Just wondered if many of you with an underactive thyroid drink alcohol? Not an excessive amount but a few drinks perhaps.
Of late and since being diagnosed with one I feel like my tolerance for it is terrible and one or two glasses of wine can wipe me out the next day. Is there any link? Be great to know your thoughts as have decided to give it a miss until my levels sort out.
Also any other tips for feeling more energetic?!
Thanks!
Cut out anything that ‘wipes you out’. That includes alcohol and anything else that you can think of.
It’s hard enough to deal with the challenges which being hypothyroid brings without looking for ways around the obvious
I had to stop alco completely...didn't realise it could have been my thyroid causing it??!!!
Funny you should bring this up 😳until 10 days ago I was a “2 glass a night” girl. Since I’ve stopped I’m sleeping better and feel I have more energy 🤷♀️. It’s been a habit for about 10 yrs.
The standard "medical" view is that, once adequately treated, we can behave just like those without thyroid issues.
However, that is simply not true.
Many find they have reduced tolerance to alcohol. Sometimes to the point of being unable to drink any. And even those who are relatively mildly affected (like me) find they are less tolerant and cannot drink as much.
Of course, many medics will advise that any alcohol is bad for all of us. But there is often more than a whiff of hypocrisy. If you have ever seen the doctors' bars in some hospital accommodation...
I can’t drink any alcohol now. Perhaps not such a bad thing but I would have liked being ‘on the wagon’ a choice not yet another side effect of this wretched condition.
I can't drink any alcohol at all now, it's a bummer cos I liked to join in at christmas, not drink much but enjoy, now I'm thought of as a party pooper as people dont understand if they don't have thyroid problems or in my case no thyroid.
I’ve no thyroid and people just don’t understand that, for some reason, our health issues seem to be more profound than those who are hypothyroid for other than surgical reasons.
As for being a party pooper, isn’t it sad that we’re perceived as antisocial because we don’t drink alcohol. I find it helps to walk around with a glass of tonic water. It looks so much more alcoholic than any other soft drink!
Do you do no gluten and no dairy?
No I don’t. Do you think that makes a difference?
As of late I started eating dairy and gluten and tsh is 4.25 over the limit of 4. Don't know what that means. No thyroid 9 years
That’s really interesting. Why did you go gluten and dairy free in the first place?
Just unwell now feeling that way again. 9 years and I still don't understand no thyroid and levels
That’s a very high TSH for anyone but especially for someone without a thyroid.
Did you have your thyroid removed because you had cancer?
Do you have your FT4/FT3 levels handy?
No cancer. Has graves amd didn't respond after 3 years on meds. No t3 just t4. 12.7 with range of 9-25. I'm worried want to get it down. Had my gallbladder removed 2.5 months ago amd body has gone mental after
Gluten & dairy-
Sorry?
Apologies, sent header only by mistake. Also meant to add I haven't been able to drink alcohol for years- but recently found I can have zero alcohol beer, eg peroni, I am ok with barley as it's specifically wheat gluten that I have to avoid
So in lots of those with autoimmune hypothyroidism the body produces antibodies. These can destroy the thyroid, but can also be triggered in response to gluten or dairy. So eating foods containing gluten or lactose can trigger an episode whereby antibodies cause an inflammatory flare up and we feel unwell. This happens to me and I get aching in the thyroid area, upset stomach is headache, nausea, stomach ache and (,tmi!-) very smelly wind. Therefore cutting out these is much better for my body.
Ceoliac disease and hypothyroidism appears to be linked.
Try 00 alcohol. Some wine is yuck some nice. Gin 00 is good with a nice tonic. I am GF LF DF and have food intolerances. I do have a very occasional tipple ie to toast son’s recent wedding but usually soft and or 00 satisfies any critics 😉
I used to drink tonic with Angostura bitters as a non-alcoholic choice. Love the colour.
(But the sugar content was frightening. Glad there are some lower sugar products these days but still more than I want.)
There’s so much hidden sugar. I’ve been eating dried prunes with porridge for breakfast. You’d think that sounds healthy - but dried fruit has a lot of sugar.
