Is anyone intolerant to alcohol?
I went out yesterday (it’s been a very long time due to lockdown), and I had a few cooling drinks ... today I have felt dreadful all day, so it’s a day written off!
Does anyone else struggle, I get tiddly very quickly too!
yes , it's not as much fun to get drunk as it once was .. but it's cheaper 
I can now get drunk on 2 glasses of wine .. (and i mean those old glasses ... not the vases they use nowadays) And I expect to be a bit useless the next day. .
Doesn't stop me having fun though. but i did used to get sick of explaining why i don't want another, so i get myself a glass of tonic water with ice and lemon and nobody notices there's no gin in it.
Before i had thyroid disease i used to drink a pint of beer followed by 7 rum and cokes and still be able to dance without bumping into people.
now, if i have 2.5 glasses of wine with christmas dinner, i have to crawl upstairs to lie down. The kids find it highly amusing,... i find it embarrassing.
Thank you tattybogle - it’s not just me then! People laugh at me as I get drunk so quickly but I don’t make my excuses, they just call my a ‘lightweight’
Ditto Tatty, I can just about tolerate one glass of wine with Dinner on Fridays if I’m lucky, but always feel Hellish next day .
Every now and then I like to live dangerously 🥂
Wish I understood the reasoning .because I’m HYPER thyroid Graves.
Take care
Mx🌹
Hi Don't touch any now last time had a glass of port with dinner straight away i feel a chill feeling luckily only small amount but time before had some cider woke up in night shivering then later got up still shivery felt sort of unbalanced went and had Hot shower but felt rough esp in stomach for few days only had two glasses
That’s really interesting, I was cold and shivery all day yesterday, my husband came home from a long country walk (which I had to miss due to feeling unbalanced/hungover)... he said it was hot at 24 degreees I was under a blanket !
Aww 🥰... having Hashis and a very low TSH currently I think I’m swinging Hyper at times! The hellish feeling you can’t explain ... my husband loves his beer and wine, (I think I drive him to it) never bothers him the next day! I love to unwind have a drink with him but the way I feel afterwards really isn’t worth it xx
I know exactly how you feel Levo , I have a feeling it does something to my liver that upsets my equilibrium 😢I’ve never been much of a drinker but it’s lovely to sit down with a loved one and share a glass .
Sadly I have to plan it now.
Or just find something lovely to drink that’s non alcoholic , Elderflower Presse is my current favourite .
My husband says I’m a cheap 🤔date
Mx🌹
Cheaper? I get tipsy simply on the sniff of a bottle of wine.
I don't drink but I remember when Boris Yeltsin would get very drunk before his hypothyroidism was diagnosed.
YES! I recently discovered it might be down to histamine intolerance (or the more technical term of mast cell activation) Certainly worth looking into whether this could be the reason... Some alcohols are better tolerated than others in this situation.
Hello there, I was surprised to read your note on alcohol & thyroid malfunctions. I get quite tight on very little, cant say about the next day because as soon as I feel light headed (seriously) I have to stop. Thanks for ringing that bell for me!
After a google search I came across this information palomahealth.com/learn/the-...
Paloma health is a US commercial company charging for consults, dietary advice, vitamins etc and ‘only dealing with hypothyroidism’. which coincidentally is when people often feel very vulnerable, mentally fragile, unable to make sense of their symptoms and looking for answers. Before I was diagnosed and treated I spent loads on supplements, vitamins and even homeopathic remedies and felt like I’d grasp at any straw that presented itself.
The last time I had a drink was at Christmas. I drank two glasses of Baileys (yum) became violently sick and felt awful all the next day 😳 Two glasses 😟 Haven’t drunk anything since then. Have a unopened bottle in my cupboard. Occasionally look at it longingly but daren't risk it!
So strange isn’t it, I felt dreadful yesterday and I don’t feel 100% now, I’m usually careful but going to have to be more so or abstain completely as it affects the hormone levels and mine being unstable is an added factor! I remember you are GF did you notice any noticeable benefits? X
🙁 it’s quite a life changer this thing isn’t it?? I’ve been gluten free for probably about 20 years now as realised I was intolerant in my mid-30s by doing an experiment on myself. Used to have very bad IBS and would have headaches and brain fog which cleared when I gave up gluten. One of my sons is also intolerant and has given up. His IBS much better now.
So I haven’t stopped gluten since Hashis diagnosis. The only thing I’ve given up is soya milk. Was drinking loads for about 5 years prior to diagnosis (on GP advice related to menopause symptoms). I noticed a very big difference in terms of how much I absorbed medication after giving that up. I drink hemp milk now. Takes some getting used to 😳 but it has all the omegas in which is good 😊 I would like to give up cheese as this is the only dairy I have but I’m not sure because I love my cheese… how are you getting on?
Thank you for sharing that is really interesting!
