alcohol and headaches

[bevcarlydave]

hi i had viral meningitis in june 2012 still have the headaches and when i go out and have 3 or 4 glasses of pink wine im very sick can anyone relate to this ?

[Jeffery]

I am 2 years post bacterial meningitis and I am often plagued with headaches. I don't drink very much alcohol at all but it sounds like you may have developed an allergy to wine or perhaps a preservative in the wine . These allergies can develop at any time in ones life and can be quite unrelated to the meningitis. the headaches, from what I have read are quite a common after affect of M. best wishes from Jeffery

[duffmond]

Hi,

I am the same, i don't really drink a lot anyway, but when i tried i suffered for it.

I contracted VM at the end of July, in November i had a Strawberry Daiquiri cocktail which had only one small shot of rum in it, to my regret! I had convulsions and my head really ached like it was held in a vice tightening more and more, i also felt very sick .

I spent Christmas and New Year sober, only drank a white wine spritzer at the dinner table at meal times.

I can't go out as things are too noisy and it all gets too much for me.

You have to change your lifestyle with VM. I do feel boring and frustrated saying no to every night out offered and also when people around me are having a drink i feel like what do i have that i enjoy anymore?? But then i realise I have MY LIFE and things could be worse.

All the Best

Sarah

[StrawberryCream]

I attended a training session by the Brain Injury Team from my local hospital. At the session there were people who have had traumatic and aquired brain injuries. This question was raised and the advice was that after brain injury the brain can be more sensitive to many things including alcohol and people frequently can't handle alcohol in the way they used too. So 1 glass of wine can have the effect of 5 glasses of wine. I guess this means you need to keep to just 1 glass and see if your brain will cope with that minimal amount. Hope this helps you understand why you get sick - you get drunk more easily on little alcohol and for you the response is throwing up rather than perhaps the brain recognising any other drunk symptoms?

[Canada3]

Hi and welcome to the poor tolerance of alcohol club! Yes its definitely a side effect of having injury to the meninges and brain I'm sure just as the last answer from Strawberry cream says. I am almost 4 years post VM have had "practices" with small amounts of alcohol, as I used to love a real ale... cant much tolerate that, or maybe a half once in a while. I have tried champagne (expensive story) but again though ts far better than any glass of red rose or white wine, doesnt really have a nice effect. So I guess the answer is, yes, we have our lives back, we are getting well, it all takes time and no we cant really tolerate alcohol. Still its a good life and we are all trying to embrace it I know.

[Jonad724]

Just to add to the other comments I can say they are spot on. I'm 11 years post near fatal VM this year and alcohol doesn't work well with me either. I used to have one drink a week (a bottle of beer usually) but even that makes the headache worse and also makes me more prone to a Mollaret's attack so I'm afraid the other members of the Poor Tolerance to Alcohol Club are right. It could be worse, I can't eat chocolate now either due to an aquired intolerance to cocoa!

[hannahg]

I had bm on a few occasions only once was I old enough to drink and just a sip of champagne for the first year made me sick meningitis after effect can commonly be migraines which causes headaches and sickness and certain things trigger migraines such as chocolate, caffeine and alcohol only a small amount can cause them to become severe sometimes nothing at all, it did gradually pass somewhat not to what a person my age can drink but that may also be because I never drunk prior to my bm.

Wine is a well known cause of headaches for people so with the added issue it makes it more likely to trigger problems, have you tried any other alcohol? Maybe a white wine spritser, alcohol also can cause dehydration which can also cause headaches after meningitis you are more sensitive it also lowers your glucose levels depending what type of wine so on the odd occasion I drink and have wine I have sweet white wine with lemonade this seems to be ok its just trial and patience.

[hannahg]

I had bm on a few occasions only once was I old enough to drink and just a sip of champagne for the first year made me sick meningitis after effect can commonly be migraines which causes headaches and sickness and certain things trigger migraines such as chocolate, caffeine and alcohol only a small amount can cause them to become severe sometimes nothing at all, it did gradually pass somewhat not to what a person my age can drink but that may also be because I never drunk prior to my bm.

Wine is a well known cause of headaches for people so with the added issue it makes it more likely to trigger problems, have you tried any other alcohol? Maybe a white wine spritser, alcohol also can cause dehydration which can also cause headaches after meningitis you are more sensitive it also lowers your glucose levels depending what type of wine so on the odd occasion I drink and have wine I have sweet white wine with lemonade this seems to be ok its just trial and patience.

[bevcarlydave]

Thankyou for taking the time to reply to my ?'s x