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Original poster

Wine Intolerance

26 replies

GinJeanie · 11/08/2020 21:14

Hiya. I wonder if anyone else is in this position as my friends don't seem as affected as me.
Since entering the perimenopause years, I can barely drink wine/fizz. I just don't enjoy it in the same way and often feel like I have a hangover/headache after one glass. Does anyone else get this? Is it likely to be the sulfites in the wine or my hormones being imbalanced? I used to love the stuff! Also, is organic wine usually sulfite free - I haven't tried it to be fair... 🥂

OP posts:
SpeedofaSloth · 11/08/2020 21:16

I find this, I drink much less now than I used to probably a good thing

DramaAlpaca · 11/08/2020 21:18

Yes, several of my friends say the same. Sadly it's not true for me, I love the stuff definitely not a good thing

Branleuse · 11/08/2020 21:23

I can hardly tolerate alcohol now. I get hangover after very little and often after drinking it i feel weird, a bit ill and hot flushy.
Shame, as i used to enjoy it

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Pimmsypimms · 11/08/2020 21:23

I developed this op, but in my mid 30s, however, I would come out in hives (always in the same place) and my eyes and throat would itch.
I put this down to preservatives in the wine. I found that if I drank wine that was preservative free then I wouldn't get it.

Fluffycloudland77 · 11/08/2020 21:35

It’s an age thing. Happened to me too. I only drank 10 units a week but I stopped and lost half a stone.

Original poster
GinJeanie · 12/08/2020 08:19

Thanks for replies- I guess I need to focus on the health benefits!

OP posts:
Janaih · 12/08/2020 08:23

Yep I have had to give up my beloved red wine. Even a glass gives me a stonking hangover with anxiety and palpitations. Sad times.
Thankfully champagne is ok for me Grin

BlameItOnTheBogey · 12/08/2020 08:28

Have you tried sulfree?

EmmaGrundyForPM · 12/08/2020 08:31

this happened to me in my early 40s. Even one glass of wine would leave me waking up in the middle of the night with a hangover. I basically stopped drinking for a few years.

Then it went away and I was able to drink again. I think it lasted about 3 or 4 years. I've been fine ever since. I'm now 53 and no sign of the menopause yet so I dont know what triggered it.

Hemlock2013 · 12/08/2020 08:35

I think I’m getting this. Intolerance as in all of a sudden I’m totally wasted, like my off switch has vanished. And then terrible stomach problems and feeling rough even after a tiny amount.

I’m looking at it as a good thing. I’ve drunk way too much white wine over the years, my body has had enough and I need to listen to it I guess!

I’m late 30s

StCharlotte · 12/08/2020 08:40

I think of wine as an "eating" drink, to have with meals as opposed to drinking it for its own sake. Doesn't stop my obviously but I do try to avoid it if I'm not eating.

Now prosecco... this is my alcoholic kryptonite and I really should steer well clear. It's so moreish but causes memory blanks the next morning which I hate. Related to wine, I have a the art that you usually drink it at the beginning of a get-together or event when you haven't eaten so by the time you eat - if you eat - the damage is done. This is why I'm always the drunk aunt at weddings Blush

StCharlotte · 12/08/2020 08:41

Not "the art" (I wish), I meant "a theory" 🙄

Eminybob · 12/08/2020 08:48

Not so much hangovers, but I have recently had a reaction to wine, where my skin gets blotchy red patches, and I feel hot and find it difficult to breathe.
It’s weird because it’s only happened a handful of times (clearly hasn’t stopped me drinking wine Grin), and isn’t always the same wine or even the same colour.

JustCallMeGriffin · 12/08/2020 09:38

I thought it was just me and my body being weird!

When I was around 36 wine suddenly became a nightmare to drink, the taste was still beautiful but before I'd finished drinking a large glass I'd start getting a 'hangover' feeling including the splitting headache. The next day would be appalling even after just one glass.

Oddly I can still drink vodka/whiskey/rum or cider gin is vile anyway so it's not the alcohol causing the problem, there's something in the wine that is.

I'm not a massive drinker though, this year I've had two bottles of cider (on different occasions) so not being able to drink wine isn't a big deal, just annoying and perplexing.

Illuyanka · 12/08/2020 09:47

Isn't that age thing? I can't tolerate alcohol like I used to like when I was younger. Less efficient liver/kidney or whatever.

Fluffycloudland77 · 12/08/2020 09:59

Interestingly I’ve never had a man complain of this.

Illuyanka · 12/08/2020 19:29

Fluffy, how many men do you know of that age who used to drink a lot and still drinking same amount like they used to?
My dh used to drink a lot. He doesn't drink much now. We both say those days of getting drunk legless is over. Simple fact is, that getting hang over don't seems to worth it at all. Maybe we just became no fun people.

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 12/08/2020 19:33

Yeah. Just red wine, not beer or fizz. Horrendous fear at around 3am, troubled night overall and rough as fuck the next day.

MolotovMocktail · 12/08/2020 19:36

You can get filters to stick in your wine that remove the sulfites allegedly, haven’t tried them myself but maybe worth a shot.

NotJust3SmallWords · 12/08/2020 19:43

@Eminybob

Not so much hangovers, but I have recently had a reaction to wine, where my skin gets blotchy red patches, and I feel hot and find it difficult to breathe. It’s weird because it’s only happened a handful of times (clearly hasn’t stopped me drinking wine Grin), and isn’t always the same wine or even the same colour.
I get this as well sometimes, I thought it was just me! Blotchy red skin, hot and shortness of breath. It's not just wine for me though, it's spirits as well. It's probably a sign to drink less... Confused
Original poster
GinJeanie · 12/08/2020 20:26

www.goodwineonline.co.uk/free-from-wines.html

Sulphite-free wines apparently! Wink

OP posts:
LER83 · 12/08/2020 20:43

This is interesting because I decided at the weekend I was going to stop drinking red wine as even one glass gives me the most awful hangover. I actually went to bed feeling really sick the other night and I'd only had 2 glasses over 3 hours with a big dinner! Thankfully I'm fine with cocktails!

Hairblog · 03/02/2021 14:08

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Bluntness100 · 03/02/2021 14:11

It’s actually to do with the bodies ability to process alcohol as we get older, it takes longer for us, and stays in our systems longer, and muscle mass is replaced by more fat mass also as we age, which gives us a higher blood alcohol content.

It’s basically biology, our ability to process it when young is very different to our bodies ability to process it when we are older.

lurkingfromhome · 03/02/2021 14:49

Yep, I've pretty much given up drinking altogether now that I'm in my 50s. It gives me terrible insomnia, I get fairly drunk after half a glass of wine and not in a pleasant way, just in a want-to-lie-down way, and feel as rough as fuck the next day. I have a G&T at the weekend and that's about it for me. I had two drinks in total over the Christmas period. I can still do cocktails and prosecco but I don't drink those at home so haven't drunk them in basically a year.

Love the idea of it still, though! The thought of getting wasted and dancing around my garden is great, but the reality would be so much less fun than that. Oh, middle age, sigh.