Good idea. We drink G&T anyway but often just opt for the T x
I'm a no thyroid type as well. Prior to thyroidectomy could drink a lot (was young then!) and no problems. After total thyroidectomy the complete opposite. Not to be a party pooper I fill a wine glass with clear apple juice. When asked what wine am I having I just say "jus de pomme" or "la pomme d'or". No one has ever thought I was drinking anything other than a lovely French white wine. Makes me laugh anyway!
A few minutes after just drinking a sip or two of wine, I can feel it throughout my body. Cheap date???
It’s certainly an enigma. When I was 59 I travelled round the world and ate and drank everything I wanted with no ill effects whatsoever. When I was 60 I had Breast Cancer. Treated with radiotherapy and chemo but had no side effects and continued to be a social drinker. When I was 61 (11 years ago) my thyroid was removed (Follicular Cancer) and I’ve only had one or two alcoholic drinks since then. I just can’t tolerate alcohol of any sort. I have immediate hangover effects although, oddly, I never suffered from hangovers when I drank more frequently.
Hello. I have been re-reading some of the posts. There is no question that we thyroid types have ultra sensitive bodies that react in completely apparently random ways to the point I thought my body was having a nervous breakdown. Did the full works of a medically supervised system of eliminating foods to locate a possible allergic reaction. When I said it was due to the total thyroidectomy I was told it was not a problem as I was taking thyroxine using soya instead of dairy products. These two were not tested as deemed perfectly okay. Nothing was found so was told it must be psychological. Eventually I discovered the two culprits - Levothyroxine and soya products. Now on NDT and definitely NO SOYA which is goitragenic for anyone with a thyroid problem. Within two days of no soya I could see my ankles instead of the tree trunk legs I had been stomping around on. NDT has given me back most of the person I used to be. Wish I'd known much sooner (sigh).
WARNING TO ALL. Whatever you do DO NOT SWAP DAIRY FOR ANY KIND OF SOYA PRODUCTS. NB. Soya is used as a cheap filler in all manner of bread and other foods. Read all labels.
You’ve made some very interesting points Thyrigia. Regarding Soya, you’re speaking to the converted. Soya is not only goitrogenic for those with thyroid problems, it’s the kiss of death for those who’ve had BC.
Must admit that I don’t examine labels much though ☹️
I can so vouch for that. I used to think they work hard and play very hard. I used to think it was the job. It might be but they sure are not very ‘health’ aware.
Many are smokers too.
Don't know why this popped up in my feed since its 3mos old, but....I have been on NDT for a very long time. I switched over to NP thyroid (8/22)since Nature-throid pulled their product My tolerance for alcohol has increased a lot. I was, also, 1/2 drink or the whiff of a cork & that was it. Whereas I do not overindulge, I can now drink a full cocktail, & a full glass of wine is like drinking a glass of water!
I don't drink but I remember when Yeltsin visited Ireland he was not able to get off the plane en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris... . We later found out that he was hypothyroid and couldn't handle his vodka.
That’s very interesting Jim.
Wow, fascinating!
Maybe it was his thyroid or just the industrial amount of alcohol
I have read that he had an undisclosed neurological order
Not having any 'before' photo to compare with, it's probably unfair to say this, but I think the photo on that wiki page could easily be an untreated hypothyroid (puffy/slightly waxen) face.
It's quite scary because Yeltsin had hypothyroidism and Bush hyperthyroidism at the same time. Given these can have psychological effects we are lucky WW3 didn't kick off.
Just a snippet of random information related to presidents, et al.
And John Fitzgerald Kennedy was one of the first patients to take liothyronine! Also had adrenal failure.
Barbara Bush Former USA first lady had Graves' disease
George H W Bush 41st President of the USA had Graves' disease. (As you already said.)
Hillary Rodham Clinton USA Secretary of State has Hypothyroidism
Nadezhda Krupskaya Wife of Lenin had Graves' disease and Thyroid Eye Disease
John Adams 2nd President of the USA Graves' disease ??
Abraham Lincoln 16th President of the USA Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid ??
The Bush's dog Millie had lupus, another autoimmune disease. I think he was vice President at the time ...
The water and air in the White House already were managed in ways to guard against contamination. The vice president’s residence, though, built in 1893 for the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory, was aging. Second lady Marilyn Quayle was concerned that the Bushes’ ailments might signal some problem there. The water, the plumbing, the paint were tested; nothing notable was found. But there was never a full-fledged investigation into what might have contributed to both Bushes developing the same autoimmune disorder, and within 15 months of each other, not to mention Millie’s ailment.
