To think I got 'spiked'

[MadHattersWineParty]

I did what you're not supposed to do.

I picked up an abandoned glass of fizz, and I drank it as I'm flat broke after Christmas, had a Diet Coke at the pub but wanted a fizz and couldn't afford to buy my own it was just sitting there at the bar. Already had a few glasses of wine at home with a meal then popped into our local to see some friends at about 11:30. DP had to carry me home, (his poor back!) I can't remember a thing and apparently was pretty much unconscious and when I did wake up a bit, totally incoherent- I couldn't form any words. He said he had to move all my limbs like a puppet to get me on my side in bed then didn't want to leave me alone so just played on iPad most of the night.

I feel appalling now. Shaky and sick and a racing heart and I've drank loads of water but can't seem to wee

It was the local bit-up-it's-Arse-gastro-pub and I know 'mine-sweeping' a drink is a bit student and scummy and I shouldn't have done it, but I'm starting to think it must have been laced with something and whoever it was bought for thought better of it and left it alone. Total memory blackout from about half an hour after I drank it, and before that I was ever so slightly tipsy but holding a conversation and dancing. Only wanted to stick my head in to see in the New Year.

I'm so stupid aren't I

I had my drink spiked. You didnt seem to suffer too badly OP. I went from dancing away to not being able to walk and being violently sick, last thing I remembered was my 2 friends finding me on the floor of the toilets and heaving me up and out, then nothing until 4pm the next day. This was 11pm the night before. Apparently I was going to be sick to they had to push me out of taxi and I almost broke my hand, DH couldn't get me upstairs so had to sit up with me whilst I was completely out of it on the sofa, after a few hours he got me to bed. Then I woke at 4 and could hardly open my eyes, couldn't even sip water, couldn't keep paracetamol down. It was scary and I thought I was just really drunk (as did all my friends with me) but it happened so quickly, I never black out of forget and I remembered later that I had put my glass of wine down on a little stand, turned away to watch the dance floor, then turned back and drank it, about 20 minutes later that was it. I learned my lesson then too.

Very scary stuff and I'm glad my friends came and found me.

My grandads response was "who would want to spike your drink" nice.

Glad you are feeling better and berating you for drinking a random drink is hardly helpful now. No one is perfect.

I really hope you was not spiked, but to
Me (not an expert) sounds as if you was. Don't get all the why was u grappling other peoples drinks at the bar, hands up I have done this many a time,especially when I was youmg and being so called more mature for a laugh ( in my opinion) & also living in London it is darn expensive !!! Hope you r ok, bit do agree report to the bar you were in.

I had a party at Bunga Bunga a couple of years ago and four out of about 20 of my friends somehow had their drinks spiked, each one having the same odd symptoms, blacking out and being sick for days after. Two of them had barely drank. I followed it up with their management who didn't give a sht! Called them for months and got palmed off each time. Charming. Generally toxology tests can only be effective within 48 hours, as I understand it.

MDMA is a class A drug so not legal, but gives you a "rush" and makes you very chatty but wouldn't cause the reaction OP has described. Sounds like rohypnol, one drink wouldn't cause you to feel like that if it wasn't spiked. A few friends, male and female young and old have been spiked, people do it for a kick not always "date rape" as the drug is nicknamed

I always thought minesweeping was a myth..

Just read the full thread - God there are some really nasty, horrible people on MN. Whatever happened to "if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?"

OP you very clearly realise what you did was wrong but that does not mean you deserve either the physical reaction that you have had OR the flaming you have received on here! You were honest enough to tell us exactly what had happened when actually you could easily have lied and said you left your drink unattended or that you may have mixed glasses at the bar up - you deserve some slack for telling the truth!

I hope that you continue to feel better - it may be worth making an appointment with your own GP and telling him or her what happened. That way it is on record so if you have any future issues around your bladder (for example) they may be able to use the information to help. It may also be worth just getting a bit of a check over too to be certain no longer term effects.

I am of the opinion that it would be worth letting the bar know what you suspect happened. If they have had other complaints (or do in the future), it may well help them to identify who it is doing it.

