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sudden onset alcohol intolerance

I don't know if I am submitting this in the correct forum, but I didn't see another one to try just yet. I am 47 and have been a social drinker since I became of age. Within the last year I suddenly cannot drink any alcohol. I get as sick as if I had been on a binge - trembling sick with nausea when I go to bed. I have to throw up everything in my stomach and then take phenergan. I am violently ill. Two years ago I lost 20+ lbs by cutting carbs. Could this have caused any chemical changes? I don't drink a drop any more. I can live without alcohol but am very puzzled about this sudden change. What could cause it? Thank you.
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Avatar universal
I am 35 and have socially drunk since I was 18, however about 6 months ago I suddenly developed headaches after drinking, usually within a couple of hours of the first drink. The headaches tend to last about 2 days and I feel very slightly nauseous. I get the headaches with beer, wine and the spirits I have tried and it only takes 1 glass to set it off. Nowadays I don't drink anything at all but I would like to know if this is anything to worry about. Everyone else on this forum seems to vomit but I just get headaches. Has anyone got any suggestions?
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363281 tn?1643235611
Hello~Allergies can develope almost over night to things. I have heard that every 5 years, allergens can change, so, this could be the reason you are experiencing the reactions.
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1 Comments
Amazingly, the probiotics are working.  I can hardly believe it.  After 6 months of acute sensitivity to a tiny sip of any alcohol with awful nausea and diarrhoea, the problem is actually going away now, 4 weeks into a course of Symprove.  This last 10 days I can have a glass of wine again!  I am so happy.  This summer I did a 5 day music festival and a 1wk beach holiday without a drop of alcohol.  I guess this shows my dependence but it made me so miserable.  Why bother getting tested for SIBO?  The tests are unreliable and require persuading a Dr to run them.  Try some probiotics, it's harmless (if expensive).  Good luck!
Avatar universal
For those still suffering, I highly recommend getting tested for SIBO.  I, too, had a sudden alcohol intolerance -- and it gradually got worse, to the point of a few sips making me ill.  The symptoms were very much like food poisoning.  I suspected SIBO, based on what some had said on this board (even though I didn't necessarily have a lot of SIBO symptoms).  I got every test under the sun -- multiple rounds of blood work, allergy testing, colonoscopy, endoscopy, etc. And in the end, it was SIBO.  A few things to note.  There is a high rate of false negative -- in fact, I took the test and got a false negative (and was devastated b/c I had pinned my hopes that it was SIBO, so I could actually have something I could treat).  Then, I took another test and it was positive.  To reduce the false negative, I recommend the following: 1) make sure you are taking the 3 hour test (not 2 hrs), 2) take the test using the lactulose solution (not glucose), 3) google for the diet you are supposed to follow the 24 hours before the test and follow it (even if your practitioner says you don't have to), 4) make sure the test is for both hydrogen AND methane (not methane alone).  Commonwealth Labs has a test that you do at and mail in -- that is the one that came out positive for me, vs. the negative which was done at GI lab.  I've just started a round of antibiotics and am hopeful that the intolerance issue goes away after antibiotics (and a diet change to support gut health).  Good luck to everyone!!
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Avatar universal
@richardspain and other head-only sufferers: I am exactly like you. I've always been able to drink whatever I like until the past three weeks. Now, if I drink anything, when I go to sleep, I end up having a headache so bad that twice I've dreamed I was actually shot in the head. I wake screaming and have to immediately deal with it. The first time, I actually turned on the light and looked to see if I had been shot. And this comes from a person who has had migraines since the age of 5. So I am used to headaches so bad that they can make me pass out or go into shock from the pain level. Yet these headaches after drinking are far worse. I have a terribly stressful work life (80 hours is a cakewalk for me -- most weeks are longer). So, I admit, I've used alcohol (between 1.5 to 3 ounces a night) to go to sleep quickly. I've never gone over 3 ounces and mostly do less. I only do shots (because I'm not looking to gain lots of weight and I do a low carb diet). So, it's always been tequila, whiskey or rum. I've never had an issue until the last three weeks. Like you I don't have nausea. I just have headaches that scare me so bad that I think I will have to stop drinking altogether. I really don't get it. Liver is fine. Kidneys are fine. I did have a life threatening illness situation where I lost 50 pounds in 2 months. After a couple of long hospital stays and nearly dying twice I learned I was an undiagnosed celiac. I had only ever had one symptom of the disease and that was thinning hair (since diagnosis, it's growing in thick - yay). But, since being diagnosed I haven't touched gluten (I even look for it in alcohol and won't drink any brand or type of alcohol that has it). So, it isn't gluten causing my issue. In fact, I've drank since going gluten free for about 9 months with no issues. I've changed nothing at all in these last nine months yet suddenly, in the last 3 weeks, I'd rather give up drinking than ever feel that painful headache again. Just no idea why. Hope someone has a potential answer or I may never get sleep (and, yeah, I am trying to cut back on work but it's a process - not an overnight thing).
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Avatar universal
I have the same!  25 years of normal social drinking, no issues at all.  Now 6 months of nausea, diarrhoea, insomnia, palpitations with one single sip.  It's making me so sad!  I think there is sense in the probiotics idea.  I have just ordered a 12 week course for £160!  I will try anything.  Please tell me it's not a teetotal rest of my lifetime!  Good to know I'm not alone.  I will report back.  
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1 Comments
Get tested for SIBO.  I've done so much internet research because I have the same problem & SIBO seems to be the only thing that is related.  I got tested and yup, I have it!
Avatar universal
You're an idiot who doesn't know how to read. We are talking about just two drinks ya moron. You're captain obvious with your comment. Do us all a favor and stay offline.  Idiot.  
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Avatar universal
I have similar story to many. Regular drinker, then could drink less and less. Now even a single sip will cause a hangover. Just a few minutes after the sip, I will get a dull pain in lower back of head/upper neck. Then next day (and into the following) I will have typical hangover symptoms - not sick to stomach but horrible headache. Happens with all types of alcohol. Only unique thing I did while this was beginning to happen was I took Diphenhydramine/antihistamine (ZZZZQuil) every night to help me sleep.

