How is your tolerance for alcohol with ME?

[edmeshscot]

I just find drinking alcohol makes me tired, and since I feel tired most of the time, it isn't worth the bother. Plus it's cheaper being teetotal!

How does alcohol affect you?

[Enquiring]

I wasn't able to tolerate alcohol even before M.E., but I can say that I have also had to eventually give up both coffee and tea and I'm sure because of the M.E. as they are both stimulants, which is not good for the condition. Took me a long time to finally accept that I had to give them up. I tried tea again recently, it was so lovely to be able to participate in a nice cup of hot tea, especially out and about, but it wasn't long before I had to give it up again. Getting to sleep is bad enough, but I noticed that it was even worse drinking tea again. I also experienced terrible heartburn again and my muscle problems were worse. My understanding is that M.E. has the body in a constantly alert condition so any stimulant will make things worse, but calming the body down helps. Perhaps other people know more about this. Anyway, I've found it a lot better to stick to drinking water. It's hard, not fun or psychologically comforting and socially awkward, but you get used to it.

[walkerl]

My tolreance varies, but i normally know withn one mouthful. If my tolerance is low my body 'boils' I go red and get incredibly hot.

If my tolerance is ok, then i get a hangover from hell cos I have mde the most of being able to drink which is now a very rare occurance

[callypops]

alcohol is an absolute no no for me - just half a glass of wine makes my face scarlet and I start to shiver uncontrollably. My husband tells me I am burning up but I feel cold right through to my bones. I can hardly walk when this is happening because my body hurts from head to toe and every step I take reverberates right through my body. I think this must be an extreme reaction because i havent heard of any other ME sufferers who have it - when I told my doctor about it his answer was ' well better not drink it then'. I was hoping for some kind of explanation but this type of answer is what I'm used to - I'm sure people (including doctors) tend to think this is a psychosamatic condition and not a centrall

nervous system condition. Just once I would like a more sympathetic response because some days I am too tired to even think without trying to be a good wife, mother and grandmother.

[Abundance]

Early on in M.E. I got really sick and had the hangover from hell on just a fraction of what I could drink previously. I had stayed in bed all day so that I could go to a party at a friend's house then I started to feel drunk after the first glass of wine. I learned to be more careful and drank very little for years, though my tolerance has now increased again somewhat. If I am having a relapse and/or feeling shaky just looking at alcohol makes me feel ill.