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363682 tn?1299489362

Headaches following alcohol consumption ...

   For around three or four years now, I have been suffering from headaches some two hours or more after the consumption of any amount of alcohol - although typically as few as two drinks upwards of any kind of alcohol.  The headaches come on slowly but persistently and follow a line from the left side of my neck across the top of my head to just above the left eyebrow.  They are not sharp pains but more of a constant 'throb' and can go on for hours.  Pain relief medication does nothing and the only relief I can get at all is the application of something topical like '4-Head' or the American 'Head-On'.  Although I have been a reasonably 'active' drinker in the past, if anything now, at the age of 61 (male), I rarely have more than two drinks at a time ... which is why I'm surprised at the onset of these headaches.  My own doctor has, thus-far, not taken it very seriously and tends to take the line that, after years of 'getting away with it, maybe you've finally developed an allergy!'  
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Avatar universal
Update on the struggle with the alcohol intolerance. I have recently seen an allergist and learned I have food allergies. In addition, histamine intolerance could well be an issue. Alcohol increases histamine in our bodies and some people do not have the capability to break it down--DAO enzyme Even a small amount of alcohol could cause a reaction. Many foods also either contain a lot of histamine or cause a reaction. Keep a food diary, research histamine intolerance and see if there is a correlation.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
Over the past 2 months I've been struggling to learn about a new reality.  I'm in my early 50's and have enjoyed IPA's and red wine for many years.  2 months ago i began to experience debilitating headaches.  The first one felt like a bad hangover, but only after a couple beers.  Over the next few days these progressed to the point to a visit to the emergency room for evaluation.  

As I started feeling better on and off it took me a while to notice my relapses were associated with having a beer with friends.  I began to read and research my own triggers.  These days it seems anything over 2 drinks will cause a minor headache.

I'm happy to learn it's not a tumor (Kindergarten Cop Pun)  is helpful, but I miss my red wine and IPA's.
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Avatar universal
This is an interesting forum. Would like to share what I have experienced and learned. I drink wine, mostly red, about 2 glasses 3 times a week. I now stay away from anything aged in American barrels, I noticed a worse headache from those wines. In any case, headaches got worse, and so did my back problems. I kept looking. Nothing worked for the headaches. What I found out that in my case the back issue is secondary, the main problem is the constriction of the blood vessels (had an ultrasound done) and therefore blood gets to the head slower. Even if I didn't drink anything, I would get a headache once a week, and it would be so bad, that I would periodically have to call off of work.
I was advised to take Vincamine and it worked very well for me. It's a vasodilator and since alcohol tends to constrict the vessels in the end, it made sense to take it to improve the blood flow. I am going to start taking it again. I didn't have the same effect from Vinpocetine which is what's mainly sold now.
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Avatar universal
I am relatively new member of this forum and I had not really read every single older post.   l looked more carefully at some of them the other day and I realized that histamine has been an issue for quite a long time.
There is so much information about histamine intolerance on the internet that one can become an expert by reading it.
It seems that many health problems that western medicine was not willing to address have a lot to do with  histamine and its metabolism.
Personal experience:
Apart from headaches after alcohol consumption, I suffered from atopic dermatitis (eczema) for long periods of time, meaning many many years. I tried all possible medication, without any success. Until one day, without heaving read anything about histsmine, I thought I should take antihistamines to see what happens.  I also quitted drinking alcohol to get a clean result -I did this for 5 days.   My eczema dissapead and never came back.  A health problem which was left untreated for years because no doctor said to me that my body may not be able to process histamine adequately. I felt so stupid that I could not think of this earlier in my life and I spent so much effort and money to cure something which had such a simple solution. After that I read quite a few articles on histamine and histamine intolerance and it seems that at least for me, all my health problems are related to it.  It could be genetic because my mother suffers from insomnia, itching, bloating etc (all symptoms of histamine intolerance) so now I am trying to figure out how to adjust my diet so that there is a minimum of histamine intake and what kind of supplements I shoukd take.
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Avatar universal
Interesting.
I have been suffering from the same symptoms for 6months now.
I found that the only meds that help are antihistamines & Advil migraine.
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Avatar universal
I have good news for at least some followers of this forum.  
Histamine intolerance may be the cause of headaches after alcohol consumption because alcohol contains histamine (especially wine and beer).
It has other adverse effects, such as skin rash, bloating etc
Dietary changes improve the situation dramatically.
Also antihistamine pills.

If one eats food with little histamine in it, then he may be able to have a drink without suffering from headaches
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
I can happily report that the black seed obviosly helps in my case. I read here before that the histamine reaction can be the cause of this strange headaches after two glasses of alcohol and it seems to be the case indeed.