Various doctors but nothing yet. One thought it might be mold in alcohol. I do have deviated septum and regular sinus infections.
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1 Comments
Get tested for SIBO.  I've done so much internet research because I have the same problem & SIBO seems to be the only thing that is related.  I got tested and yup, I have it!
Avatar universal
One of the smartest post on here.
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Avatar universal
Thanks masterblogger

In my case I'm almost certain it's not a histamine intolerance. I don't suffer from any such symptoms when I drink alcohol.  

It seems strange, but the best way to describe my reaction is as though I've taken amphetamines and subsequently I feel 'wired' all night - I simply can't sleep, my mind races at a million miles an hour, my heart rate goes up, etc.  

I understand this could be partly stress related, however alcohol is the trigger or catalyst if you like.  Even if I'm a bit stressed (usually from work), I'll sleep fine unless I've had even a small amount of alcohol.

This reaction may not be common but I have heard of others with the same condition.

Cheers
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Avatar universal
In my opinion it could be a histamine intolerance.
Alcohol contains a lot of histamine and your body can react with sneezing watered eyes, burning throat etc.
That's what I noticed. But it's possible to make a diagnosis via blood test.
I got my expierence having a histamine intolerance but since 4 month I'm using a dietary supplement (Daosin). It controls my histamine level in my body and avoids basicly the allergic reaction.

take care
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Avatar universal
Interesting to read all these posts and to know we are not alone.  

I’m a 49 year old male and have grown very intolerant to alcohol over the last 10 to 15 years.  I drank a lot when I was in my 20s and 30s, just for fun, but my friends and I used to push the limits a lot.  I was a champion binge and party drinker, as well as being an average social drinker.

In my thirties my hangovers just stared getting worse and worse.  I mostly put it down to the fact that I was getting older.  I lived in denial that there was a real problem for years and kept drinking, albeit gradually less and less.

My sensitivity to alcohol has developed nowadays that I rarely drink at all – it’s just not worth it.  Even having one beer can give me a headache, but the worst symptoms for me are when I try to go to sleep.  Basically I feel ‘wired’ all night and cannot sleep at all, so of course I end up feeling like crap in the morning.  

My intuition has always told me that I simply drank too much when I was younger, and it’s as though I have reached saturation point for the rest of my life – which means every drop of alcohol now is like poison to my system.  That’s the best way to describe my situation.  It sounds like there are all sorts of reasons why people have an intolerance to alcohol, however for me I may have found the cause (but not necessarily the solution) ...

