Suddenly not able to drink in mid 40s

[DoggieNamechange]

I'm mid 40s, have always liked a wine, too much probably but other than a slightly expanding waistline I never had any issues.

Recently I look and feel terrible after drinking, Mild rosacea on my face goes red and ichy, I sleep terribly, feel tired and anxious - I also look so bloated. I've put on about 1.5 stone in recent years although eat well and fairly active.

I usually don't drink Mon - Weds and feel so much better but then there's the end of the week where I almost dread how I will feel.

Anyone else?? Is it horemones? Peri like EVERYTHING else apparently is in your 40s? I've had a really stressful few years with family stuff with no real break so can’t untangle cause and effect.

I know I should drink less and would like to use this as a driver however the thought of never having some lovely wine when on hoilidays or when meeting up with friends makes me so sad.

Sorry to say but it's an age thing

Many, many women feel like this after drinking once they hit middle-age OP. I used to love a big night out, but I barely drink any more. I just feel SO rubbish afterwards - can't sleep, or pass out and then wake up in the wee small hours with a raging thirst and the room spinning, then spend the next day feeling like death. I don't know anyone who drinks a lot any more - we've all cut back or gone completely teetotal. And in terms of weight management drinking is a disaster. That spare tyre that appears seemingly overnight ain't going anywhere if you're hitting the bottle four or five nights a week. I'm 52 and to stay in anything approaching decent shape I've had to be more disciplined with drinking, what I eat and regular exercise than I ever was when I was younger. This is the reality of middle age for many of us. You can drink and eat whatever you want, but your body will tell the tale! Moderation is okay though - I still go out, but I stick to one or two drinks or I 'zebra stripe' and alternate alcoholic drinks with fizzy water and a slice of lime.

Exactly the same thing happened to me, and a number of friends. It is a 40s thing unfortunately. I’m now in my late 40s and the vast majority of my friends have either drastically cut back, have regular dry spells, or have given up completely. It’s hard to keep fighting it when you feel so much better not drinking!

Yes and red wine is particularly bad for me. I can have a cider or two and be fine but I definitely drink far far less now I’m almost 50.

Is it any drink at all which causes you to feel rough, or just when you have more than one?
If it happens after a few, I think that's sadly normal.
If it happens after just one small glass of wine, I think that's less normal. I'd experiment with different types of alcohol, and things like sulphite free wine.

I'm older but am really suffering from alcohol lately. I had 3 small glasses of Cava's on Friday night over nearly 5 hours with food . I felt absolutely terrible Saturday, the worst headache, sick and lethargic - I still don't feel right. I'm off on holiday on Saturday and I love to have a drink on holiday, but I guess it sparking water from now on, which I find incredibly boring

Happened to me too around about the same age. Very rarely drink now as my body can’t cope with it.

I'm almost 46 and the same. Rarely drink these days because of it.
I do find I can drink on holiday though..perhaps as it's at a slower pace over a longer period.
I had quite a lot to drink a few weeks ago when the World Cup was on. Not loads but felt rough for the next two days and can't even think about alcohol again right now

Red wine specifically was a killer for me. Apparently it’s the histamines and hormones of peri. There is no way I can get pissed now - because I will suffer for days for 3hrs of merriment. I can cope with chilled - max 2 drinks to avoid hangover from hell but I can’t do that for more than 2 nights in a row without alcohol free days. Also means I can’t drink in the daytime as get hungover by 5pm - so any parties / weddings need to strategically plan consumption to end of the evening

It’s not age as such, people always think that. Its age in that continued years of mild abuse of your liver means it no longer processes the alcohol well.

I was similar, one glass disrupted my sleep. I went on mounjaro lost my weight, and didn’t drink throughout the weight loss phase, so prob for 10 months or so. and drank 3 litres of water a day,

I now only drink fortnightly when socialising. And I can drink like I could when i was 20. No hangovers.no ill effects. I sleep like a baby

i think my liver has repaired itself. They are doing studies now due to the anti ageing impact on our organs of glp meds. Basically from being a baby every time we get ill or consume something we should not, as much as we recover, it leaves behind inflammation that never goes away, the cumulative effect of that damage is ageing. But when you remove the inflammation , which mounjaro does, the cells are able to fully regenerate , thus either slowing, stopping ageing or reversing it.

so I’m not suggesting weighr loss drugs, I am suggesting stopping and allowing your liver to regenerate, maybe for a year. And you may find it resolves. The liver is the only internal organ which can repair itself, so I’d say it’s worth a try.

Same thing happened to me when I hit my mid 30s, 2 is the max now unless I want a hangover! Just an age thing unfortunately 🙈

I'm 45, and last year I decided to stop drinking as even one glass of wine was affecting my sleep and my mood so much. I don't miss it!

I’m exactly the same @DoggieNamechange and I’m 47. I went off the booze for the last three weeks and lost 3kg though so it’s not all bad! Going forward I’m not going to drink at home and I’ll just stick to wine with a meal out and being the designated driver more often than not.

if you want some AF alternatives, I like Friexinet 0% , Kylie 0% which are both sparking wine dupes and tanquery zero which is very gin like.

Yep, it’s an age thing. It’s shit.

I toast Christmas with a tiny glass of wine but don't drink the rest of the year. 43yo.

