Drinking after tbi

[Tanglewood77]

Needing advice on drinking after a tbi (tolerance issue)

[paxo05]

Hi, what advice do you need?

Everyone is different. It will also depend on meds.

Personally even without the added complications of my meds I have no tolerance to alcohol.

I found out the hard way after my bi. I was warned or even told of possible effects.

Consequently I had a small sangria on holiday and became the life and sole of the party before passing out. I then recovered after 3 -4 days.

I since not drank as my tolerance is basically zero.

After the holiday I asked my consultant whi casually said that is to be expected . Well it's not what I expected.

Others on here will give you their experiences as like I said it can be different for everyone.

Pax

[Tanglewood77 in reply to paxo05]

The proble is pax I don't know when to stop one day I can be fine another day one is to many either way I keep causing a problem as I end up absolutely smashed with no control hoping next time will be better but guess what ? It isn't ! But it's tough to be out and not enjoy a beer as I did befor as most people I know drink & enjoy it hard not to get involved and really tough dealing with the consequences after. I get no warning anymore I go from sober to smashed in what feels like a mouthful and then it's🙄

[paxo05 in reply to Tanglewood77]

Maybe for me it was the sudden change in the effect it had on me . I personally would have carried on drinking all night. It was the people around me that got me back to the hotel.I even was taken to hospital as they thought I had been drugged.

The decision was then made easy for me to stop drinking completely. I wouldn't say it was easy because it wasn't.

The alcohol free drinks I found at the time awful, although now guiness zero is a new favourite.

It has been 20 years since I last had a drink and I would say it is now something I don't miss.

It may help that the better quality of alcohol free choice, plus socialising without drinking is more acceptable.

Remember drinking is your choice. If it causes you a problem then the only solution maybe not to drink. Horse but true.

Good luck in your decision.

Pax

[Pairofboots]

Hi, with or without a brain injury, we have to drink "responsibly". No I don't know what that means. Everything has consequences, if the consequence isn't something you are prepared to live with, then, somehow you need to change the behaviour. That could mean total abstinence, or having a set limit.I don't think my tolerance changed, but I know people became less understanding. Situations that could have occurred to anyone, and they would have been treated fairly, I found that drink or none, it always seemed to be my fault, and no, I'm not screaming "innocence", I always put my hand up, and pay me dues if I am in the wrong, always have, always will. I know that I have sometimes got the wrong end of the stick, but again, I'll always hold my hand up. But I did find that some prejudged me without me being given the chance to put my side.

I've never taken fools lightly, but I found that some just wouldn't give me any credibility so it was my fault if someone was an idiot, not the fact that they were an idiot.

I was accused of being drunk by a barmaid once, this was before the glass had touched my lips. I did wonder why she had served my if she thought I was already drunk. She had seen me walk in, and was the only one behind the pump, go figure.

I don't know if any of this relates to you, but it's let me get that rank out. Good luck

[Tanglewood77 in reply to Pairofboots]

It doesn't really relate but I hear what your saying

[sethbovey]

Hi there. I had a moderate TBI (slow growing bleed after a fall). I didn't drink for months then slowly reintroduced wine. I found I couldn't drink like I used to and it tasted different.

I have always been able to moderate my drinking and some nights dont drink at all. These days when I drink it is ONE standard measure (that is a very small wine) and that's all I need. I drink about a quarter of what I used to before my TBI. Each person is different but please do not binge. The last thing you want to do is have a fall.

[Cows4life]

Everyone reacts different, depending on tolerance before tbi. I.e. If you couldn't drink much before then you're going to struggle now. Personally I don't drink, have tried but found head pains, confusion and disorientation pretty much straight away. But that's just me, if you want to, do it around people close to you so they can monitor and watch you If you do start to feel off. But there's no harm in trying

[moo196]

one.... and no more than that for me personally.

[Leaf100]

Hi Tanglewood,

I'll just pass on what I (and everyone else) is told at the brain injury society I took some programs with, here in Canada.

Do not drink.

Reasons given: it impacts you more - some people get black out drunk after a couple of sips of beer ; it gets in the way of your brain healing; just because you got away with it once doesn't mean you will again - it's a changing target; and, if you do get into trouble (people with brain injuries are often mistaken for being drunk anyway) the consequences will be less.

The sort of thing: "but officer, I only had 1/2 a beer. ".... "Ya, sure, buddy, drunk tank for you!"

One of the guys at the society landed in hospital after having a beer, having a black out, and falling and hurting himself. Because they smelt the alcohol he said they treated him really poorly - it seems the medical profession doesn't have much tolerance for those who drink to excess.

Someone I worked with also told me not to drive with alcohol in the front with me - to always put it in the trunk. He'd been in a fender bender and the windshield shattered and cut him up pretty bad. Because he smelt of beer - he hadn't been drinking, but the beer broke as well and was all over everywhere- he said he got treated really badly - til his bloodwork came back and showed he hadn't been drinking at all.