I am allergic to dust mites and although taking black seed (cumin) for last 2 and a half months didn't really relieve my allergy symptoms I don't have headaches after drinking alcohol anymore.

Yesterday we had an annual celebration in our company and I drank around 4-5 glasses of wine without any problems whatsoever.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My husband (29) has the same issues that started a couple years ago. He used to be able to drink all the time, without having these headaches but now, even after one drink, he get severe headaches that sometimes lasts for days. These usually happen almost immediately after drinking.

Some other details about him:
- He was diagnosed with high blood pressure which he takes medication for daily (he says this used to help with his headaches, now not so much).
- He has very bad allergies. He used to use this nasal spray a lot, but has since limited usage to once a day. He also does take OTC allergy medicine daily.
- Read in one of the other comments about limiting the amount of coffee... we may try this. He drinks coffee daily.
- Also read about having a better diet, and we'll try this as well.
- He states that sometimes these headaches will leave temporarily, but then return. He does take Advil/Tylenol/pain killers, but he states those don't really work.

Wish we knew of a solution.
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Avatar universal
My husband (29) has the same issues that started a couple years ago. He used to be able to drink all the time, without having these headaches but now, even after one drink, he get severe headaches that sometimes lasts for days. These usually happen almost immediately after drinking.

Some other details about him:
- He was diagnosed with high blood pressure which he takes medication for daily (he says this used to help with his headaches, now not so much).
- He has very bad allergies. He used to use this nasal spray a lot, but has since limited usage to once a day. He also does take OTC allergy medicine daily.
- Read in one of the other comments about limiting the amount of coffee... we may try this. He drinks coffee daily.
- Also read about having a better diet, and we'll try this as well.
- He states that sometimes these headaches will leave temporarily, but then return. He does take Advil/Tylenol/pain killers, but he states those don't really work.

Wish we knew of a solution.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Could it be toxicity?

Thank you for this forum, Mark46.  I too suffer from this issue.  Wicked right side of the head from shoulder to above and behind the right eye after just a couple of alcoholic drinks.  While I've experienced that same type of headache (off and on) since I was 12, up until the last couple of months, I could attribute that to hormonal / menstrual issues.  Now, they are clearly brought on by alcoholic consumption, whereas there hadn't been that correlation before (been drinking recreationaly for about 22 years now).

I did want to mention that I am 43 years old.  That seemed to be a magic number / age when I was reading these posts yesterday.  

Additionally, I know there was a theory floated on here as to whether there could be an environmental cause with someone mentioning metals, for example, and with Mark46 repeatedly questioning why this seems to be a 'new' problem.

I don't know if I have the answer, but I feel like I'm starting to stumble towards it.  Within the last year I've noticed that I can no longer tolerate caffeine (I was getting terrible silent reflux from even just one cup of decaf a day).  Once I cut coffee out - no problems.

Next, I found some lipomas (non-cancerous tumors) on my right ribs.  The Dr. tells me these are just encapsulated globs of fat, however, there are plenty of others (internet, etc.) who report that these are actually toxins that the body could not eliminate through normal means (filtering in the liver, elimination, etc.) so 2nd best is for the body to surround those toxins in a glob of fat and encapsulate them so they cannot damage the body.  Finally, most recently (last couple of months?!?) I've experienced the symptom of alcohol consumption throwing me into headache hell land.

As to the cause ... there was a time last year when my family was renting a home down the street.  The landlady was very cheap with the heat and as a result we NEVER opened the windows.  When we moved (late January) we realized there was mold growing in at least 2 of the rooms - so bad that we had to throw away some of our furniture.

I work at home and because it was winter, I only left the apartment sparingly.  I believe the mold may have caused the lipomas and perhaps the other toxicity in my system which has now lead to my body's seeming inability to filter out other 'normal' toxins (caffeine, alcohol ...).

So for my part, I'd like to know if any of you:
1.  have also recently experienced caffeine intolerance
2.  have lipomas
3.  have been exposed to mold

As far as a 'cure':  I'm working now to de-toxify as much as I can.  I've moved to a diet made up mostly of vegetables, I'm taking kefir once a day and apple cider vinegar once a day and I plan on introducing some anti-oxidant focused drinks .. Acai?  Pomegranate?  Coco-fusion?  

We'll see how it goes.