Welcome to the club. You get used to it and the health benefits are tremendous.

Unfortunately it’s not the alcohol that’s the issue for me it’s the sulphites - I feel rubbish after a night on 0% cider or just tonic water. Only drink I can drink is still water, though cask ale isn’t too bad

Yep. I'm 44 and haven't been able to drink without feeling like death for 3 days afterwards for a few years. Can only manage a couple of drinks or hangover from hell.

Went on a diet at the start of the year and cut right back on the alcohol. Felt so much better. Have had a few drinking sessions over summer and have hated myself the next day.

I used to feel like that, but I have had a relevation since i started running: the hangovers have pretty much gone.

Admittedly, I am training for a half marathon and so more than just a once-a-week plod at a parkrun. But for me anyway, it is somehow acts as hungover prevention. Try exercise!

Yes. Red wine made me feel awful from about 45. I started drinking gin and tonic (just the one, mind) and that was okay. Any more and I'd get a headache.

I also gave up eating bread at the same time. 😒 which was sad, but it was bloating me.

I lost 5lb though, so not all bad.

It’s your body telling you to stop consuming alcohol. If you’re reacting this way it’s a sign something isn’t quite right or could become problematic if you were to carry on.

Alcohol is catastrophic for women so be grateful your new found aversion is telling you to stop, the main thing is to listen. The long term health benefits of cutting down will be huge OP.

This is interesting. Is it the glp drugs doing the repairing though, or the abstinence?!

NB I can't drink wine or any quantity of alcohol without consequences any more but I find a couple of G&Ts is ok. I think it's the sulphites in wine and beer.

My mum stopped drinking her 40s it used to make her sick. I am now 46 and can’t drink at all even one makes me sick. I don’t miss it all. Was never a big drinker any way.

I’m 44 and even one glass of wine ruins my sleep. I don’t sleep great anyway, but it’s so much worse when I’ve had even one glass of wine. It gives me terrible heartburn too now.

I suspect it’s both together.

there are lots of studies, here is an ai summary, but you can google on it, lots of studies going on now as they work it out, it’s hugely interesting,

Recent clinical studies indicate that GLP-1 medications like semaglutide may slow down biological aging markers across multiple body systems and organs.

How They Impact Organ Aging
Lower Inflammation: They reduce chronic, low-grade systemic inflammation (often called "inflammaging") that damages internal tissues over time.
Metabolic Stress: They clear harmful visceral fat packed around organs like the liver, heart, and kidneys, easing cellular wear and tear.
Epigenetic Markers: Early clinical trials demonstrate that these peptides positively influence DNA methylation patterns, lowering biological age scores in major organ systems.

The most significant evidence comes from groundbreaking clinical data published in Nature Communications, providing the first human randomized, placebo-controlled evidence that GLP-1 medications directly slow multi-organ biological aging.
The primary clinical trials and case studies mapping these organ-specific outcomes are outlined below.

1. The University of California San Diego (UCSD) & TruDiagnostic Trial

Researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating once-weekly semaglutide over a 32-week period. They tracked changes using "epigenetic clocks" (algorithms that analyze DNA methylation to measure cellular wear).

• Overall Pace of Aging: Participants taking semaglutide experienced a 9% reduction in their overall pace of aging (measured by the DunedinPACE clock).
• Systemic Biological Age: The medication reduced biological age by an average of 3.1 years relative to the placebo group.
• Independence from Weight Loss: Crucially, statistical models showed these multi-organ changes persisted even after adjusting for body mass index (BMI), meaning the drug alters organ aging through pathways beyond simple weight loss.

Organ-Specific Rejuvenation Markers
The study mapped DNA changes across 11 different organ-system clocks, showing distinct biological age decelerations:

• The Brain: Age markers in brain-specific epigenetic pathways were reduced by an average of 5.0 years.
• The Heart & Cardiovascular System: Cardiovascular tissue age markers decelerated by 4.3 years.
• The Immune & Inflammatory Systems: Systemic inflammation markers ("inflammaging") dropped significantly, effectively lowering the biological age profile of immune cells.
• Kidneys, Liver, and Blood: Synchronized biological slowdowns were recorded across all three metabolic filtration systems.

1. The SLIM LIVER Pilot Study

Published in npj Aging, this trial focused specifically on patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, formerly known as fatty liver disease).

• The Liver: Semaglutide directly altered biological aging trajectories in liver tissue, closely linked to a rapid reduction in harmful ectopic organ fat.
• Aging Demographics: The drug successfully reduced the overall pace of biological aging in 42% of the trial participants. [
• Physical Function: Alongside liver tissue rejuvenation, patients demonstrated measurable improvements in musculoskeletal resilience and gait speed.

1. Summary of Multi-Organ Impact

Organ / SystemPrimary Mechanism IdentifiedClinical Study Outcome Brain Protects neurons from apoptosis; reduces microglial neuroinflammation. ~5.0 years lower biological age. Heart Clears visceral fat around the myocardium; eases cellular wear. ~4.3 years lower biological age. Liver Reverses cellular senescence and clears ectopic tissue fat. 42% of patients showed slower aging pace. Immune System Reprograms immune cells to lower chronic baseline inflammation. Significant slowdown across inflammatory clocks.