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.

Yup seems to happen to almost everyone! Sad times

Im 42 & have decided to go T total as of Saturday! Alcohol does not agree with me anymore - and Ive always loved a drink! Im gutted but I know its for the best for my body. If I have 2 drinks - I cannot sleep, have horrendous anxiety, feel crap & get a migraine! Its not worth it. Im blaming peri menopause. What im gutted about- is im the only one this has happened to!! Everyone else I know merrily drinks by the bottle!! Also find socializing (parties etc) without a drink very very hard (sad I know!)

Luckily my friends and I are the anomalies to most on this thread!

All in our 50s (ranging 50-55) and still like to meet for drinks every weekend and far too many in some cases 😬

Happened gradually around 40 for me.

Stopped being able to drink spirits - suddenly made me nauseous and headachey after years of loving a G&T, cocktail or after dinner brandy.

Then red wine started to give me hot flushes and I’d feel terribly unwell after one glass with dinner.

For a couple of years I stuck to white wine, champagne or Prosecco/cava, but eventually I was getting bad hangovers after a glass or two,

Quit booze at 43.
Lost 20lbs in 4 months without trying. Stopped having to take anxiety meds after 6 months.

Havent drank in almost 7 years and don’t miss it at all.

I cant even look at a glass of wine now.

Knock it on the head. I did, in my early fifties, and I just haven’t looked back.

Do you get itchy? If so it could be a symptom of lymphoma. I’d get checked out

I can't and don't want to drink as much as I once did. There was a period recently where even a glass of wine or a couple of pints of fairly low alcohol beer had me waking up the next day feeling utterly rotten. Since starting HRT I can now drink moderately again with few consequences (when I say moderately I mean a couple of pints of 4% beer or a glass of wine or two).

Yeah, it’s difficult to unpick. Mine was sudden after an infection - was looking forward to a drink and catch up with friends as thought I was better. It seemed to launch me into peri too, so who knows?

I don't see this as lucky at all.

Same has happened to me now in my 40s but actually, I'm looking forward to not drinking. I had a couple of years in my 20s when I didn't drink as absolutely everything gave me a severe hangover, no matter if it was 1 drink or 5. Eventually found red wine was ok and that started me back.

It's a light bulb moment when you understand how bad alcohol is and what it does to your body.

I know I should drink less ... the thought of never having some lovely wine when on holidays or when meeting up with friends makes me so sad.

There's a very big space between 'drink less' and 'never having lovely wine', @DoggieNamechange!

If you can't quite envisage not drinking in between these occasions, you're a problem drinker and this might be why you're suffering with the booze. Either way, your body's yelling at you to lay off for a while, so do that.

I had a sober year in my late forties and (after a couple of false starts) made up my mind to drink 'like normal people'. I'm now pretty good at just having a couple of glasses. I often go weeks without alcohol. And I get drunk every so often, because I like it. It's definitely do-able although, as they kept pointing out in recovery, it's actually easier to stay sober than to change the way you drink.

As everyone's saying, menopause does bring peculiar changes. I acquired some food allergies and other unwelcome nonsense. May women do become alcohol intolerant. You'll find out in due course ... but you do need to knock it off for long enough to let your liver get better 🍷💐

This is fascinating @VelvetandleatherI had no idea. I've eaten a lot of processed crap in my life and often wonder about the irreparable damage.

Sorry I haven’t read the whole thread, just op.

💐Listen to your body.
You’ve said you feel so much better at the start of the week when you have a break. Why wouldn’t you want to feel better all the time?
Alcohol is poison. You are poisoning yourself, that’s why you feel like shit.
It is an addictive substance, that is why you can’t bear the thought of life without it.
If you found that apples were making you ill, would you have any issue never eating them again, so that you could feel better? Of course not, because nobody cares in society whether you eat apples or not. Suddenly, when it’s wine, it’s a different matter.
If you decide you’d like to make the change, I highly recommend ‘Kick the Drink’ by Jason Vale. It really helped me. I’ve not drunk alcohol for over 11 years and I do not miss it. It was a huge part of my life, but the blinkers are off, and I don’t regret it at all.

Why?

If you like meeting friends for drinks then it's good to still be able to do that.

Cannot see the attraction of boozing every night. It’s not great for anyone and most of our friends who did this have stopped. We have always had a couple of glasses of wine at the weekend and buy high quality wine. We don’t go boozing in the week and most friends don’t either. I guess it’s about growing up and respecting your body. We see friends for meals out and have a glass or two then. Midweek boozing just doesn’t happen and no one seems to be incapable of seeing friends and enjoying their company. So buy far less and buy better is what most seem to do (apart from the few cheap skates we know who still buy cheap wine!)