Barbara Bush told me she was inclined to see it as just one of those weird coincidences in life. At the time, she reported that George W. Bush jokingly had called to say she “could end all the talk if his dad and I would just stop drinking out of Millie’s bowl.”
Looking at your previous post …..
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
only just diagnosed and at moment only on 50mcg the standard STARTER dose
Over next 6-12 months dose levothyroxine will be slowly increased upwards
Next step, get coeliac blood test, plus vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin levels tested
Then retest thyroid levels 6-8 weeks after each dose increase in levothyroxine
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
I rarely drink these days, because I feel so awful the day after. I hadn't realised that it might be a hypothyroid thing.
Hello I am a massive binge drinker. But find even if I drink one glass of wine like normal person I feel like rubbish so find it easier to just drink bottle and at least I sleep. I often felt when on a binge drink session, like going on holiday, I feel terrible for weeks afterwards and get all symptoms of underactive thyriod even though my medication hasn't changed. So I am pretty sure it affects my thyriod. So I don't think we should drink, I try explaining that to my friends and family and they don't understand. People I don't think understand how debilitating this can be.
That’s a sad story Billy. You shouldn’t have to explain anything to friends and family
I would look at it the other way round, your thyroid is likely to be affecting your ability to drink. Giving up (as I had to do post diagnosis ) may be hard but its a wonderful feeling and health benefits are huge. To be fair I actually have no choice what started with headaches now results in my being sick if I touch a single drop. Its much easier to give up when its so obvious. good luck.
my tolerance for alcohol has lowered drastically since i became hypo (which is a shame cos i like it) .
nowadays i can only handle homeopathic amounts of anything ..... i'm not going to stop trying ... i still get my kicks from adding it to food .... whisky in my porridge .... brandy coffee ..... brandy sauce on sticky toffee pudding ...... the possibilities are endless ..... small amounts of spirits with food/ coffee don't seem to give me a problem.
However a glass of wine, or a pint of cider, or a glass of port ...usually don't get finished .. i like the idea but i start to feel a bit unwell before i'm halfway through .... they send me to sleep incredibly rapidly , then bang ...i'm wide awake an hour later feeling rough .... and the next day i've got a hang over/ nausea that belongs to someone else ...(who seems to have stayed up drinking absynth till 4 am )
Before i was hypo i would enjoy a pint of beer washed down with several rum and cokes , and wake up feeling fine ..... hey ho .
You’re right Tatty. I can ‘take’ huge amounts of tirimasu and sherry trifle 😉
May I add a suggestion to your list of homeopathic amounts - Tia Maria in black coffee (mince pie side optional) is truly wonderful. So good in fact, have to limit it to December only 😜
My 'December treat' is Merlyn Welsh Cream Liqueur in black coffee 
I shall be trying some of that ….. the more treats the merrier I say !
What I have found more than anything is that the 'fun' of having a few drinks seems to have diminished for me. I don't get the same happy feeling and am asleep within hours. I then feel very tired for a few days afterwards.
I rarely drink and if I do it’s just a glass of wine, I noticed a very long time ago that even a small amount of alcohol made me feel absolutely terrible and upset my gut for days. It’s not worth the hassle for me personally, I have much more enjoyable evenings out without drink.
Interesting thread. I am 71 and hypothyroid and talking to friends of a similar age alcohol intolerance seems to increase with age regardless of any thyroid condition. I am a modest wine drinker and usually pick up a couple of bottles of medium quality wine a week from the supermarket to share with my wife. Even on half a bottle with dinner , maybe 2 glasses, I can feel the effects next morning.
However, I recently attended an organic wine tasting and, needless to say, purchased a case of the stuff at an inflated price.
The person running the tasting explained that, most of the chemicals used in the production process of non organic wine are extracted during the manufacturing process, but some will remain.
I was sceptical about this, but to my surprise, I have not felt the effects next morning when consuming organic wine, and I have had several bottles of the stuff now so not a coincidence.
In conclusion, maybe it is not the alcohol but the chemicals having the adverse effect.
I am told that white wine is likely to have more chemicals, so perhaps the answer is to stick with organic red wine. Don’t mind if I do!
