To think I had a near death experience because of my own stupidity?

[Sleeplessworried]

I was out for Christmas drinks with friends last week.
I rarely drink but had 2 Proseccos, 2 cocktails and a shot. This was from 5pm to 11pm. Not crazy but a lot for me.

I got home at around 12am and took two paracetamols 500mg each, thinking I was getting ahead of the hangover. I felt fine at this point and my friend even said I didn’t even seem like I’d been drinking before she dropped me off home.

I went to bed and jolted awake at around 2.30am. What followed was room spinning, struggling to see, the worst diarrhoea of my life, rounds of vomiting, stomach pain and hours of lying sweating on a bed while itching and shivering.

I know this is silly but because I don’t drink much, I had no idea you can’t take paracetamol after drinking. I realise now this is totally dangerous and stupid.

I remember panicking on the bed wondering if I’d been spiked and actually worrying that things were going to worsen and maybe I’d been poisoned. I know that sounds dramatic but I felt like I was going to die.

Anyway now I am feeling so embarrassed and stupid for taking paracetamol after alcohol.

It ended by me continuously putting fingers down my throat to encourage more vomiting and feeling slightly better after my stomach was completely empty. I managed to sleep from around 5am to 9am and felt only slightly nauseous in the morning.

Just wanted to write it down as I can’t tell any of my loved ones. I wouldn’t like to worry them and don’t want them to know how bloody clueless I am! It feels good to get it off my chest though.

It's vastly more likely you've picked up a bug such as Noro virus than anything else. It will not have been the paracetamol.

it might have been more alcohol that youre used to, but objectively it's not a lot of alcohol.

it was not 'near feath' it just felt like it.

it is very scary being extremely unwell alone in the house.

have you asked the friends you were drinking with how they were?

It’s not paracetamol that’s making you unwell, it’s the alcohol or a bug/virus

You poor thing, you must have been so scared.
I am glad you are okay now. Drink lots of water and no booze for a minute.

You can't?

Don't laugh...I'm 64 and had no idea.

Would norovirus clear up so quickly though? I’ve had it before and think it lasted 3 days

The one time in my life that I had my head spinning after drink was on my 21st. No hangover, though. I think I had water before I went to sleep.

I'm told that it was a really good night, but I didn't see much of it. One, maybe two glasses of champagne in the afternoon; two vodkas in the evening and one glass of whatever was in the punch....

@rayofsunshine86 do you think he’s allergic to alcohol? Has he always been like that? I used to be fine drinking years ago.

You poor thing, that sounds appalling. Those symptoms don't match up with too much alcohol or paracetamol after alcohol. You were either spiked or had noro (or another virus) or food poisoning. Hope you are feeling much much better now.

As you don't drink much generally, you probably just have a low tolerance for it, and unfortunately drank more than your body is used to which made you feel absolutely rotten. Easily done, in my experience!

It's vastly more likely you've picked up a bug such as Noro virus than anything else. It will not have been the paracetamol.
it might have been more alcohol that you're used to, but objectively it's not a lot of alcohol.

I agree with @SnoopySantaPaws .

Spiking was my first thought, to be honest.

Thanks @ChiliFiend. Had some diarrhoea for days afterwards but mostly better and thank god that headache is gone. I’ve never felt anything like that, it was like it was going to burst from my skull!

I’ve been unwell before. Been in hospital for serious infections and heart issues etc and never felt that level of fear or panic at how out of control my body was. I know it sounds dramatic but I have been really ill before but that was something else entirely. So glad it is over.

To think I had a near death experience because of my own stupidity?
You weren't near death at all.

Just being drunk and scared isn't anywhere near death.
Perhaps you could clarify how the above might prompt your dramatic question.

Hopefully you can become more aware of your exaggerations. Others are actually nearing the end of life.

Sounds like food poisoning from bacterial toxins in some meat or dairy snack that had been left out too long.

I don't think you had a near death experience from taking 2 paracetamols after a few drinks.

Stop worrying, you'll be fine. But don't do it again 😉

@Havingaswimmoose some people get spiked/mix drink and drugs by accident/drink alcohol with unknown existing health conditions and they die. It can turn badly quickly.

I think this is a reaction to mixing your drinks. Did you have different cocktails? You essentially had two lots of white wine followed by several spirits and sweet flavours mixed together and then a shot, so on top of the variety, the alcohol type got stronger as you went along too. Your body has treated it like poison and got rid of it from your system. That’s definite a lot for the stomach to process whether you’re used to drinking or not x

You weren't near death though.
None of the things you mention happened to you.
Yes it could happen, does happen.
Not to you though.

I have this reaction to cheap Prosecco. I thought I had become intolerant to alcohol but it’s just Prosecco. One glass will mean I vomit a few hours later. Champagne is fine 🙈 also gin and vodka are fine.

Because of your liver.

@Havingaswimmoose eh, how do you know? I don’t know if I was spiked or not.

How near death were you then?
We're you rescued from death?
Medical treatment saved you?

Bottom line is, don’t worry! Your body did its thing and now you’re ok. With cocktails you never know. I got sick from one once whilst on holiday, turns out it had liqueur, milk and cream in it, amongst other things. I was ill for a couple of days which I now know was food poisoning. I doubt you had noro or food poisoning, you’ve just got a fantastic bodily system that is protecting you and clearly still very effective!

What were the cocktails? Anything strong like classic gin or vodka martinis? Or the one with about four different types of rum?
Because if they weren't super strong you had five drinks in six hours which is not really a huge amount. And did you have anything to eat at all, because it sounds as if it could be food poisoning, especially with the D and V.
I would also have a think back about where you were, who you were with, was it crowded, did you leave your drink behind at any point, did someone else get it for you or was it left standing on the bar for a few minutes. You could have been spiked.

People can be near death and recover. Not saying the OP was but she is saying she felt like that and has panicked that she really was that unwell.