By chance I discovered that a friend of a friend had a similar issue with alcohol to me, which she had been “nursing” for at least 20 years.  She was diagnosed by a doctor with “General Adaptation Syndrome”, which basically is your body’s way of reacting to years of prolonged stress, which in our case is from drinking alcohol.  

Maybe we had a slight genetic intolerance to alcohol right from the beginning, but it was so mild as to be unrecognisable, and it was easy to just ignore it and push on.  But after years of pushing and stressing your bodies various systems, your body eventually and finally reacts as though it is being poisoned.  

There appears to be very little on the internet about this syndrome, and most of what you read will seem way ‘off the mark’ – the closest matches I have found which relates this syndrome (actually Stage 5) to a slowly progressive adverse reaction to alcohol are here:  

http://www.ion.ac.uk/information/onarchives/wonderfulworld

and

http://monstersupplements.com/resource/2012/05/general-adaptation-syndrome-getting-to-know-your-body/

So where to from here?  That’s about as much as I know at this stage but I will keep researching.  There are definitely good and bad sides to this whole affair.  I am super healthy and keep fit, and not drinking only adds to my daily wellbeing.  And I will no doubt save thousands of dollars over the coming years that I would have otherwise pissed down the drain.  

The down side is that it is still a challenge socially.  It’s amazing how ubiquitous drinking is in our society, so it’s not uncommon having to face the same old challenge of avoiding drinking and avoiding trying to explain why (most of the time I just couldn’t be bothered).

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has come across a similar diagnosis, particularly by a medical professional.  I suspect most doctors are completely unfamiliar with General Adaptation Syndrome as it applies to the slow development of alcohol hypersensitivity.

Good luck, and enjoy life.  Being a non-drinker (or at least a very restricted social drinker) is not such a bad thing ...!
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Avatar universal
I'm a 21yo Male, thin- about 140lbs. I have always been able to drink substantially. About a year ago there was one party where I drank a ton of Kalua. My stomach has never been the same since. I threw up that night violently about an hour after drinking the Kalua. I can't drink anything heavy like that anymore (ex. Bailey's) without having to throw up 30min to 2 hours later. I stopped drinking mostly for several months and my stomach improved a lot. Now I can drink more, but every once in a while after drinking I wake up in the middle of the night feeling terrible. I throw up and immediately feel all better. Last night I threw up at 4:30am and there was my completely undigested dinner from 7pm the night before. I had been drunk for a whole night and it wasn't until almost 10 hours later that my stomach realized it needed to eject? I really wish anyone had definitive answers to this kind of thing, but it looks like no one does :(.
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14256804 tn?1433622545
I would like to know more about the water points you make here.  I have been a birth worker for many years and I am noticing varying symptoms in women and children that were not as common 25 years ago; autism being of of them.  I am on this thread because I had two glasses of wine at a winery in Temecula, CA (where the twinning rates are abnormally high, possibly because of pesticides) and I am very sick today.  Weird.
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Avatar universal
I am 58, thin, basically fit and healthy but have long had some oversensitivity to sweet foods, which I mostly avoid.  More recently my blood sugar has gone up so I am just under the "prediabetic" level.

Now I seem to have developed a significant intolerance to any alcohol.  Symptoms - feel like I have a terrible hangover for a whole day after even a small glass of wine or beer.I also can feel weak and/or have heart arrhythmia only after alcohol.

First theory was that I was dehydrated so I tried drinking water while I had a beer.  I think that is a good idea but it didn't resolve the issue.  Then I thought that possible tannins in red wine or dark beer were affecting me so I stopped those drinks.  Now even one small drink of "clean" beer or white wine sets it off.  

At this point I have resolved not to even have any small amount of alcohol which is really annoying.  Interesting ideas from some posters here about bacterial infections or candida (yeast).  They may be a factor but it would surprise me if they are the only factors involved.  I wonder if there are actual allergies to the alcohol itself. I don't believe the problem is the bacteria/candida in itself but maybe an inhibition of digestive/ eliminatory capacity so that the alcohol in the bloodstream is creating some kind of immune response.  If it were only candida for example we would be seeing equally devastating responses to sugar ingestion as to alcohol and we don't seem to be seeing that.
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Avatar universal
Amazing, how so many have similar symptoms.  I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but the number of people experiencing sudden onset of adverse reactions to small amounts of alcohol posted here is striking.  