I too am 71. I have no thyroid, having not had any wine all week and having a tooth out on Thursday I treated myself to a decent glass of Burgundy last night and then another, this morning I look and feel rubbish. My sister suggested organic red yesterday before I opened the Burgundy, I should have listened.
I agree definitely less tolerance for the chemical stuff, will try and hunt down some organic today.
I’ve heard before that it’s the chemicals in alcohol that are problematic. Organic wine is certainly worth a try
I also find that when I’ve been abroad and am drinking ‘local’ wine I don’t get the same negative effects I do with wine here. I think the local stuff probably doesn’t have much if any chemicals added - which would explain why it’s fine (and to my palate does taste good although I’m sure some ‘experts’ would disagree!)
I completely concur...having not been able to drink much at all before getting medicated, I can now have the odd glass of wine without too much ill effect. But I get no kickback at all if my moderate consumption comes from organic sources. So I, too, believe it is the chemicals rather than the wine and I stick that - or don't drink.
And I don't really care what other people in company think - it's not my job to make them feel good about their alcohol consumption. Lots of them just want to use others for permission to do what they like. I'm okay, they're okay. Take responsibility people
I’ve never been a big drinker, but I used to enjoy the odd drink, now at 54 I still have the very odd one like twice a year, but I’ve found a brand of cbd drink which is lovely, chilling and has no bad effects and I enjoy that instead 😊
I know it’s not for everyone, but I’m really enjoying 0.0% Guinness. I too find I can’t drink much nowadays, but it tastes great and I can delude myself I’m drinking 😁
Well it's good to know someone else feels the same about this as I thought maybe it's in my head. When I was younger I could drink 4-5 glasses of wine on a night out ..however, once thyroid issues started the taste seemed a bit different and once I reached Hashimoto stage it was totally different as in I went off the taste of wine as well as my fingers would swell. If I have a glass now my fingers still swell and the next day I feel nauseous all day and that's just after one glass ! I also get massive reflux which I do suffer from anyway but never did with wine or other alcohol till more recent years. I've tried drinking g&t as an alternative and I definitely don't swell but I can only tolerate a glass so now most of the time I just don't drink but as I'm quite funny anyway no one thinks I'm a party pooper as they still have a good laugh when I'm out 😁
Alot of it can be due to age and your liver. As we women hit peri menopausal age, our tolerance for alcohol gets less. Mine and alot of my friends have, we rarely drink now. Plus as we get older our livers get more sluggish due to all the crap it has to try and process now days. Especially being on meds etc and sluggish liver goes hand in hand with thyroid issues. It's why we feel so crap after drinking as we get older, its alot harder on the liver. Happens to men aswell. It's just life I guess.
I think I just worked to build up my tolerance for alcohol!
The sleepiness is more likely to be result of the massive blood sugar spike that you get with alcohol. People with endocrine disease seem to be more susceptible to blood sugar spikes. I don't drink much now but when I do, it is always with food, even if it's just some nuts or other nibbles but preferably with a full meal. Eating a snack before you go out will help flatten the spike - veg/protein/fats - before your evening out. So I might have cheese, nuts and fruit or veg and hummus. Have the bar snacks (not crisps), tapas or canapes if it's a drinks reception or pre-drinks. Protein, fats and fibre (fruit/veg) help to flatten the spike. I also drastically reduce high carb foods when drinking alcohol. Carbs, particularly pasta, potatoes and rice also give you a blood sugar spike so it's a double whammy. Have a veg based starter. Aim to have half your plate with vegetables/salad, protein but eat any carbs last. I often choose the veggie option when I go out and have cheesecake or cream based dessert. Have water or soft drinks in between alcoholic ones. Use mixers. I do still drink alcohol but
I found that my tolerance for alcohol is high since taking levothyroxine. My hangovers are virtually non existent since taking the medication. Now I am on 100mcg of levothyroxine having a drink at weekend doesn't ruin the next day. Problem is though I am drinking more so not necessarily a good thing.
I have sadly had to give all alcohol up too. I used to enjoy a glass or three on social occasions at least. Now it’s water all the way. But I just could no longer handle days of my life being wiped out while I recovered.
