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.

He says he reacts badly to it in larger quantities, but I wouldn't say he's allergic. He can drink two glasses of wine (just about) but no more without having those nasty symptoms.

I get racing heart, panicking feelings, sweats, bad tummy purely from alcohol. Started in my mid-30s.

I can have 3 alcoholic drinks in total now or I get exactly these symptoms.

Drinking a small amount of alcohol while taking paracetamol is usually safe. Try to keep to the recommended guidelines of no more than 14 units of alcohol a week. A standard glass of wine (175ml) is 2 units. A pint of lager or beer is usually 2 to 3 units of alcohol.

It may not be safe for you to drink alcohol with paracetamol if you have certain health conditions, such as liver problems. Check the leaflet in your medicine packet to find out whether it's safe to drink alcohol when taking paracetamol.
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/paracetamol-for-adults/common-questions-about-paracetamol-for-adults/

This once happened to me after news year eve. It turned out I had food poisoning. Don't punish yourself op

Possibly migraine + hangover? The vision problems could be a migraine aura. Alcohol can trigger migraines, and potentially something non-alcoholic in the cocktails could as well (depending on what sort of cocktails they were). I doubt that the paracetamol was the culprit.

I survived my nights out aged 18-26 by drinking a pint of water and two paracetamol before bed and trust me, I'd had much more than you to drink. I never knew you shouldn't take paracetamol whilst drinking?

@Sleeplessworried you actually binge drank that night according to the nhs definition “The NHS defines binge drinking as ‘drinking heavily over a short space of time’.2 Another way of thinking about it is ‘drinking to get drunk’.
More than 8 units of alcohol in a single session for males, or more than 6 units in a single session for females is the technical definition.3 That’s equivalent to about four pints of normal strength beer for a man or three pints for a woman.” Source https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/lifestyle-effects/binge-drinking#whatisbingedrinking. This is one of the reasons why more and more younger women are being diagnosed with liver disease. Someone who is otherwise healthy may get away with it in the short term but you said you have been hospitalised with heart issues in the past, surely this is not going to help?

I've never ever heard of paracetamol doing that before...

More likely, you either had a bit of a tummy bug brewing, which the alcohol made worse. Or you ate or drank something that disagreed with you.

But sometimes our bodies just do weird shit for no obvious reason. Personally, I'd just chalk it up to "bodies being bonkers" and carry on.

Absolutely this. Sound like you were proper drunk.

Sounds more like food poisoning or a bug than the alcohol. Paracetamol and a glass of water was standard post pub/drinking when I was younger..so v much doubt it was that.

I always take paracetamol and a pint of water before going to sleep after drinking - stops the hangover being as bad. 40 years old and had a good few very drunken years at uni and in early 20s and never had this experience. Cocktails were probably stronger than you thought - mixing drinks definitely makes me feel like room is spinning and throw up

I had a nurse friend who said its safe to take paracetamol after drinking

I always take paracetamol after drinking! Sounds more like a bad effect from the alcohol. I took Imodium before I last went out drinking as I had stomach cramps. Now these you aren’t supposed to drink with I found out after! I then fainted when I got home, was sick, had diarrhoea and sweating and shaking then an awful ringing in my ears!

Paracetamol are very unlikely to have made you feel like that!

Op alcohol is essentially a poison. Your body did what it should and got rid of the toxins. I get this any time I drink.

What did you have to eat that evening? It sounds a lot like what happened to an ex who ate some dodgy prawns with the itching, sweating and puking up vast amounts in between shitting himself inside out.

The other possibility is have you been taking antibiotics for something like a tooth infection or bacterial vaginosis? It's also the reaction you get if you have alcohol within about 3 days of taking Metronidazole.

(BTW if anybody's wondering, he was one of those people who just wouldn't be told not to eat the 'they're a day past the use by date, I'm throwing the prawns away' or 'You can't have alcohol when you've been taking those'. My sympathy was entirely non-existent).

Read nhs not AI
Paracetamol and alcohol low amount won't kill you

www.nhs.uk/medicines/paracetamol-for-adults/common-questions-about-paracetamol-for-adults/

God I've taken alot more and mixed with nuerofen plus before going to bed snd never has anything happened. I had no idea you can't mix alcohol with pain killers!!

I always take 2 paracetamol and 2 ibuprofen before bed when I’ve been drinking and never had any issues at all - and has massively helped slow down my hangover the next day. Been doing it for over 10 years with no issues all

I often take paracetamol while drinking - sometimes drink them down with a swig of wine 😂

ive never heard of this reaction so I think you were very unlucky if that was the cause.

There is a condition known as alcohol intolerance, more common as a genetic condition in people of asian descent, I have a friend with it and the first time she drank she had these kind of symptoms.

I got long covid in 2020 and mast cell issues, up until maybe a year or so ago, I just couldn’t drink anymore. Even a couple of glasses would give me a pounding heart and head, stomach issues, anxiety etc, it was an overload of histamines, that could cause itching too maybe. Ive heard it can also be worse in peri menopause.
I used to enjoy a few glasses every Friday or Saturday night, now I drink maybe three times a year and feel crap after it, its shit!
Could it be anything like this?

This!

You really didn't have a near death experience! 😄

To me it sounds like you had one of your drinks spiked with eye drops.

1000mg of paracetamol is way too high. Definitely don’t take that much again. I have liver damage from a paracetamol overdose 25 years ago. It’s not worth the risk.