Yours in solidarity - Jacqueline
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Avatar universal
I have exactly same symptioms for a few months now at age 69. Onset is about 8-12 hours after drinking, always left side behind ear where skull meets  muscle. Source area is tender to touch over about 9 square inches along bone. Dissappears spontaneously, but slowly. Always at night, independently of pillows, sleeping on back or side. I believe lack of sufficient hydration may be a factor or the root cause, but that seems inconsistent with the lack of symmetry.
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3 Comments
Read all entries ... histamines seems to be a likely root cause. When I was young growing up on a farm, I got stung often without much reaction ... same thing with almost any amount of alcohol. Today a sting causes huge swelling, and alcohol seems to cause this problem, suddenly at age 69.
One Benadryl last night and about 1/2 hour later pain stopped and then the tenderness stopped ... went back to sleep.

Normally this pain lasts hours (after drink two or more glasses of wine), but always goes away by daylight. Nothing I had done before would lessen this pain. It is not minor pain, it wakes  me up and prevents me from going back to sleep. Very strange.

I am otherwise healthy and do not have any prescription drugs and do not take any other drugs ... other than red wine :)

I hope someone else who has this very specific syndrome gives this a try to see if it works for them.
Ibuprofen also works.

This article explains histamine intolerance:

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11175/everything-you-need-to-know-about-histamine-intolerance.html

Basically alcohol is both a source of histamines and blocks DAO which is responsible for neutralizing histamines in your body.

Common symptoms of histimine intolerance are headaches, migranes as well as tissue swelling.

For me apparently always on left side of neck where neck meets skull about 8 hiurs after excess alcohol consumption.

Just a guess.

Avatar universal
I have exactly same symptioms for a few months now at age 69. Onset is about 8-12 hours after drinking, always left side behind ear where skull meets  muscle. Source area is tender to touch over about 9 square inches along bone. Dissappears spontaneously, but slowly. Always at night, independently of pollows, slerping on back or side. I believe lack of sufficient hydration may be a factor or the root cause, but that seems inconsistent with the lack of symmetry.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Wow. Surprised to see that so many people have the exact same symptoms as I do. I'm 49 and have been a moderate drinker all my adult life. I even brew my own beer. I have a very high tolerance and rarely experience hangovers. About six months ago, I started getting a bad throbing at the left base of my skull anytime I drink more than a beer or two. Analgesics do nothing to alleviate the pain. I'm an Ironman triathlete and an ultramarathoner and every physical and lab test proclaims me the picture of health. Just don't understand...
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Avatar universal
I was in the same situation. I am a 24 year old female, I used to be able to drink alcohol all the time with no issues. It was not until last year that I started getting migraines immediately after having 1 drink. I experimented with everything, I heard that taking Zinc an hour before drinking helps your liver produce an enzyme that helps process alcohol better, so I tried that, but it was of no help/didn't work. I did research on what alcohol does to your blood vessels, and it dilates your blood vessels. I am a heavy coffee drinker, and the caffeine in coffee constricts your blood vessels. So having those two might not be the best idea within a 24 hour period, since the two conflicting processes might cause a migraine. I quit my coffee addiction, and now I am happy to report that I do not have migraines after drinking anymore. My experience may not help most of you, but I thought it would be worth telling if it might help at least one of you.
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Avatar universal
@nickeljeff - good suggestion, but my head, for example, hurts only after I consume alcohol, about more then 0,25 dl of beer or more then 0,15 dl of wine (as a rule of thumb), not after I consume other food that is full of histamine.

For me it is a good shoot though as I am otherwise allergic to histamine (slightly) and mites (largely).

I found out that drinking lot of water (which can be realated to widening of arteries, which shrink by the effect of alcohol - they basically dehidrate), especially mineral of water, and eating refreshing food (salad, ice cream) helps, but usually it only prolongues the effect.
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Avatar universal
I have been suffering with migraines from drinking even one glass of wine.  I started taking famotidine (an oral antiacid) prior to any wine consumption and I have not gotten a migraine since.  I am a nurse in a chemo infusion clinic, and we often given famotidine to prevent a reaction from some infusions of chemo, and my coworker suggested I try famotidine prior to wine consumption.  Well, guess what, it worked like a charm and I feel like I have my life back.  I was almost ready to quit drinking all-together!  I hope this helps someone who loves wine, but is almost ready to give up!
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1 Comments
Burnhag, famatidine is a histamine H2 receptor antagonist and may be helping your histamine intolerance. Do you get headaches from some foods? Some foods have high levels of histamine as does alcohol. See my post below.
Avatar universal
I've made some progress]

rmsmi I have tried that supplement and thought for awhile it works, no but now I'm just not so sure--

Dbbjfields - this is EXACTLY the pain that I have.

After going to a headache specialist and my headaches getting worse, I believe I have hemicrania headaches-- you can try treating them with indomethacin.