Despite being diagnosed & treated with Levothyroxine for hypothyroidism, I 'lost' two years of my life to overwhelming fatigue. Once I was further diagnosed & I knew it was Hashimoto's Thyroiditis I went 100% gluten free & within a week began to feel remarkably better. My energy levels returned pretty much to normal. This was eight years ago. Subsequent tests revealed dairy & egg intolerances, so I've cut them out too as my finger joints throb & swell if I eat them. I can enjoy drinking alcohol with no adverse after-effects provided it is gluten-free. That means no beer or whisky, but wine, cider, campari & certain gins are all fine.
We went round The Glenfiddich distillery several years ago. One of the questions I asked was as it’s made from barley does it contain gluten. The answer was that as it’s distilled after the malting process it’s considered gluten free. Just in case you fancy whisky on your porridge.
I've heard this distillation argument before, including for so-called gluten free beer. As I'm very sensitive to barley I still get a headache & low ill feeling the day after just one such drink. Turns out some of the gf beers can be labelled as such in the UK, but the parts per million of gluten in the product don't allow them to be labeled gf in the US. For me it's better to drink gin made from grape seeds rather than whisky made from a gluten-containing grain.
never had a hqngover even in my student days. However I only drink alc free lager now or 1 glass wine spritzer most fortnights. I have Gilbert’s syndrome as well which means liver is less efficient at processing alcohol. Given the large formulary of meds I consume, think it’s best to be kind to my liver!
hi I drink red wine but buy organic never alone and not often . Max 2 glasses
I am heartened to hear so many of you have the same problem as me. I’ve never been much of a drinker, but can’t tolerate more than a sip of wine. I can just about cope with a teaspoon of gin in my tonic just to be sociable. I am GF and DF too and intolerant to a number of preservatives in pills, eye drops and food. It certainly takes the fun out of going out for meals and people tend not to invite you as your diet is complicated! I sometimes struggle to know what to eat! When I do fancy some cheese I take a lactase pill which certainly helps. I also use lactose free milk. Strangely when we lived in France I could drink the local wine and was told they don’t put preservatives in it. That was a few years ago and it’s certainly got worse. The other strange thing is that my twin sister, who has celiacs and had her thyroid removed is an alcoholic. She drinks about a bottle of wine a day with no ill effects the next day - apart from not remembering what a pain she was!
Just want to add to this, in case anyone is on a Benzodiazapam or has recently withdrawn. It's really important not to drink alcohol, as it acts on the same (GABA) receptors in the brain and gut. I have recently withdrawn and it has affected my thyroid, I'm now subclinical and hoping it will reverse itself as I'm unable to tolerate the T3.
Hello…Two things from my own experience: alcohol always affected me quickly, just as the ‘relaxant’ given during colonoscopy knocked me out and left me wobbly for hours. So there’s context. But once I was diagnosed, a glass of wine no longer made my upper arms feel weak, and hangovers were rare. However, as I became older, those ‘woolly’ headaches that resulted from just a couple of small drinks got worse, and I felt exhausted. This excellent site advised me about supplementing D3 and tests showed I was low in B12 and Folate too. I have noticed that supplements seem to have reduced my desire to eat sweet foods, and I rarely drink now. I’ve no idea whether this has metabolic foundation, but the theory I posit is that I had fungal infections ( a naturopath told me that), and SIBO. It would follow that reducing these issues could remove the craving for processed sugar, and alcohol. I would love to know what Admin think of this theory. Meanwhile, I guess it’s likely that inflammation is in there too. I think you’re wise to leave out alcohol until your levels are stable. I’m on just T4, but also take magnesium and circumin, plus a Glutathione capsule daily. We never get such relevant advice from our doctors, which seems pretty odd, but they just aren’t trained in this area. All good wishes…
Fizzy wine - but only that which is naturally fermented. So méthode champenoise is fine but not Prosecco! Crémant de Loire seems fine (Some supermarkets stock and we’ll priced). I don’t seem to tolerate anything else. And don’t drink more than a couple of glasses!
There are so many low and alcohol free drinks available now, that not imbibing alcohol is not the scourge it used to be-I don't drink anyway, I like to be in control!! It's also, no longer 'not manly' to not drink! In fact it's showing more control of yourself than maybe others are!!☺️
I can only drink alcohol if I am feeling well. By that I mean if my thyroid levels inc T3 are good. It's actually a good indicator. If I can't tolerate a few units of gin, I know my thyroid levels are out of whack.