I guess the question would be to ask yourself why you want the beer or whatever in the first place. If it's just to relax, you may find other things work better anyway. If it's social, you can drink something else with friends and they really won't mind.

Oh, I also notice it does seem to matter for medical treatments as well, at least here.

It seems to matter quite a bit to some docs - a gp actually sent me to a specialist to get proof I was a drug fee and not an alcoholic a few months after the accident. I am not sure why she did that, but it obviously makes some kind of difference.

So, I guess I'd say, don't give them any ammunition to write you off with.

Leaf

[Trevor78]

My advice would be avoid as a general rule. One social drink occasionally if necessary but that's all. Do not use as a coping mechanism (as I did for 25 years before a bad stomach caused me to go alcohol free), because it'll leave you in a mess. Specifically, a couple of pints or couple of glasses of wine would make me feel good initially before making me feel sleepy then progressively worse (lasting well in to the next day (hangover)), with the added danger of further injury from falls.

[skydivesurvivor]

for several years after my tbi drank a bottle of wine a night so I would sleep- deal with divorce & bits. Now have a few beers only at the weekend. Alcohol aided my hard times, cost me my gallbladder?! When was that n a setter place reduced alcohol reliance. Help via council, nhs has helped me greatly thereafter. Others saw it as bad, helped me come to terms with changes. Rebuild my personality. A tough personal journey only the patient can understand. Rationality is not recognised by suffers, in time they do. Epic journey ahead, only reasonable support is viewed as alcohol sorry. Be patient, love is a wonderful healer. Good luck!

[sammm2k]

After my mum suffered a BI from fractured scull after a fall down the stairs whilst intoxicated. She insisted on still drinking alcohol (something she had done all her life) but the effect was not something she could tolerate after her injury & the neurologist said it was proven to be that alcohol had effect of being 3X stronger to someone with BI. So 1 bottle wine would be equivalent to drinking 3 bottles. 1 pint equivalent to drinking 3 pints etc etc...makes sense why Paxo passed out & we find ourselves less tolerate to drinking after BI.Suffering my own BI (7 years ago tomorrow)

Only tried it the once & was ill for days 😆 so won't be doing that again.

Just keep in mind the 3x to 1 unit & don't over do it. Stay safe & be happy

[Trevor78 in reply to sammm2k]

"1 pint equivalent to drinking 3 pints" - that sounds about right.

[skydivesurvivor in reply to Trevor78]

only lager, alcohol free these days!! Except when siblings drive me to proper beer over mums estate!!!!

[Trevor78 in reply to skydivesurvivor]

The alcohol free beers are pretty good these days if you're not drinking to get any effects on consciousness. I don't know about non alcoholic wine? It never seems to get any good reviews on supermarket websites. Beer has moved on massively though from the strange tasting days of Kaliber.

[Nafnaf87]

Good afternoon Tanglewood

Like everyone else has said, it's your thing/responsibility - everyone's tolerance is different with or without Brain Injury, it also depends (pun intended) on how used to it you are.

Having been a bit of a loony and a publican pre-accident 25 years ago my tolerance was quite high, I liked a good party!

Post accident I just can't handle it and I don't like being out of control or having a bad head! Therefor I don't do it but I do have a glass of wine with my meal and a can of Guinness in the evening, only rarely more, usually if I've got fed up with the authorities AGAIN!

I should add I'm a pretty persistent and determined sort of fellow - if I want to do something I will and not if I don't e.g. when I was 50 gave up smoking after 37 years with no aid, just because I wanted to because I decided it is a silly habit!

Best wishes

Michael

[JontyB]

as with other posts,m it depends on you and your meds. Every one is different. I suggest you seek advice from your doctor.I would have a small glass of alcohol and then see how it affects you. Some may affect you differently than others

[Teazymaid]

personally I couldn’t drink for approximately one year as I would be sick but I did keep trying and I’m ok drinking again lol sounds like I have a problem but I don’t i jays enjoy a glass or two of wine 😁 not scientific at all but for me very pleased that I can now relax with a glass of wind without being sick 😁

[Skulls]

Pre-injury, I was knocking back around 140 units per week. Yes. One. Four. Zero. I had lost the will to live, lost five stone in weight and then my heart stopped causing hypoxia. The psychiatric illness was never treated but I did get better and now drink very little indeed e.g. one beer (2 units) with my dinner tonight. If I overdo it, I suffer, so I don’t overdo it. It is part of the new me. Perhaps you need to get to know the new you better?

[Painting-girl]

Hi Tanglewood, one of the things I've had to deal with since my MTBI four and a half years ago, is what I can only describe as a weird lack of restraint - if I open a pack of biscuits, I don't eat one, I eat the lot - my only way round it, is not to have snack food in the flat at all - basically to modify my environment. I'm guessing that it could be tricky if I reacted the same way with alcohol.