I have a few thoughts, one common thread regardless of  the type of alcohol (beer, wine, spirits), alcohol is produced through a fermentation process which employs yeast and some form of sugar.  There are only a few companies that manufacture yeast used in the production of alcohol in the world, only about 16 in the United States.  I can only wonder if genetically modified organisms are at work here.  You may already know this, but most of the food we eat today has been modified in some way in the laboratory.  One example is Corn, which is virtually impossible to obtain without being genetically modified in some way.  Could it be that mans tinkering with "Mother Nature" is causing these adverse effects described here?  I don't have an answer, but I believe that it is worthy of further investigation.  

Another possibility that comes to mind is that the chemicals we consume in our water are interacting with alcohol, chemicals which were not present just a few years ago.  Analysis of water today shows a soup of chemicals many of which are man made including a full spectrum of pharmaceuticals that were not even invented a few years ago.  Every time you drink water your body is being bombarded with a multitude of chemicals that change the way your body works, including your brain.

Yet one more potential suspect I believe having effects on human health is the over use of antibiotics and steroids which have resulted in "super bugs", and flesh eating bacteria.  Young children are now experiencing puberty earlier then ever before.  Could there also be subtle effects of antibiotics/steroids activated when alcohol is introduced into the body?

We live in "Brave New World".

I believe in time we will come to learn more and more how we have dramatically changed the overall functioning of the human body, and it is not to late to reverse our folly.
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1064552 tn?1322579758
I haven't seen a description that closely matches my experience.  I'd be interested to know if anyone else is like this or know what causes it... I am not a big drinker.  I learned early on that I can randomly be affected by even a mouthful of any kind of alcohol.  First I feel hot, which gets worse and makes me sweaty and flushed.  Then my stomach starts to burn, like it had battery acid poured in it.  (I have GERD, this is not what I experience with GERD).  And my spine .. Mid back like just behind and extending lower than where the sternum is on the chest... It hurts bad.  It feels really inflamed.  And sometimes there is nausea.  Usually I lay on my back or apply pressure to my back or try to cool off while I wait for it to pass.  Small amounts of alcohol pass in around 20 minutes.  Larger amounts take ... Longer.....
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11502764 tn?1418800472
Hi there as well,
it could be really possible that you are histamine intolerance and you did'nt know it yet. It has not be from the beginning of your life so it can happen everytime. Pls check it up with an allergist
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Avatar universal
hi there,
I guess you got a histamine intolerance. Basicly all the food or drinks which ripens has histamine and if people with a intolerance start to eat histamine rich food the body reacts with an allergic reaction. The allergic reaction can be different from person to person. I got it as well and I can't eat cheese. But a couple weeks ago I found this dietary supplement called Daosin. It makes it possible for histamine intolerance people to eat whatever they want. Everything I have to do is taking one cap right before I eat and thats it.

To make sure you are intolerance or not, you should go and see an allergist who can make a test with you.

best wishes
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Avatar universal
I have suddenly developed, at the age of 63, what seems to be a sensitivity to alcohol. I really only drink vodka martinis. And usually only on the weekends, and then maybe 2 a night. I've had several occasions lately where after normal drinks I woke up in the morning with the room spinning, and spent the day trying to walk upright instead of tilted, as I felt so off balance I might fall. I've tried to cut back which seems to help, but since I'm not a big drinker anyway I'm kind of bummed that I may have to stop? Have just gone to an ear specialist as I wanted to rule out any ear/balance related issues before trying to figure out why this has suddenly started happening. Anyone have any similar issues?
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Avatar universal
High levels of vitamin C in the body increase antioxidant levels and act as an antihistamine, however there is a DECREASED ability to detoxify alcohol. Since I have 'loaded up' on vit. C I cannot tolerate 1 beer or small glass of wine without headaches within 1 hour of consumption. Also all brewers yeast has been genetically manipulated to cause damage in humans. There are delayed triggers in the yeast.
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Avatar universal
These are my thoughts exactly - that as we rise in vibration, we are less able to handle anything which is not working towards our highest good. It's as if our Higher Self is guiding us to not drink alcohol due to the fact it lowers our vibration.