Since my kidney function is now hugely reduced, I am drinking much less anyway as I need to watch out for dehydration 😕
I don't have a thyroid gland. I can't drink wine. But vodka and whiskey are fine for me. No problems at all.
Not much use to you so apologies but it hasn't affected me at all . I can still drink a normal amount. I think everyone is different with thyroid issues (thats the problem for the medics) and no size fits all.
Everyone is different, I drank moderately for years whilst on Levothyroxine and sometimes over indulged and only had an hangover as someone else would. I would wait until things settle down before deciding one way or another. I don’t drink at all now and apart from losing weight feel no different.
Have you tried cider rather than beer? When I drink lager a half can leave me drunk as a skunk and the hangover can start within an hour of drinking, but cider is fine. Spirits are fine too - I do like the odd rum and coke. No idea about wine, can't stand the stuff, it's nearly as disgusting as whisky. Not that I drink much; discounting when I'm on holiday it's only a few drinks a year, so I won't have much tolerance built up.
I also find the brand of levo makes a difference. Just recently I was on holiday when I finished one blister pack of 25 mcg and started another the next day. Prior to the switch over I was fine having three of four bottles of Bud a day (when in America...), but from the next day I felt like death warmed up after just a couple and had to switch to spirits and I was fine with those. I'm on 125 mcg so 25 mcg is just 20% of my dose.
Yes, I feel the same way. I feel like one glass of wine is difficult to tolerate. I only drink a glass or two at the weekend! I hava been a social drink for many years! I have tried to switch to non alcoholic drinks! I haven’t found the reason why Alcohol has this effect suddenly! May be I am getting older!
I don’t have a thyroid and am relieved to read so many people have experienced similar effects of wine that I’ve had for the past 20 years. I’ve started drinking less recently and like the way I feel the next day. Medicines given to me at the hospital for pain also affect me adversely.
Hi, Cloud77! Alcohol is chock full of histamine and it may be that you have become more intolerant to histamine. I have never been able to tolerate alcohol - a couple of sips and my head feels heavy and any more than that and I am guaranteed a migraine. I wasn't aware of my histamine intolerance until I started to work with a functional health doctor. A couple of times a month I would get a three-day migraine and feel just dreadful. I had done a lot of reading about migraines and yes, I had read about chocolate, cheese, red wine, caffeine etc. and was careful around these foods but could not exactly make a definite link. Sometimes I could have cheese and be absolutely fine. On other occasions not. But I have learned that this is how histamine works. If your levels are low (because you haven't been consuming a lot of foods containing histamine) then you can probably get away with a couple of squares of chocolate or some cheese. But if your levels are already high and you consume something like a glass of wine, your bucket overflows and you get symptoms. (Google histamine bucket.) I cannot believe that in the extensive reading/research I had been doing that no one ever joined the dots of all the foods commonly cited - anything aged/fermented/smoked/citrus etc and said "AND, OF COURSE, ALL OF THESE FOODS ARE HIGH IN HISTAMINE". I think when you have an autoimmune condition, such as hypothyroidism, and your system isn't quite working properly it can make you more susceptible to histamine reactions. For me, the only symptom was the debilitating migraines. I now follow a low histamine diet and am largely migraine free. Google histamine symptoms and see if it chimes for you.
Hi I've been hypothyroid for years but doing better on NDT (apart from the itching... still adjusting the dose). I find drinking alcohol totally wipes me out the next day, so I have to watch it. What is a real find is Kombucha, I don't make my own yet but it's not hard to find a scoby starter and brew your own. It's slightly fizzy and I drink it in a wine glass to trick my brain. So it's a bit like sparkling wine or something but without the alcohol. It's also really good for your gut health - as is Kefir which you can also brew yourself, either water or milk kefir - and these help the gut to produce feel-good substances in the brain like serotonin, which low thyroid people need. Hope this helps. Save the wine for weekends, in moderation, or special occasions. Not drinking alcohol during the week is a start anyway. 
I used to enjoy a glass of wine every now and then, but not the consequences. Finally I gave up on it. According to Izabella Wentz thyroid issues can lead to impaired detoxification through the liver. I'm wondering whether that causes the body to be less tolerant of the consumption of alcohol and causes an extended hang over.
Having issues tolerating alcohol was a main symptom for me prior to diagnosis and still is to some extent.