Possibly fortunately, I actually stopped drinking a few years before my accident (because I'd started to get anaphylactic reactions from a sulphite intolerance - which is not a good look on a night out!) so got used to handling not drinking socially pre MTBI. But having been a non drinker for years now, I really don't miss it anymore - I don't need to drink to enjoy myself socially, and with hindsight it seems weird that I ever did. One plus is that many more people don't drink now - so except for the very few people who seem freaked out by talking to a non-drinker (which I suspect says more about their relationship to alcohol than mine) people are pretty accepting nowadays - plus as the others have said you can get some decent alcohol free lagers and wine now, so it's not particularly obvious that you aren't drinking when you're out.

Post TBI when I have had a rare low sulphite drink, I've found it very difficult to cope with conversation and function in a group - so alcohol actually seems more of a hindrance than a help in social situations post TBI.

[Catx1978]

It's reallty something that you need to ask your neurologist. It could depend on the meds you are on, your tolerence level.

I asked my consaultant neurologist if I could drink over christmas (i was left the rehab hospital on the 20 dec 2021) and he said that the most I could have is half a small glass of wine or half a beer. I deceided then that there is no point with half a glass and went tee total. I already have vertigo and seizures and didn't want to increase my chances of having more.

That was just over a year ago and I don't miss alcohol at all. In faxt, I was given a small bottle of wine as part of a present and put it to one side so it was there for me to drink when I started drinking again. I deciede a while after thart I n't miss it at all and had no urge t drink it so gave it to my husband. I don;t miss it and dont miss the hangovers etc altyhough the vertigo gives me the hangover feeling without the drink

[RogerCMerriman]

I never had a drink after, just never wanted to, I felt so wobbly and well fragile I guess for months if not years so my desire to drink never came back.

Plus I seem hypersensitive even trace amounts make me feel ill. Be that bits in cakes to apparently soft drinks!

[skydivesurvivor in reply to RogerCMerriman]

I lack the brewers to cook, ribs of soup after many years of take-always?!! Now only drink alcohol gmfree beers

[skydivesurvivor]

mostly alcohol free beers these days!!!

[Julesstillhere]

Hello

[Symundo]

Hi Tangled Up,

2-Years-after-when I’d been-injured-I-was-told-to-get-out-with-my-friends-by-a-Neuro-rehab-Team-with-NHS-&-DWP....

So-I-did...I-can-think-bit-better-with-booze...And-everyone-else-gets-stupid.

No-one-knows-I-have-a-TBI...Because-they-all-become-daft-as-a-brush...Plus-my-TBI-I-want-to-hug-everyone...

So-slimmed-it-down-to-beautifu-women.

Worked-great..

Now if I am out. All beautiful women smile at me-and-look-at-them,-like-what-you-looking-at-me-like-that-For..

Having-no-idea-who-they-are.

I’m-such-a-idiot.....Dohhhhh.

Make-sure-a-good-friend-stays-with-you-knowinging-whats-Wrong.

Put-tape-covering-a-piece-Of-paper-on-your-Phone..With-a-backup-£10...Your-adrdress....Phone-Number....2-Taxi-Number......and-your-Address-And-not-forgetting-key.

I’d-ask-my-friend-to-make-sure-I-got-in.

Put-Notes-In-Kitchen-NOT-to-COOK.....Or-leave-something-out-to-snack-on-going-to-bed..

I’ve-got-no-concept-Of-time.....So-go-to-bed-otherwise-the-next-time-I-look...it’s-8am.

I-have-a-wide-stance/gait...So-not-to-bad-when-dizzy.

Drink-at-home-First.....Slowly-increasing.

But-if-Pain-or-other-meds’-say-no....Don’t-Drink...Cos-your-liver-will-drop-out-your-bum-hole-trying-to-escape.

Morphemes...ok...I..think..

Tramadol...short...release...4..hours..earlier..should..be..ok...samewith..paracetamol.

Soz..for..all..the...dots..and..dashes......my..space..bar...won’t..work..just..this..minute..

I-gave-Up-drinking-because-my-brain-works-better-stuck-in-a-dark-room-not -moving-to-write-this

...So-thats-what-I-do.

I have a bottle of wine in the fridge and just take a swig outthe bottle once or twice a day to get rid of donkey ass tongue I get from meds..sometimes-it-stops-me-sleeping.....Other-times-feel-tipsy....othertimes-it-cheers-me-up.....and-other-times-I get-funny-chest-Pain’s-forgetting-I’d-just-taken-other-medication.

I-have-no-choice-because-Of-Pain-so-Just-have-a-tiny-mouthful-Just-to-run-the-donkey-ass-away..........Excellent-Pallette-cleanser.🥶🤧🥴😄

Tramadol-gets-you-wasted-so-take-a-while-before.

hopehelps

Cheers...Sy

[Exhausted101]

My tolerance levels have gone right down since my TIA.

The recommendation is that you not drink a lot anyway so it makes it easier.