Fatigue after 1 Glass of Wine

I am 31 yrs old, 5'5 in height, and weigh about 117 pounds. I am not on any new medication and I workout about 3/4 times per week.

I like to enjoy 1 glass of wine in the evenings a few nights a week. The past few months I have felt increasingly extremely fatigued/hungover the next day after the tiniest bit of wine/alcohol (1/2 glass, drunk over the course of an hour) even though I eat a full dinner, drink plenty of water, and always get at least 8 hours of sleep.

I was wondering if you have any idea what might be causing this and/or if there is anything I can do about it.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

Alcohol can certainly cause fatigue.  However, there are many, many medical reasons why this is happening.

One consideration would be to check your liver function to make sure that the alcohol hasn't damaged that.  If the liver function was impaired, that can certainly be a cause for fatigue - especially from alcohol.

In addition to the liver function tests, other tests to consider would be a complete blood count, electrolyte panel, and thyroid tests.  I would discuss these tests with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.