I recall reading sometime ago, before I found this site, that drinking fresh orange juice before and after alcohol has a good affect and clear coloured alcohol is better tolerated.
From reading your bio, you haven’t been on levo for very long so you might find tolerance improves as your thyroid levels improve. I agree with helen_m, sometimes I just don’t feel balanced enough to deal with alcohol. Anyway cheers, whatever you are drinking 🙂
I still drink but it doesn't do me much good if I have more than one glass of wine. My HR races after drinking, it's very obvious that it's the booze. I don't really know why, but it's obviously causing some physiological stress to my body - probably just processing it (I'm undermedicted atm). Booze is very hard to quit for me, especially when having great food / being out with friends. I'm so over this shitty illness, it ruins pretty much everything.
Yes I have an underactive thyroid and I can't drink any amount of Alcohol. I feel very secondhand.
I have cut alcohol out 99% of the time, just the odd glass of wine on a special occasion but that is it. I have always had a thyroid condition and thought I could drink in my younger day, but my tolerance is not good and has got worse as I have got older. I am guessing because thyroid issues are hormonal, the stuff they put in alcohol, sugar included, makes us more sensitive.
It's probably a coincidence. I had my Thyroid totally removed in 2008 & I've not had a alcoholic drink since. When I was young I would drink every week. The older I've got the less I wanted alcohol. On the questionnaires I always put "Rarely" because I've not stopped drinking. There must be some connection to Thyroid problems & alcohol.
No - I am partial to the odd drink now and also was before I was diagnosed. I haven't noticed a difference to be truthful.
I enjoy a couple of glasses of white wine 5 out of 7 days and I haven’t noticed any change, just a more relaxing evening
Yes I do not very often maybe once a month and then Ii have a few and really enjoy them... we still have lives to lead and enjoy and if it doesn't take too much out of you then enjoy x
Hi, a glass of red wine at lunch is an antioxidant. Feel better 😊
It's taken 20 years (and this forum) to work out that thyroid disease means that everything in my body isn't quite up to speed! Literally, including filtering out any toxins. I used to drink regularly. As I got over 40 it slowly dawned on me it was wiping me out considerably and not just that day. If I was on a night out id quickly loose the ability to converse without looking spaced out and not quite bright enough to hold conversation. This was after one|! The hangover from 2 glasses of wine was like i'd had a night out with the Navy. Sleeping was out of the question. 2 hours and 'ding' palpitations, feeling sick, head banging. Id also watch a film with my husband and drink one glass of wine and id not remember what film it was or what had happened. This really worried me. I stopped drinking for 4 months and felt so much better. I can now have the odd glass on special occasions months apart without too much issue. It's the build up of toxins that kills us. I also took a toxic effect from a progesterone cream I had been happily using for 3 years and had to stop. Again build up. I've also went gluten free this year because I had insomnia and someone suggested on here. It cured my insomnia in 2 days! Rule of thumb, thyroid disease means your body is unable to process toxins so keep them to a minimum. Hope it helps
Yes and yes. Alcohol intolerance developed alongside my hypo / hashi diagnosis. You will see references to it online including established medical literature but you will not find many studies on it or clarity over exactly why this occurs. For obvious reasons I dont think its a priority that will attract study funding.
What started as all day headaches after a glass which no OTC pills would mitigate it morphed into being very ill with only a sip of alcohol.
To describe if I drink alcohol I seem to go straight to hangover feelings within 30 minutes without the fun bit firs. When I wake up I often can be ok for 40 mins and then bam! waves of nasuea and wretched headaches for 1 to 2 days.
Obviously I do not drink any more and the severity makes that choice easy for me. But before I got to this point I did spend a year working out where the headaches came from, then once realised a further year or two trying various mitigation measures or finding the odd glass 'was ok'. You'll get all sorts of guff from F&F (have you tried white spirits, is it the sulphites in wine) - its well meaning guff but you end up smiling sweetly and ignoring it.
Now I dont touch the stuff and whilst I miss 'moments' (cold pint on a sunny day, glass of red by fire etc) the upside negates all this and I really notice the tremendous health benefits. I have tried the zero alcohol stuff (beer, G&T) and I am not against it it' really just sugar water once you remove the alcohol and I stick to water at home or lime and soda if Im out.
good luck working it out
Thyroid treatment
Ultrasound of thyroid