As for supplements, I have tried everything, and the only ones that helps are

Ginger
Turmeric
Boswellia ]

I've also found using the TENS machine is the equivalent of massaging my neck constantly, if you can get the right spot. -- this can also be dangers if you are zapping your spine so be careful

Boswellia appears to work similarly to indomethatcin-- Be careful with indomethacin as it causes upset stomach and screws up your stomach lining, bad news if you're ingesting lots of alcohol. I would take 1300 or more of boswellia extract and maybe 600-1000 curcumin with fats and pepper to help the body absorb it-- some days it seems to work wonders other days i'm not so sure. Do all with caution.

I think this is really is all part of an underdiagnosed headache type which is rarer than migraine or may coincide with it.

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Avatar universal
They aren't quite in the dark. The main problem is that, while they have good knowledge of *statistical* efficacy of a given treatment for migraines - i.e. what treatment seems to work most often for the largest percentage of people - migraine in particular has wide variance of behavior between individuals. It's just impossible to guarantee a treatment to an individual sufferer.

The best you can do is to have the patient run down a list in descending order of what seems to help the most people, and hope they run across a treatment that they respond to without wasting too much of their time.

This type of general information is easily available online. Working one-on-one with your doctor will (hopefully) help you zero in on an effective treatment for you as efficiently as possible and with regards to side effect and other health issues particular to your medical history.
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Avatar universal
Hello there, I too have these types of headaches over 25 years now and all alcohol related.
1 to 2 glasses of white wine and end up with the 4 day pulsating debilitating pain. I just wanted to see if any of you also experience the pain in to one of your molars/premolars??? I can almost draw a line from right or left hand side above my temple right down into my jaw and into the tooth. My head and tooth pulsate! I can never lie on that side of my face in bed.
I have tried so many things over the years and after some terrible episodes maybe a Christmas party or a very special occasion where I had more that 2 glasses and was very merry! and the next 4 days were just utter hell on earth I have stopped drinking and tell myself I will give up alcohol............. but in time would tentatively take a glass or two at some event.
I am now thinking of totally giving up alcohol. Having read most of the posts here and knowing what I know it seems to be the best solution. However life without a drink now and then seems miserable. I cant really see any alternative as at this stage and having tried most of the mentioned meds on this site I just dont know any viable alternative. I think I will have a rather sad old age as the mellow feelings and creative and enlightening conversations that can be drifted into while drinking will be no more. Hard to bite that bullet!
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Avatar universal
Hi guys,

I have been tracking this thread for awhile, and after quite a bit of research and talking to great doctors, I am sure that what I Mark and many others have been experiencing is unfortunately migraines.

Rather than justify all points, I would like to say that really I am 99% convinced at this point.

The best treatments are then:

Head on/ Tiger Balm
Aleve 600 mg as soon as the attack starts then 600mg 6 hours later no more than 9 days a month
A good night's sleep

Triptans may help, but can cause rebound.

What's happening is that alcohol is a trigger, or items in alcohol are triggers-- that's why I was getting headaches even with non alcoholic beer-- fresh fermented things, tannins, cogeners all CAN cause migraines.

Triggers are different for all, so experiment. Read a book, not the net, and find a neurologist.

Good luck treating. I'll come back if I am able to control this with diet or whatever.
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Avatar universal
Has anyone tried N-A-C (N-Acetyl-Cysteine)? I've got the same problem and read that N Acetyl Crysteine helps build up glutathione which breaks down the toxin acetaldehyde produced from alcohol consumption. I think I'll give it a shot!
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1 Comments
After reading the latest on NAC, I'm retracting my statement about giving it a shot, and possibly tossing it in the trash.
Avatar universal
I have only scanned through, and read a few posts.  I too, (surprise, surprise) suffer from these nasty headaches.  When I was younger, I could keep up with the best of them, but after children, etc., drinking cut back, obviously.  Now, at 43, if I have a glass of white wine (red has always given me headaches) or one cocktail, I will feel the headache coming on, within hours. My neck gets stiff, the pain travels up the back of my neck, usually on one side, to the top Side of my head, and to the center of my brow line...where it meets my nose, but still, the pain stays on one side. Usually stopping right under the inner corner of my brow. Pinching it, or applying pressure there helps...but not a fix. This is so frustrating.
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Avatar universal
I just read this entire thread.  Kudos to Mark for keeping this going.

I am a male, 31yo, and I get a headache from drinking alcohol 1 - 2 hours after consumption.  This can be lots of drinks or as little as 1.  Here are some things I have learned after roughly 5 - 6 years of dealing with this.

