Could my 54 year old husband have had his drink spiked tonight

[MadKitty]

Just that really. He went for drinks after work with a colleague. We don’t drink much in general, maybe a couple of units a month. I picked him up from the station at 11pm, all the other passengers left and I could see on my phone that he was still on the platform. Called him and he was barely coherent. Saw him staggering down the platform holding onto a railing.

After 10 mins he gets in the car, he’s soiled himself, grey and uncommunicative. Talking weird and not making sense. Walked in the house and literally dropped to the floor. I know, I know….. you’re thinking he’s been on a bender. He’s had less than a bottle of wine, maybe 3 glasses from what I’m gathering. This is the opposite of who he is and how he drinks.

Nearly 3 hours later he’s still lying on the floor with his head in a bowl. He’s so confused and unlike him. 111 tell me he’s just drunk. I’m hoping in the next hour I can get him standing so I can get him in the shower. He said this came on suddenly during the 20 min train journey. Could this be spiking?

Anyone around who might have some insight?

A + E very unlikely to be a spiked drink

Coming on suddenly in 20 mins is not likely to be alcohol. He’s not an obvious spike target. I’d be more concerned it was a medical incident.

Bear in mind that pale, bluish or grey pallor + confusion + vomiting + loss of bowel control can be signs of sepsis.

I hope he’s ok and he either went to A&E or is feeling better this morning.

I was spiked at a festival a couple years ago, I suspect by a friend (no ex friend) with what I suspect was MDMA. I literally drank half a pint of cider which they went and got from the bar for me. I rarely drink, no more than half a pint when out. I spent the rest of the day unwell/tripping and then had the worst head ache ever.

Maybe someone he was with spiked him with something? Maybe he had a bad reaction to something? maybe he took drugs knowingly but it embarrassed to tell you?

I hope he is ok today.

I would have phoned the colleague to check how much alcohol he'd had and then maybe driven him to a&e. No need for an ambulance when you can obviously drive.

I hope he's better this morning, if he's coherent now check what he really had to drink and maybe see a doctor.

I hope OPs husband is ok. It reminded me of something that happened to a colleague who had a bad reaction to fish (histamine poisoning or something) and a couple of glasses of wine. She went to hospital and the restaurant were visited by environmental health cos of the issue with the fish not being fresh. It was such a strange thing and she appeared drunk and ill too.

I had my drink spiked years ago, I'd only had 3 small ciders and knew I felt strange and needed to go home. My boyfriend picked me up and I passed out in bed luckily, otherwise I would have been a dead weight for him to carry. I felt confused, couldn't speak and knew I'd been spiked. When I woke up, I felt fine not even hung over. It was werid. It put me off going out drinking.

I hope he’s doing better today op.

A few years ago I had only had two glasses of wine, went to the toilet collapsed on the floor and was sick everywhere and then soiled myself too. Eventually DH found me and cleaned me up. I don’t know what happened but I know I wasn’t spiked as I was at home with my own bottle of wine.

All these people stating confidently that drink spiking doesn't happen/rarely happens/doesn't happen to men are completely talking out of their arses.

Hope he's been seen by someone and is doing better this morning, OP.

I had something similar happen to me when at a work do. Few drinks and I started falling over. Went to my room was violently ill all night, hot, couldn't move etc etc. When it passed I thought I'd just drunk more than usual. Until it happened again, when I was on my own and had drunk one of those little tiny bottles (one glass) of Prosecco.

Turned out that I had become allergic (thanks menopause) to an ingredient used in some cheaper wines. I had to stop drinking altogether because the results were so violent. But certainly on the first occasion, people were suspecting that I'd been spiked (unlikely in an industry do, 99% female).

I hope your DH makes a full recovery.

How is he now, OP? I'd trust your instincts on this one if I were you, something sounds wrong. I'm surprised 111 didn't take this more seriously, it doesn't just sound like drunkenness.

I hope he’s ok, OP.
In response to the posters who’ve said that 3 glasses of wine isn’t enough to make someone that drunk…. Well in the original post it says he only drinks a couple of units a month. So I guess his tolerance is low, and therefore it’s possible that this effect happened without him being spiked. I think many of us have had incidents where the alcohol has affected us more than we might expect.
That was just a thought, but anyway OP it all must have been extremely worrying for you. I hope he’s better this morning.

I hope all is ok, OP.

Drink spiking is not rare and it's not always just one male person spiking one female drink. My experience with suspected spiking is that multiple of us came to the same conclusion after a house party years ago and I most definitely wasn't pissed and incoherent after one vodka and lemonade within half an hour of arriving. People like to write it off and dismiss it for no real reason but it's ENTIRELY possible.