I am saddened by the number of stories I've read on here about it happening to people. It's just awful. I live in a small town and grew up in a pub so (although not the sort of place you had to worry) I grew up knowing you don't leave a drink unattended, but if you do then you buy a new one and leave the old one. I've always thought that no-one would want to drug me anyway (low self-esteem) but it's an easy to follow rule and helps to keep you safe.

The worst things I've read on here are the people saying that they weren't believed by the police and/or medical staff. That's awful. Just because a person appears drunk is not a reason to presume they are in that state intentionally or of their own free will. Until we get past this point, it will keep on happening because it is too easy to get away with. Surely we should believe people and give them the help/tests needed so that if they are correct they can be treated effectively and the police can attempt to find the culprit(s).

(((Big hugs))) OP, you definitely need them. Look after yourself xxx

BumDNC
If she stole a car on a sudden urge and someone had cut the brakes on it in a premeditated action, what's worse?

A more apt situation would be if she stole the car and someone had parked it up because the brakes had failed. The argument would then be for some 'the brakes were cut' and for others 'you don't know that the line could have split, are you going to the police?' etc.

We still don't know if the drink was spiked and we never will, the OP hasn't been to a doctor, or had anything tested. Nor is she going to complain to the bar/pub.

If she had left her own glass unattended and found it was spiked, would you vultures all be screeching about how it was her own fault for leaving it unattended?

I wonder if it was laced with rohipnol or something? Then left at the bar waiting for a victim to take the bait? 🤔

Hope you're ok x you should see if there's still time to have blood tests or something x

It doesn't matter how it happened or how stupid it was, the point really is that most bar managers worth their salt would want to know. Regardless if she took a drink that wasn't hers or if someone had put something in their own drink - it could easily have been taken by someone else who got mixed up, especially if people have had a few anyway. What harm can reporting it do?

I went to a wedding with my parents years ago and after a glass of red, my mum just suddenly started throwing up and was totally out of it. I was about 20 and my DSD said he couldn't deal with vomit and left us with me holding her up in the field outside the marquee, where people kept coming over and laughing saying 'oh, had a bit too much to drink eh?'. It was one glass and mum drank wine very regularly. Eventually we got her in the car and had to keep stopping for her to puke. She stayed in bed totally out of it for 24 hours. I was terrified.

I've just remembered this but why the hell would someone spike a drink at a wedding full of friends and family I have no idea, I just can't imagine any other explanation.

I'd say YES.
I used to be an alcoholic so I could really handle my drink. (1 litre of vodka a day)
On top of drinking daily, me and my sister would go out most Saturdays and before we left I would drink an entire bottle of vermouth in the bath before even getting ready! The leave for town and drink one drink in every bar and go home at 6am.
One evening, I went over to hers to get ready so didn't have my normal bottle before goin out and instead had one mouthful of vodka before getting in the taxi. We went to the normal trendy bar we always started at.. its a bit of a yuppy place where we'll to do lads went to pick up less well to do girls... you'd find them chatting to a bunch of different girls at one end of town to re-emerge at the other and rekindle the friendship they'd made earlier. Yes... slimey but a nice new venue at the time.
I left my drink with my sister on the bar and went to the toilet, returned drank it and chatted to her for a bit in the warm before getting ready to move on.
But as I stood up I felt a bit spinny. And by the time we walked to the front on the venue I could tell something was badly wrong.
I felt reeeealy drunk. I couldn't walk in a straight line and felt like I couldn't hold my head up properly, my body felt heavy.
I walked out of the building, past the shop next door to the crossing and told my sister I couldn't see properly. She told me to stop mucking about and that's the last thing I remember....
I started coming to on the toilet floor surrounded by security who were asking my sister what I had taken... (I've never taken drugs...or even smoked a cigarette btw) bit I couldn't tell them that because I couldn't actually speak even though I could hear and understand.
I was admitted to hospital with suspected alcohol poisoning buy no bloods were taken :( so some arse hole walked away laughing that night.. I was just lucky to have been with my sister. .. mind you, if I'd been alone I wouldn't have left my cocktail on the bar next to hers while she waited for me. I'd have had it in my hand!

albadross I've had the same experience from reduced / bad wine from Iceland.