I have been intolerant to alcohol for nearly three years but old habits die hard. I cannot stand the migraines and the three day hangover. During those torturous three days, I experience a complete lack of joy and horrific negative thoughts. If we accept the premise that our thoughts create our emotions and in turn, our emotions (the catalyst for our actions) create our reality, then drinking alcohol could be classed as masochism at best, and self-inflicted disablement at worst.

So, it's: thoughts create our emotions, our emotions impact our actions, our actions create our reality. The key is to master our thoughts, therefore to master our emotions. Easier said than done. However, the Emotional Freedom Technique has some very positive feedback, as does Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Meditation, good diet (removing caffeine for example), dismissing the need to feel "informed" about disasterous current events (ego driven) and daily exercise has become very important to the 'sensitives' amongst us; adequate and consistent self-care has become paramount to an enjoyable and harmonious quality of life, and even sanity.

I haven't bought a newspaper or had a TV for years and I've ensured that all Negative Nancy's and Paranoid Percy's in my Facebook newsfeed have been unfollowed, so rarely I'm rarely affected by imagery or information which causes me to feel sad, helpless, hopeless or useless. It's all very well sharing the horror happening on Planet Earth but the reality is, it serves only to lower our vibration, causing the thoughts and feelings as outlined above.

There is nothing we can do about most horrific planetary situations, not unless we're able and willing to board a plane and fly out to the affected countries, or willing to put ourselves in the line of danger to protest the next outrageous actions or revealed potential agenda of our psyhcopathic governments. I cannot express how much my happiness and inner peace has increased since I decidednot to focus on things outwith my control.

But I digress. No more alcohol for me. This is pretty hard to accept because I'm a natural introvert and it was a great tool for taking the edge off mild social anxiety. I'm not sure what to use in its place, but I'm pretty convinced that certain herbs can stand in for the social lubricant provided by alcohol.

My biggest concern is that it is hard to find people who want to participate in sober activities. I live in Glasgow, Scotland, so drinking is deeply ingrained here as part of the culture. It's difficult to enjoy the company of friends when one is sober and they are drunk: repeating themselves, slurring their words and sometimes becoming irrational and argumentative. However, I intend to widen my circle of friends to include those who don't rely on alcohol in order to have a good time.

Good luck to everyone living a new life without alcohol.... I guess it's not even "new", it is simply "different". <3
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Avatar universal
This same thing happened to me.  All of a sudden I found myself feeling more intoxicated from a drink or two of wine and then sick the following few hours and next day.  

I thought I had developed an allergy that I had developed to Red Wine, sulfites, etc.  But as it turns out in hindsight it started showing up about 3 - 5 months after I was bite by a tick and at the time I had not been aware that I had babesiosis (Lyme disease) from the tick bite.  I have confirmed the Lyme disease with Western Blot testing for an official diagnosis. (This gets complicated as there were other symptoms I started to exhibit which led me to the proper diagnosis)

From what I have come to understand with Lyme disease spirochetes your GI tract can become over run with Candida (yeast/fungus) and it devours the sugars in the alcohol, creating even more alcohol than you drank from the sugars and interactions of the candida adding to and rendering more alcohol than the individual consumed.

I would recommend ruling out the possibility of a tick bite (vector borne illness) such as Lyme (i.e. Babesiosis, spirochete and co-infections)
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Avatar universal
I seem to have a growing intolerance, that's ok. I used to drink like a fish. I can only have one or two now since I was diagnosed with epilepsy at 19 after suffering since I was a kid.

Reading some of your comments though I'd like some of you to consider:

1 in 26 people will suffer epilepsy in their life.
I have most of my seizures in my sleep, so I don't remember them. Just feel rubbish.
If I am awake, I will have them when my blood alcohol reaches close to zero again so the next afternoon after drinking.
Seizures include everything from full convulsion, to buzzing noises, sore guts, weak legs, auras, sweats, a "funny" feeling.
The after effects and throbbing headache can last for daaaaaaays.

Just another thought.

Good luck to you all!

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Avatar universal
I have the same intolerance, and have been watching this thread. Some information about "fermenting gut syndrome" which you might find helpful: particularly the section on the liver P450 detoxification system:

http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Fermentation_in_the_gut_and_CFS
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