My experience was that I very suddenly lost any perception of distance, was repeatedly violently sick for a while, started to go in and out of consciousness and then completely passed out for about three hours - my friend kept an eye on me the whole time and had got me home before that point even though I vomited the entire way home, which I'm forever grateful for. I later found out this had also happened to at least two men at the same party with the same kind of reaction. Never happened to me before or since. The loss of perception of distance and how disorienting it was is what tips me from suspecting spiking instead of something 'wrong' with the vodka or lemonade.

That doesn't mean your partner was spiked - he may have something else going on. But it is still possible. I hope he's doing better.

Not wanting to worry you OP, but this is exactly how my DH was after an ischemic stroke, fortunately he made a good and almost full recovery. But because there were not the obvious stroke symptoms and he was at home it was put down as sudden onset vertigo, couldn't walk, throwing up etc it was only a couple of days later when we noticed his right hand leg was cold to touch that we went to A&E and a CT and MRI confirmed the stroke.

Sorry but this is wrong.
Spiking is massily unreported by an estimated 90% of peiple.
Just because it doesnt seem ti happen in your bubble doesnt mean it doesnt happen.

There's no one "target" for spiking.

I worked in criminal justice and saw all sorts. It's not just young women who get spiked, and it's not just sex offenders who do it. Most incidences I saw were people who did it just to be sadistic or spiteful to a stranger.

My husband's friend (tall young man, out with his mates) got drugged by a stranger. There was no chance of the perp being able to rob or assault him, it was just cruelty. My husband and his friends worked in an industry which was unpopular with the locals, and they think someone there was lashing out.

I'd go as far as to say that men are one of the prime targets for "traditional" spiking, as perps know they're less likely to seek or receive immediate help.

Hi OP, I had my drink spiked once and my boyfriend at the time didn't believe it either (he was at the bar with me) but sounds similar symptom wise. It hit me when I'd left the bar and had to walk (could barely walk, had to be helped up, threw up on the tube) this was after two drinks, disoriented. So yes it sounds like spiking to me. Good luck at A&E. Mine was I believe a guy who was very forcefully coming on to me at a bar whilst my boyfriend was chatting to a friend some distance away. I managed to get to back off, and then proceeded to tell me about his impending divorce going to lose his son and was clearly troubled. Very grateful I had the awareness to try and deflect him into talking and opening up or it could have been a nastier story.

Please let us know the outcome and I hope your hubby is in the right place & feeling better.

My husband was spiked once. He was absolutely out of it. Pissed himself, babbling nonsense, rolling around the bed. Crawling up the wall(literally).
He was about 35. Absolutely was not just alcohol and he has denied vehemently that he took anything by choice since it happened. I think it was his 'mates' as he always denied drugs

My first thought was acute alcohol poisoning -

Yes, acute alcohol poisoning can occur even after a small amount of alcohol because it depends on factors like your health, medications, and how quickly you drink, not just the quantity. There is no minimum amount of alcohol that guarantees safety. If someone shows signs like confusion, vomiting, slow or irregular breathing, or blue-tinged skin, call emergency services immediately. Do not try to induce vomiting, and turn the person onto their side if they lose consciousness to prevent choking.
Symptoms of alcohol poisoning

• Confusion or unresponsiveness
• Severe slurred speech
• Loss of coordination, such as being unable to stand or walk
• Vomiting
• Slow or irregular breathing (fewer than eight breaths per minute)
• Pale or bluish-tinged skin
• Low body temperature (hypothermia)
• Seizures
• Loss of consciousness or inability to stay conscious

What to do if you suspect alcohol poisoning

1. Call emergency services immediately (999 in the UK).
2. Do not leave the person alone because their blood alcohol level can continue to rise even after they stop drinking.
3. Do not try to make them vomit, as they could choke.
4. Turn them on to their side with a cushion under their head to keep their airway clear if they are unconscious.
5. Cover them with a blanket to prevent hypothermia.

@Vroomfondleswaistcoat - interesting! I am also menopausal and occasionally now have a more extreme reaction to alcohol, and I am a pretty seasoned drinker 🥴 What was the ingredient?

OP - let us know how your DH is doing. I don’t wish to be alarmist either, but alcohol can do quite negative things to blood pressure/heart rate - so I do hope this wasn’t a medical event and he’s been checked out.

I assume his mates were drug users?

Hope you're both ok OP

something similar happened to someone I know during an outdoor drinks event at a bar in London, he was told by the police that older men are becoming prime targets, particularly in London and other cities, because those doing the spiking assume they may have expensive watches etc.
hope your husband is ok.

Drink spiking is unlikely. Either he's drunk a lot more than he thought he did. Or there's another medical issue going on.