for everyone   the time period the dizziness lasts , but the best bet  is not to drink  EVER again if you go through a  dramatic  change!!! Let me know what you think ?
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19701082 tn?1519665659
Hey Bro....I have Same problem ......how Did you cure Yourself...Let Me Know.
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2 Comments
I feel the same exact way since January 1st. Still really fuzzy and hard to concentrate.
Have you improved at all?
19701082 tn?1519665659
Hii steve....hpw are you felling Now....
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Avatar universal
An alcoholic binge can cause an electrolyte imbalance, and or dehydration, causing weakness. Drinking water will make it worse. Severe weakness, hypotension (dizziness) and even death can occur. A single episode of binge drinking is unlikely to permanently cause liver damage, particularly as you are young. The best advice is to abstain or drink in moderation. If you happen to do it again buy a couple of bottles of generic pedialyte and you may feel remarkably better within hours. Don't use sports drinks like gatorade unless you absolutely cannot get pedialyte.  
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Avatar universal
Hello,
Lightheadness lasts about 3 weeks. I was 2 years ok without lightheadness. After 2 years I stopped to take Citalec pills for depression and I was still fine. After 3 months I took 2 beers and my lighthedness is back. Now it lasts 3 weeks and now it is better.
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1 Comments
One important point. Alcohol is not the only think which make me Lightheaded. It is also electronic cigarette. So it is not related to the alcohol only.
Avatar universal
Too much ammonia in your system from a damaged liver can cause brain death.
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Avatar universal
Also the doctor told me that my extremely heavy doses of milk thistle probably had a good hand and saving my life. Some people are just born with a weak liver. Around 18 percent of people.
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Avatar universal
I'm taking a strong laxative called lactulose for it. It's not necessarily cirrhosis it could just be heavy damage to your liver.
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Avatar universal
It's a really good possibility it's ammonia in your blood system affecting your brain. So liver problem due to binge drinking or a long time of heavy drinking. Get checked out because it can be dangerous.
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Avatar universal
I've never been a heavy drinker, I may have a couple of beers every month, or very rarely a little more but never even enough to get drunk. Two days ago things got a little out of hand because of some stupid challenge and I drank way too much, it got me sleepy so I went to bed. In the morning after I felt a bit dizzy, no other symptoms. It's not going away, it's not even impairing in any way, just annoying. Been eating healthy, taking lots of fluids and even exercising normally, but there's not even a little improvement. I'll go see a doctor today and let you know what he said. I just wanted to share this cause it may help someone realize that it only takes one time to get ****** up,  avoid heavy drinking, avoid alcohol as much as you can, you don't really need it to have fun.
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3 Comments
Please post what you find out asap
I went to the doctor and they told me it was my liver. It's pretty bad off. The weird dizzy feeling comes from ammonia in the blood system and its effects on the brain. If it gets bad enough it could cause coma and death. Last time I drink heavily it took me about 3 months to feel better on the medicine called lactulose. I stopped taking the lactulose about two-and-a-half months in and I was ok but I binge drink again in about three months in and I'm in the same bad situation. Even with the lactulose it's been a week and I feel awful. Just dizzy and tired. It's going to be another few months before I feel okay again I'm sure. Get your liver checked it's really important.
How old are you?
Avatar universal
Hey Hun. Im twenty one and Ive felt that way as well. Thought it was normal until I realized that for weeks it didnt go away ... I found out I was pregnant the whole time.
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Avatar universal
This is a pretty old thread. I had a major problem with this, after years of uninterrupted drinking. It's what first got me to consider getting sober. The problem gradually went away when I stopped abusing alcohol.   And there is no dizziness or lack of balance today.

There can be multiple reasons for feeling this way, so you should always consult a doctor,  but consistently high blood pressure and increased heart rate can be one factor.   And alcohol abuse can cause these issues.
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4 Comments
How long did it take before you got better? Weeks? Months? Did it get better right away of was it gradual?
It was gradual over the course of 3 months. And I did not drink at all during that period of time.
Did it constantly get better or did you have "good" days and "bad" days until you were back to normal? How did you feel after one month?
It stayed better, as long as I stayed off the alcohol. It's as if my body hit overload, and couldn't handle it anymore.
Avatar universal

JohnJones787 I sent you a message.
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Avatar universal
It happens to me very tired but cant sleep, lightbheaded, balance off. I also get what feels like a foot ball in my chest that makes it feel like Im not getting enough air. After a lot of research I think the football thing is jUst gerd caused by the alcohol so i take anti acids. For a few years now my liver enzymes been 3 times higher than normal so i tell my self maybe the odd dizzyness is from that or maybe toxins built up over days of binge drinking. Once i get hyderated whidh takes normaly a day or so and adter that i get very bad direa my guess is its my body detoxing. I also gain around 10 pounds from my body storing water, then over a weeks span being sober the water weight comes off. Your blood sugar can go low to so keep juice in your home and eat carbs like pasta before you go to sleep to keep ur sugar from going low. Eggs also good they have an enzyme that atacks the toxins in alcohol. Methanol is also in all alcohol which is pure poison hard liqour has the least and wine the most so wine or beer will affect your health and hang over the worst.
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Avatar universal
Has anyone found anything that helps? I have felt dizzy for a few months now and i have panic attacks when i go out bc i feel like i am going to fall down! I had a cat scan done nothing came up. I tried taking meclizine it seemed to make it worse. One dr Perscribed me xanax. It helped with the panic attacks but i was still dizzy. Im schedualing a appointment with a nuerologist this week. Im going to try the pro biotics and hopefully they will help!
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2 Comments
Did you ever fix this?
Hi....What happen next....are you healthy now
Avatar universal
Are you still feeling this way? How long did it take for you to recover?
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