Prolonged and violent vomiting episode in 2007 - longer-term damage?

[20GoingOn]

Hi all,

I'm hoping that someone might be able to shed a little light on an incident that occurred several years ago but that I never quite felt confident enough to fully explore, medically speaking, and only now realise could indicate something potentially more serious than I thought at the time.

In 2007 I was a university student in the UK and fairly typical at that – no particular health issues, eating moderately well, not exercising much but of average weight, drinking a little more than I should have but definitely average in the student spectrum.

One weeknight in July of that year a family member was visiting with me and we went out for dinner. The evening culminated in my being violently sick – I thought at the time from drinking too much – but with effects that lasted far longer than a next-day hangover. My memory of the incident has no doubt been coloured by the intervening years but I'll do my best to recount what happened and the symptoms that I thought I observed in myself in the weeks and months that followed. In summary, though, I think my drink was spiked, and I'm worried that the symptoms I experienced afterwards point to some sort of longer-term damage as a result of the prolonged violent vomiting.

In the course of the evening in question, as far as can remember, I drank one gin and tonic, two or three glasses of wine, and two or three pints of beer. We started the evening at my house, moved to a local restaurant (where we ate a large meal) and then a bar. During the bar visit I began to feel quite drunk, and remember having a little trouble walking home when we left. At home, my visitor took my bed and I got ready to sleep on the sofa, but every time I lay down I began to feel extrememly nauseous. This culminated in my getting up and vomiting, which began a cycle of vomiting, recovering, laying down again, feeling nauseous, immediately getting up and vomiting again. After the third or fourth time I was experiencing very painful wrenching heaves which were producing nothing (except in one case something I thought was black bile, but I can't be sure, as the light wasn't good). Each heave produced what felt like a surge in blood pressure, especially in my face and head. This cycle seemed to continue all night, although I expect it lasted an hour or two.

In the morning I had a big hangover but also felt unusually faint. Once the headache subsided, I still felt quite faint, and this continued beyond that day. I felt unwell for at least two weeks afterwards – unsteady, light-headed, and anxious. I had university exams the following week which didn't help – although I wasn't particularly worried about them prior to the incident. I suffered through them with light-headedness and sweating, and a feeling that I wasn't mentally performing at my previous level.

For two or three months afterwards, I continued to feel like something wasn't right in me. I would get light-headed quite easily, particularly when speaking energetically. I would feel dizzy and need to slow down. I also felt that something wasn't right with my eyes. This was very difficult to describe - and I tried - but essentially it seemed that my ability to take in a whole scene at a glance had diminished. I found myself focussing on details of individual letters inside words instead of being able to easily glance through a whole line and read it. I seemed to find it harder to take in details in my peripheral vision, and to track objects moving close to me in my field of vision.

Additionally, seemingly ever since that day, I have felt mentally "slower" – with reduced cognitive function, loss of focus, more forgetful and more easily losing my train of thought. This has been very hard to quantify and might well be a symptom of my transition into adulthood more than anything else, but I definitely feel less "smart" and seem to struggle with cognitive tasks more than I used to. These days the effect seems lessened (partly due to no longer being in an academic environment I imagine) but I definitely still seem to struggle with some mental efforts, still feel forgetful and "slow" more than I used to.

I went to my doctor a few months after the incident and attempted to describe my symptoms, but as far as I remember didn't get any positive diagnosis. I also saw an opthalmologist who tested my peripheral vision and found nothing wrong, although my glasses prescription was increased.

Almost seven years later I'm wondering what really happened to me that night and whether the symptoms that followed were coincidence or evidence of some actual damage. Does this sound like a condition that anyone else has heard of, suffered or diagnosed? To recap:

- big night of drinking, although not too out of the ordinary, followed by violent and prolonged vomiting
- ample opportunity to be "spiked" by bar patrons
- perceived dizziness, light-headedness, unsettled feelings of illness for a few weeks afterwards
- perceived visual problems, decreased cognitive functions for months afterwards
- continued perceived feeling of some cognitive impairment ever since

I would be hugely grateful if anyone has any thoughts or advice to share on the above.

Thanks in advance,

James

[silverfox67]

    Any toxin can affect your whole body, including vision, concentration, nerves, your stomach, etc.
     If your liver is toxic, it has to be cleaned out.  Parsley tea or Cilantro tea can help.  Or put the fresh parsley or cilantro in a blender with greens (romaine lettuce, avocado, kale)  These all contain Vit.K which will help to detox the liver and blood vessels.

     This is something you can do while you wait to see a doctor.   These measures should help some, but a doctor needs to determine what damage has been done if any.

Wishing you the best.

[20GoingOn]

Thanks for your reply, that's very interesting. Do you think liver damage could be responsible for the cognitive function issues I thought I observed in myself?

[silverfox67]

   Hello.  Wow!  It sounds like you have damaged your liver.  You might want to have some blood work done and see an Internist if you can get a referral.

     Not saying you have cirhosis - but some liver damage - whether from the alcohol or if you were drugged - some of these toxins stay in the liver for quite a while.
     Be sure to tell the doctor everything you can remember. Write it down, if you have to.   He might recommend chelation treatment.  (An IV with EDTA) to clean out your liver and vascular system.  

    EDTA is also available in capsule or ointment form.  I don't know if you can get it in the UK... we can in America.