#1 - As you can gather, this can happen from a very very BROAD ranges for everyone.  Its legitimate to say Mark and I have the same symptoms, but from different triggers.  Just remember that as you read stuff and try and your symptoms to someone else's triggers.  Be truthful to yourself, and do some self research.

#2 - Its true most / if not all MDs will just tell you to stop drinking.  Don't hate them, Doctors are wonderful people who took on the hideous task of listening to people's crap for the rest of their lives.  Unfortunately research costs money, and most MDs are taught the same things over and over, and they honestly could not tell you otherwise.  Once in a while you will find some lone ranger who took a special interest, but like many other professions:  MDs are people too, and just because they are board certified, doesn't make them experts in curing.  In conclusion, be patient with MDs answers.

#3 - What is in your alcohol MATTERs.  This is the hardest part.  Research.  No all alcohols are made entirely the same.  This is where the 'broadness' of it all REALLY comes into affect.  "Hey man I had a beer, and nothing happened, but then I had another 1 the next day and boom, headache!"  Next Person:  "I dont get it with beer, but I got it with wine!".  Yet were all here because of, alcohol.  This is why its so hard for MDs to help you.  The ingredients used in the hundreds of thousands of drinks are what are causing your headache.  No one (honestly, unless they are doing their PHd on it) wants to sign up to figure that out.

#4 - I had sinus issues for a long time, kinda still do.  I had a septoplasty done (I had a deviated septum).  Check this out - I had a Sinus Catscan, and the Radiologist noted I had a deviated septum.  3 MDs looked at this, and it wasn't until I explained I kept getting clogging on my right nostril that they tied this to my headaches.  So be very critical of your results, and ask your MD to walk you through the results.  For reference, at the time I worked in a Primary Care office, and was surrounded by 45 General Practitioners.   Who are all wonderful, helpful people, but just to give you an idea, you (like Mark here) have to keep at this.  Don't expect someone to have a magic cure.

#5 - You (like me), have just built an allergy/intolerance/recently come across a new health challenge that is making this happen.  Cross reference all that alcohol (or what comes in the drink they are mixed with) trigger, and just make a checklist and rule out items.  Again this is another time consuming event.  For me it was histamines.  They triggered my sinuses and explained why even pain killers either barely, or only temporarily subsided my pain.  I now take ani-histamines 1 hour before alcohol consumption, and even then it doesnt work 100%, but it also depends on the type of drink I am in taking.  For example just last night I had a glass of white wine.  No issues at all.  Red wine?  Nope!  Those are just too heavy.

As you see, dealing with this issue much like reading this reply, f***ing *****, and pretty much you just give up halfway through.  (welcome to why MDs don't want to take this on).  You interest level in years of work, is the same as theirs.  If this thread is any evidence, its that everyone's situation is similarly, different.

Read as much as you can, be critical of yourself and your efforts into actions, and I am sure, much like me you will find a healthy/reasonable solution.

Good luck, and post here rather then just reading.  Even if you think you have no value to add, someone out there is much like you, and would be encouraged to hear your story.  I know I was, by everyone elses.  

Isn't the internet great?
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Avatar universal
Can't believe I'm back after posting for the first time in 2009 - what a clan of sufferers we've amassed here!

Since my last post I've successfully had a 4-year stint where I drank plenty of alcohol, headache-free. I thought I'd escaped the problem forever, until the headaches came back for a month or so - and then I was headache-free for a couple more years - and now the headaches are back.

So I thought this was some kind of periodical/phase thing that comes and goes, until I took more active measures to figure out this thing, given I now knew it was possible for me to drink without getting the headache.

I found that drinking small to moderate amounts of alcohol almost always causes a headache - my body begins to sober up quickly, but lacking the enzyme to break the alcohol down my blood gets poisoned and fires up the pain & the same blood vessel in my head swells up every time, and meds do not help, only time and sleep (but most of all I found that continuing to talk to someone over a cigarette (or none, just keep talking) gets my mind off the pain & rids the headache faster than just sitting there feeling each moment of agony, which keeps the headache going longer.)

Surprisingly, drinking a larger amount consistently without giving a chance for my body to start sobering up seems to let me bypass the headache phase and enter the drunk phase - pain-free.

Currently I'm in my headachey phase again, and I decided to do a test last week - Don't slowly drink a small amount in fear of the pain - but drink faster and more consistently til I feel buzzed - and really, there was no pain! Yesterday I attended an event and had a small amount to drink. The pain was strong last night. The point is - stopping too soon will flare the headache right up. At least in my case.

In addition, since my last post I've figured out that my headaches weren't tension headaches nor migraines, but occipital neuralgia. This is one-sided head/face/neck pain that is not exactly a migraine/tension/cluster headache.
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