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Alcohol makes me sick for weeks
Hello,
when I drink alcohol (it does not matter the amount, a single non-alcoholic beer with 0,5% of alcohol in it will do) I find myself sick for 10 days up to 2 weeks.
It has not always been this way, and my tolerance level gradually lowered over the past 2 years.
As for the symptoms, I'm perfectly fine the evening I'm drinking (or having one drink) : I feel sick when I wake up the next morning. I'm dizzy, extremely tired, find any effort difficult, most of all I feel the back of my brain extremely weird, and just feel... wrong. My heart also beats quite heavily and sometimes randomly.
At first, those symptoms would last 1 day.
The first time it went 15 days. all symptoms were identical, except when I excpected them to disappear the next morning, they went worst. Thinking is hard, and I'm not able to concentrate on anything. It's just like a constant blur, and this feeling something in my head is definitely wrong.
It went worst the 3rd day, and the 4th I found myself so bad (I was stressing out to see I was not going better, so I might very well have some panic attack) I couldn't speak correctly, being totally dislexic. I went to neurological emergency.
I had a complete health check, and there was nothing on it : my blood tests were quite the same as the year before, and the year before.
Considering my trouble speaking they gave me a scanner, which revealed nothing.
Finally the emergency guy found myself in nice health anc concluded it was some psychosomatic thing.
As it was also my doctor opinion (who I had seen some times about this before it went so bad), I took it into consideration and took an appointment with a designated shrink.
I saw him twice and he could not have been more bored : for him, I had nothing to do here and my symptoms were clearly physical, so I stopped seing him.
He thought even if my test results were clean they might not show everything ; for him my reaction to alcohol could be the sign of something else, well hidden.
Vincent
when I drink alcohol (it does not matter the amount, a single non-alcoholic beer with 0,5% of alcohol in it will do) I find myself sick for 10 days up to 2 weeks.
It has not always been this way, and my tolerance level gradually lowered over the past 2 years.
As for the symptoms, I'm perfectly fine the evening I'm drinking (or having one drink) : I feel sick when I wake up the next morning. I'm dizzy, extremely tired, find any effort difficult, most of all I feel the back of my brain extremely weird, and just feel... wrong. My heart also beats quite heavily and sometimes randomly.
At first, those symptoms would last 1 day.
The first time it went 15 days. all symptoms were identical, except when I excpected them to disappear the next morning, they went worst. Thinking is hard, and I'm not able to concentrate on anything. It's just like a constant blur, and this feeling something in my head is definitely wrong.
It went worst the 3rd day, and the 4th I found myself so bad (I was stressing out to see I was not going better, so I might very well have some panic attack) I couldn't speak correctly, being totally dislexic. I went to neurological emergency.
I had a complete health check, and there was nothing on it : my blood tests were quite the same as the year before, and the year before.
Considering my trouble speaking they gave me a scanner, which revealed nothing.
Finally the emergency guy found myself in nice health anc concluded it was some psychosomatic thing.
As it was also my doctor opinion (who I had seen some times about this before it went so bad), I took it into consideration and took an appointment with a designated shrink.
I saw him twice and he could not have been more bored : for him, I had nothing to do here and my symptoms were clearly physical, so I stopped seing him.
He thought even if my test results were clean they might not show everything ; for him my reaction to alcohol could be the sign of something else, well hidden.
Vincent
Thank you for your answer.
Actually, the limitation of character we can write to ask a question here made me shorten my description... a lot.
After those different ideas from different doctors, and my main doctor not wishing to go any further with that issue, I've just quit searching ; and along with that decision, I stopped alcohol completely, as I was afraid to see how the symptoms could continue tu grow in intensity (when it started 2 years ago, I wasn't even sure, and it evolved very slowly, but surely).
That was 8 months ago, and I had no alcohol at all during this time. And I've not experienced my symptoms either.
What made me ask again about this intolerance, is a recent and boring incident.
I've been invited for lunch by friends, and the very evening I started to feel as I had some alcohol.
I've asked my friends if they used alcohol for cooking ; and they did.
I've been sick for another 10 days, for a spoon of baked white wine I did not even know was there.
Thank you anyway.
Actually, the limitation of character we can write to ask a question here made me shorten my description... a lot.
After those different ideas from different doctors, and my main doctor not wishing to go any further with that issue, I've just quit searching ; and along with that decision, I stopped alcohol completely, as I was afraid to see how the symptoms could continue tu grow in intensity (when it started 2 years ago, I wasn't even sure, and it evolved very slowly, but surely).
That was 8 months ago, and I had no alcohol at all during this time. And I've not experienced my symptoms either.
What made me ask again about this intolerance, is a recent and boring incident.
I've been invited for lunch by friends, and the very evening I started to feel as I had some alcohol.
I've asked my friends if they used alcohol for cooking ; and they did.
I've been sick for another 10 days, for a spoon of baked white wine I did not even know was there.
Thank you anyway.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Individual increased sensitivity to the effects of alcohol is well described and in some instances is genetic based.
For further information go to this Mayo Clinic website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol-intolerance/DS01172/DSECTION=symptoms
My concern is that the reactions you describe may appear to be related to ethanol ingestion but are not. As you indicate you may be experiencing anxiety/panic attacks but the other thing that comes to mind is that your symptoms are also consistent with carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication, maybe from a poorly ventilated heating system. You should check this out with the use of a CO alarm and/or measurement of CO in your blood, by the medical personnel.
I mentioned a genetically determined sensitivity to alcohol but I have had no experience with this. If you wish to pursue this possibility your best bet would be to consult with a physician toxicologist.
Perhaps a first step should be absolute avoidance of alcohol for several weeks. That could confirm your suspicion that alcohol sensitivity is the cause or demonstrate that you should look further into what is causing the reactions.
Good luck
For further information go to this Mayo Clinic website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol-intolerance/DS01172/DSECTION=symptoms
My concern is that the reactions you describe may appear to be related to ethanol ingestion but are not. As you indicate you may be experiencing anxiety/panic attacks but the other thing that comes to mind is that your symptoms are also consistent with carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication, maybe from a poorly ventilated heating system. You should check this out with the use of a CO alarm and/or measurement of CO in your blood, by the medical personnel.
I mentioned a genetically determined sensitivity to alcohol but I have had no experience with this. If you wish to pursue this possibility your best bet would be to consult with a physician toxicologist.
Perhaps a first step should be absolute avoidance of alcohol for several weeks. That could confirm your suspicion that alcohol sensitivity is the cause or demonstrate that you should look further into what is causing the reactions.
Good luck
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