why can't i tolerate alcohol anymore had very little but was very ill. anyone have the same now they are 40?

[piratecat]

i don't drink unless it's a special occasion.
i had three white wine spritzers ny eve over four hours and was so pissed despite having a huge glass of water between each and only water for the last hour.

my god i was so ill coming home and through the night and day.

both ends at the same time.

i used to drink at weekends years back. i know its age but why does it effect me so acutely.
i have tried sticking to a long vodka drink. tried lager but even two halves of shandy makes me feel pretty drunk.

i drank alot of water ny eve counteract dehydration but it didn't help at all.

i had the shakes and everything.

i did eat too. guess i have to get on and accept it which is fine but wondered if anyone else felt this bad on so little. x

Have just posted exactly the same on another thread, I'm 46, you are not alone!

hiya maybe it was the same one just posted on and which inspired me to ask this.

is it just because i don't drink inbetween the special occasions?
i have had severe reactions to booze in the past but you could associate that with way too much, and no water.

i was so surprised nye. on xmas day i had a glass and a half of red with lunch.
took my time. very tipsy.

oh dear

I think you had something else making you ill. If you had a bug or something the alcohol would have had a pronounced effect.

I've never had issues with bother ends so soon after drinking, only at some point the next day.

Did you eat anything odd? Anyone else ill?

hiya i really think its alcohol poisoning of some type.

i had a bland tea of pasta, am vegetarian. this has happened before in similar circumstances. it's not a problem to just not drink on special occasions just such a ridiculously severe reaction.

i am 45. i don't feel it

no illness here no.

prozac? sounds daft of me not to have mentioned this in my op but i have been on a very low dose for absolutely years. i did ask gp about alcohol and she said in moderation.

i have zero moderation it seems.

I don't drink much, I cannot handle much of it but don't have the after effects you've had which sound really bad.
Could you be allergic so something in the drink maybe?

i did a Google and on a site called -how stuff works,- there is a section on hangovers, and how alcohol is dealt with by our system.

my tolerance is obviously very low. why i am not sure. interesting reading.xsorry on phone so unable to link.

timetoask maybe that could be it.

Dh has been exactly the same just lately, he's 42. Don't know if it's age related, but we definitely think it's alcohol related -he's only like it when he's hungover. Like a super bad hangover you'd expect after a massive bender, but after a couple of pints. He had a dry Christmas this year!

Would love to know if it's something in his system that's changed. I'll google that site you found and have a read, sounds interesting.

Studying Neuropsychology at the moment (yes! complete life change in 40s! yes, yes, YES!!!) and looking at migraines as it happens...

Migrainous Neuralgia may be worth looking at. It can develop at any stage in life and it can cause a severe intolerance to alcohol. Headaches, nausea, eye pain, visual difficulties, exhaustion...basically a hangover cubed, and out of all proportion to what you've drunk.

Might be worth a spot of research and if you're convinced mentioning to your GP.

prozac will probably be the cause. moderation for some, but lots of people cannot drink at all with it, or, they can but it interacts badly. I would read up on the possible reactions between the two, as GPs don't always know as much about side effects and interactions as they claim to. You need to check it out yourself.

My mum had the same reaction to alcohol over 40. It turned out she was coeliac and as some drinks are distilled from wheat etc. this caused the severe reaction at both ends.

Oh and PS if it IS migrainous neuralgia (rather than Prozac, which it may well be) then the good news is, wen you're not having an attack, your tolerance will return. Attacks tend to happen in clusters and over periods of stress...and Xmas, in the nicest possible way, fits the bill for that.

I get this. I'm 41 and have been suffering with this for the last 18 months.

It started with wine (any wine) feeling like it was burning my throat as it went down and getting an instant headache. Then a few months after I shared the tiniest glass of champagne with friends to celebrate their small lottery win, and I virtually collapsed in the hallway with a kind of 'whitey' (remember them?).

Anyway, since then I've experimented with different types of alcohol but it always ends with a severe hangover in the morning even if I've only had a very weak G&t or a very very weak spritzer. I stopped drinking altogether for a long time.

Funnily enough on holiday abroad last summer I found I could easily tolerate a vodka and coke (just one).

This Christmas I've managed small amounts of port which has been nice. I think I have to except I can't drink hardly anything. Plenty of people question it and say I just need to 'let myself go'....but they haven't experienced the illness after.

Sorry not much help OP, just wanted to say you're not alone.

how very very interesting bishop.
i will look into all you suggestions.

like i said i really am not bothered but it would be interesting to know why.

i know someone on prozac who doesn't have any problem.

i also know we are all different.

hi harry.

that's funny you mentioning the burning thing. last year i had two vodka lime and sodas.

i experienced a feeling like my throat was constricted and i was coughing. i put it down to the acidity of the lime. not had this with lager or wine though.

i don't get any sort of cluster headache bishop.

hmm i don't think it's that.

I struggle to tolerate any alcohol. I was never 'good' at drinking but since DC and hitting 40 my tolerance has severely reduced. Any amount gives me a sore stomach the next day- not extreme symptoms like you but even half a pint of bitter or one small glass of champagne will make me feel rotten.
I just do not drink. There is nothing else to do!

Not quite as little, but I drank a bottle of sparkling wine (cremant de limoux so not cheap and nasty) over the course of 5 hours on nye. Basically had a glass an hour. Had dinner and desert too. Had a glass of water just after midnight and promptly threw up. Threw up again three times before bed. Vomited continuously between 6.30am and 2pm. Felt ok for few hours so managed dry toast and some water. Started throwing up around 5.30 pm, kept going til 9ish when I went to sleep. Very uncomfortable and restless sleep until 415 am when I started being sick again. Stopped being sick at around 1130 am yesterday with the help of an antiemetic and some rehydration sachets. Awful.

I can sympathise with you all. Not only are the hangovers horrendous, I find it hard to sleep them off and it takes me up to a week to get back to feeling normal and having a good night's sleep.

Obviously my body trying to tell me something. I hardly drink at all these days which isn't necessarily a bad thing I guess.

Google Gilbert's syndrome . A friend of mine was diagnosed after developing an alcohol intolerance ..

After being a complete lightweight all my life, I have finally developed a tolerance for alcohol in my late 50s, now that I am being treated for hypothyroidism.

I’m not saying this is definitely what’s going on with OP, but alcohol intolerance is a very common symptom of untreated or under-medicated hypothyroidism.

oh jean sounds awful. i know how bad it is.
do you normally have a drink in the week?

i used to have a bottle of red in the house without fail up till about six or so years ago. had a glass or three most evenings and was fine.

i don't remember why i just stopped buying it. perhaps i had a hangover and was put off it one day.

i still feel roughish. Will Google your replies thanks.