Also, whilst taking the drink was stupid, but it was not stealing; the OP had watched the bar for some time and was convinced that nobody wanted it. So if I leave my car on the street, and someone watches it for 20 minutes, and I don't return to it, are they free to take it because they are "convinced" no one wanted it? How about my house? My kids bike?

Or does it just apply to booze?? How about a handbag that someone may have left on the bar? A wallet? Some loose change, maybe?

Bloody hell. MN is exhausting sometimes. Pinching an abandoned drink off the bar is not the same as stealing a car. Or a house. I'm actually laughing at the house. HTH.

what clouded my judgement on this one is that it feels like the woman drinking wine in the park (if you recall earlier hilarious posts about this ladies drinking)

She might have been spiked, but I think there's a lot of denial about 'normal' drinking in this posters life.

^

I find it amazing that in 13 pages of vitriol to the OP for drinking an abandoned glass of wine, there's literally not one post castigating the person who put drugs in it, who did after all break the law.

But that's OK as it wasn't intended for the OP. Surely you realise that!

Ridiculous isn't it. Pages of blame interspersed with the odd comment effectively about her deserving it. Disgraceful.

literally not one post castigating the person who put drugs in it That's probably because it isn't actually clear that anyone did purposely spike the drink. The person who bought it could easily have added something themselves and forgot about it.

I'm going for it...
Forgive yourself op...it was a mistake.
My fella is a dj... so we work a lot with bar staff and doormen .. people abandon drinks they don't want ALL the time... at the end of the night doormen have to pour litres of drinks left on the tables next to smoking areas! They don't keep them for the rightful owner to return for them!
Which makes me well suss as to why the bar staff hadn't cleared his bar in an "up its own arse gastro venue"
So... aside from abandoned drinks...let's straighten some confusion : handbags and wallets don't get abandoned... they get lost.
That's why we don't generally call the police for an abandoned wallet or handbag but we do for an abandoned suitcase or suspicious parcel. Wallets and handbags genrally gr binned when we buy new ones and transfer stuff from one to another..same with cars... abandoned ones are normally unregistered or stolen.
People do however leave drink, food and pets.
Where would all the dogs be if people didn't realose someone had abandoned it tied to a fence at the park, or outside a shop etc.
People who rescue these animals don't get done for theft... the same as those who drink the beer off the door man's table! Yes! They do it!

Agree with Albadross that any bar manager worth his/her salt would want to know about this happening, whatever the circumstances, so OP should definitely report. The explanation she gives is entirely up to her.

The fact that OP had observed this drink left unattended for quite some time (if I've got that right) indicates that it could well have been planted there for the planters own amusement. My guess would be that the fizz was laced with stronger alcohol as opposed to drugs - hope so - but lacing drinks is totally unacceptable so OP, please do tell the bar..... hope you're feeling better and have learned your lesson!

Nothing like a contentious issue to start us off..... Happy New Year everyone !

I am really shocked by the attitude of some posters. The analogy with a car is obviously flawed and unhelpful. We do not in our culture see/understand possession and ownership in relation to cars and drinks in the same way. If someone takes an abandoned newspaper on an empty train, is that stealing too? How long must the bar staff wait before clearing a glass in order to decide that tel he customer has relinquished ownership of the contents? The more you think about it the more stupid the car analogy becomes.

But, that really, really isn't the crucial point. The real issue here is with people shaming the OP, adding to a culture which makes it hard for victims of spiking to disclosure what happened. If we want to reduce crimes related to spiking drinks and enable victims to seek help, then shaming is not the way to go.

As a complete aside, I do know of a car that WAS indeed legaly acquired and sold on exactly because it was deemed to have been "abandoned" - very decent car, not a wreck.

I am intruiged, as someone said above that genuine drink spiking is very rare, however so so many people on this thread claim it has happened.

My ex-boss claimed to have had her drink spiked at the company annual ball - No - she just lost track and had stronger drinks than usual. I guess it was more "professional" in her mind's eye to say that rather than admit she lost a bit of control etc.

It is possible to have very strong reactions to things due to allergies/bad products etc etc rather than everything always being a malicious and intentional "spiking"

The one study that people usually refer to when claiming drink spiking is rare was highly flawed.

While I think some people believe they've been spiked when they've just had too much alcohol, in other cases the effects suggest drugs rather than alcohol.