I love my gluten but brain fog is terrible and mood swings - especially as my medication isn’t stable (recent post latest blood results). recently I’m eating junk comfort food but feel I need to clean everything up but i find it all so complex, overwhelming and restrictive. I have ordered a ‘Lumen’ recommended by my friend, awaiting delivery but I’m hopeful this will improve my lifestyle and diet plus sleep and stress levels!
I don’t take milk in drinks (I’ve never liked it), rarely I have almond milk, I love cheese and have the odd yogurt but generally there isn’t much dairy in my diet.
I like to be methodical so I know where changes / results come from. So I thought stabilise meds. Endo said not to worry about GF - so much contradiction it really becomes stressful for me... I am 59 getting grumpy would love to be back at 19 confident happy and stable 😂
Hi I responded to your other post 😊 I’m sorry you’re having such a difficult time 😞
It’s difficult when feeling exhausted and unwell to try to do everything you feel you need to in order to get better.
Small things at a time might help and not being hard on yourself is most important! X
I can’t find my other posts shock - any tips 😂 x
Hi. Is it IBSD? If so perhaps an idea to investigate if you in fact have Bile Acid Malabsorption (25% of IBSD diagnoses actually BAM worryingly). BAM diagnosed by SehCAT test and med treatment effective. Going gluten free massively helps BAM and soya milk aggravates things. BAM interferes with absorption of fat soluble vits and absorption of meds. Mentioning because echoes of my daughter in what you are saying. I think her 14+ years misdiagnosed and untreated BAM was central to development of thyroid issues, which show an equally inconsistent pattern(Graves with huge weight gain? And occasional equally inexplicable plummeting weight). Currently getting her uni health authority to reassess thyroid as home one won't, even after SehCAT confirmed BAM as thyroid symptom driver(at our instigation in uni health authority and not home gasto dept who had said nothing wrong when she was referred again in gut medical crisis). I have passed on the hemp milk idea to her. If irrelevant, sorry.
Thank you! I’ve never heard of that before but will investigate 😊 I hope your daughter gets all the support she needs x
I have not noticed any change in my alcohol tolerance to be honest
There have been many posts over the years discussing lowered alcohol tolerance. A search finds over 300 posts though many will use the word "alcohol" in other contexts such as hand sanitising:
Yep definitely me, 💯%
I haven’t got hashis but since I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism I haven’t been able to drink despite having been quite a heavy drinker in my time 😞. Actually this is one symptom I am happy to have!
Oh how I wish the same thing!
Definitely! All my life I’ve struggled with alcohol. Was very ill at 18 after having too much on Boxing Day. Needed 3 days off work! Get bad heads now if I drink (or even sniff) wine etc. I am definitely a lightweight, always have been.I have never drunk too much and been ill like that since, not interested in going through the hangover or anything else associated with it.
Certainly had a few raised eyebrows over the years at not wanting to drink alcohol. But it makes me ill and that’s the end of it.
I can cope with licking the spoon after dousing a fruit cake with brandy though 😋
I’ve always had a bad reaction to drinking, when I was younger I thought it was normal. But when the hangovers started lasting 2 days it was time to think about it. I eventually stopped after having 2 halves of lager and throwing up for 3 days. I now know it’s gluten sensitivities that caused that bout of vomiting. But I didn’t drink for years after that. Now I have a couple of glasses of red wine maximum. I get very tiddly on one glass of white wine and my family has banned me from drinking that, coz it makes me stupid - their words lol
I have been unable to drink any alcohol for 24 years. The last time I had a glass of wine was on my wedding day and it made me violently sick. I haven't touched a drop since. I have recently discovered alcohol free fruit ciders which are lovely and look just like the alcoholic variety. Also there are a number of non alcoholic wines around and as someone else said elderflower pressed is very good and refreshing in this hot weather. I used to enjoy a nice glass of 12 to 20 yr old Scotch!🤣🤣
Aww 🥰 how sad on your wedding day - must have been bad if you’ve never touched a drop in 24 years but yes there’s plenty of alternatives I’ve just bought myself a lovely pressed ginger cordial - I do love a brandy but for now I’ll recover before considering any form of alcohol 🍷
Could the alcohol of had Gluten in it? I know some vodkas (Grey Goose) are made with wheat. I can only drink Tito's which is a certified Gluten Free vodka. It was surprising to me how many brands use a type of wheat in their formula.
Quite probably as it was lager ‘hot afternoon sunny pub garden’ - interestingly Aldi do a German lager called Rheinbecher (which I’m far better on during lockdown) I believe the German brewing / purifying laws are stricter than the UK resulting in it having minimal ingredients, although at the moment I’m not fancying a drop!
Really cannot drink alcohol now.A couple of Christmases ago I had a G&T then wine with Christmas lunch and I didn't even make it to the end of the meal! Husband said I went from OK to very drunk before even finishing the main course and he had to take me upstairs to lie down. Really embarrassing
😔I also found that I would feel seriously depressed the next day after a couple of glasses of wine at the weekend rather than hungover. So I just knocked it on the head. I don't miss it at all TBH.
Well they say don’t mix the grain and the grape and I know if I do it’s hell, I hadn’t eaten much either which is always a bad idea!
I can relate to that depression ... it’s amazing how many of us are affected isn’t it?
Possibly going to have to follow yours and many others lead on here and knock it on the head - do you find people are uncomfortable when you say you don’t drink?
Yes. People get quite cross! Then I explain about the unanticipated vomiting 🤮 and they back off quickly 🤣 my ex-‘mother-in-law’ used to make me feel very bad about not drinking and I would reassure her that I can always have a spliff if I want instead. That used to stop her for a while… 🤔
😂
I have never had any problems with people when I say I don't drink alcohol. I must be lucky! My husband didn't drink a lot so that wasn't a problem when we went out.My present partner does not drink. He told me he isn't intolerant or anything but he just chooses not to.
We are lucky where we live as we have a local winery which makes non alcoholic wines. They are amazing. My favourites are Elderflower and Elderberry.
I became alcohol intolerant when I had my big health crash due to hypothyroidism/Hashi's secondary to gluten enteropathy. That was almost 30 years ago. In spite of correcting my thyroid and multiple nutrient deficiences, I have never been able to tolerate alcohol since; all it does is make me feel terrible. But that's ok, I know alcohol isn't good for the body in general.
Regardless of thyroid you can be allergic to alcohol.. my daughter used to get ridiculously drunk on very little and I’ve never been a big drinker and don’t like the feeling of being drunk. My daughter had a genetic test and turned out she had a set of genes (surprisingly many Scots have this) that doesn’t tolerate alcohol well. You could try organic as sulphides/chemicals can be a problem and I had to stop having cider as gave me a terrible headache but organic ciders okay! I stopped doing rounds as never kept up. My go to drink is fruit juice topped up with soda in a pint glass. Had it with ginger beer by mistake which turned out great. And alcohol free drinks are really improved now ...anyway drunks are usually boring! 😊
Haha - drunks are usually boring made me 😂... I do enjoy being sober and watching the drunks slurring instead of me, huge bonus!
You can have gluten intolerance and many beers have gluten in them, see if you're better at drinking a gluten-free beer see if you feel the same again. You may be intolerant to alcohol just like some Asians who have a lower tolerance level as alcohol is treated similar to poison by the body, dehydration which is a primary factor in hangovers. So there are too many factors that may apply to pinpoint it without tests. It could be that having not drank for a while the alcohol hit you a bit harder as your tolerance to it had wained over time. The body is a complex machine.
For me intolerance to alcohol preceded gall stone problems that ended up requiring emergency surgery.
From the reading I did at the time it seemed linked to your liver, like every other organ, not working as well as it should due to the hypothyroid situation and I assumed that it was also part of why lots of hypo patients do not convert T4 into T3 very well.
It made me think of that old description of gallstone patients as 'Female, fair, fat and forty' and therefore to blame for their condition. No-one ever seemed to make a thyroid connection.
I do well on T3 now, but still can't drink alcohol.
I’m pleased to hear you do well now on T3, do you get on prescription or buy? Not sure my Endo will go this way but just in case xx
I'm in France and get it on prescription.
There is the same obsession with TSH and mine is negligible now. There is a high turnover of doctors here and every time the new Dr panics at my TSH I have to convince them over again.
My blood test results are all good (unlike before T3) and I am in good health generally so they back down, but as I get older they seem more determined to take me off it.
Good luck
I became intolerant with Hashimotos, took me 9 months to work out where the headaches were coming from, real nasty ones for 24 + hours that no pills could shift.
Generally I am happy to avoid it after some lifestyle adjustment but sometimes its just nice to put on the rose tinted spectacles for an evening, if I do drink I plan it, only have it at home and usually have a little red wine, usually waiting until after a meal, I sometimes dilute it so that it lasts longer sometimes I shot glass one and be done with it.
I usually know within 10 minutes whether I am going to suffer the next day as its not a nice typsy, almost a straight to hangover feeling, a little flushed usually.
I buy a little bottle from the supermarket so can not be tempted into more than two but usually stop at one.
I did lots of reading but generally science does not have much of an idea why this happens.
CapnM thank you for your reply ... isn’t it strange how we become intolerant with Hashis, it took me around 4 days to recover. I’m miserable at the thought of being sober as all our friends and socialising is around food and drink and I’m concerned of both being a bore and also having to explain why I may need to abstain - I’m all or nothing so I wouldn’t just be able to do one and I don’t like alcohol free I’m a sparkling water or slimline tonic will do me or ginger beer 😋
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