Alcohol Intolerance poll. Please do the poll even if your answer is no.

[V.R.T.]

It's funny because alcohol, at the beginning of my mild MECFS, relieved my fatigue and panic attacks for two or three days. I felt much better. Then, in 2024, I would panic the next day... and then I became intolerant with bizarre side effects, even tachycardia. I haven't drunk any alcohol since December 2024 and the onset of severe MECFS.

Ever since my (probable) prodromal onset at 19, I found that alcohol relieved my DPDR/panic symptoms during social events/gigs etc but they became much worse the next day. The prodromal symptoms were labelled depression and anxiety and antidepressants didn't help so I used alcohol to mask them.

Unfortunately alcoholism runs in my family so that went about as well as you'd expect..

The hangovers were so bad if I wasn't addicted I would have quit or cut down to almost nothing for sure. Bizarre is the operative word but also terrifying. After my definite onset of MECFS, my hangovers were even worse, and alcohol tolerance went down significantly, although I was alternatively trying to quit or moderate in those years so that could be a factor. I also noticed I would feel shaky and derealised and weird in those years as the first drink was taking effect.

Sober since a couple months before my decline to severe started, thankfully. Sadly a lot of people report exercise helps them stay sober, and we all know how that turned out!

 

[neophyte32]

Ever since my (probable) prodromal onset at 19, I found that alcohol relieved my DPDR/panic symptoms during social events/gigs etc but they became much worse the next day. The prodromal symptoms were labelled depression and anxiety and antidepressants didn't help so I used alcohol to mask them.

Unfortunately alcoholism runs in my family so that went about as well as you'd expect..

The hangovers were so bad if I wasn't addicted I would have quit or cut down to almost nothing for sure. Bizarre is the operative word but also terrifying. After my definite onset of MECFS, my hangovers were even worse, and alcohol tolerance went down significantly, although I was alternatively trying to quit or moderate in those years so that could be a factor. I also noticed I would feel shaky and derealised and weird in those years as the first drink was taking effect.

Sober since a couple months before my decline to severe started, thankfully. Sadly a lot of people report exercise helps them stay sober, and we all know how that turned out!

I understand what you're writing; my parents drank a lot of alcohol... I drank way too much from age 16 to 40 and did a lot of sports because I have an obsessive and addictive personality.

Since I can't really pinpoint when my illness actually started (either January 2022 or April 2023), I can't really analyze the situations and my condition. I know that from January 2022 to April 2023 I did a lot of sports...

What triggered my MECFS (or the final straw) was two instances of abuse: January 2022 (prodromal phase) alcohol and tramadol (dependent from 2019 to 2022) and April 2023 during a run with two days of mixing alcohol, tramadol, and... cocaine (I've taken it six times in my life). The day after overindulging, during my run I felt my brain changing and I had a panic attack two hours later.

Only alcohol could calm them down after that, until 2024. I'm not proud of my journey, I'm ashamed.

In short, alcohol calmed my system but also probably helped trigger my MECFS (Method of Controlled Eating Disorders). I've also had a lot of illnesses (Lyme disease, COVID four times, seven bouts of bacterial tonsillitis in 2023...).

 

[V.R.T.]

I understand what you're writing; my parents drank a lot of alcohol... I drank way too much from age 16 to 40 and did a lot of sports because I have an obsessive and addictive personality.

Since I can't really pinpoint when my illness actually started (either January 2022 or April 2023), I can't really analyze the situations and my condition. I know that from January 2022 to April 2023 I did a lot of sports...

What triggered my MECFS (or the final straw) was two instances of abuse: January 2022 (prodromal phase) alcohol and tramadol (dependent from 2019 to 2022) and April 2023 during a run with two days of mixing alcohol, tramadol, and... cocaine (I've taken it six times in my life). The day after overindulging, during my run I felt my brain changing and I had a panic attack two hours later.

Only alcohol could calm them down after that, until 2024. I'm not proud of my journey, I'm ashamed.

In short, alcohol calmed my system but also probably helped trigger my MECFS (Method of Controlled Eating Disorders). I've also had a lot of illnesses (Lyme disease, COVID four times, seven bouts of bacterial tonsillitis in 2023...).

That sounds very hard to go through and I empathise with much of it (apart from the being sporty!). I can't know what part my drinking played in triggering or perpetuating my MECFS but it certainly didnt help!

It's very hard to deal with the shame that comes with addiction, I'm sorry you struggle with that too.

 

[Kitty]

'Alcohol intolerance' seems to include quite a wide range of responses. In my case it's burning muscle pain and churning nausea that starts within minutes of consuming alcohol. Both manifest before any of the pleasant effects people describe (I'm not sure I've ever managed to drink enough to feel them).

If everyone felt that bad that quickly, humanity would probably never have bothered producing alcoholic drinks.

 

[MeSci]

That sounds very hard to go through and I empathise with much of it (apart from the being sporty!). I can't know what part my drinking played in triggering or perpetuating my MECFS but it certainly didnt help!

It's very hard to deal with the shame that comes with addiction, I'm sorry you struggle with that too.

I don't think there is any reason to be ashamed of having, or having had, addiction.

I was addicted to injuring myself as a child and young adult - with sharp objects. I gave up due to vanity - the scars were becoming less able to disappear.

Then I became addicted to cigarettes. That took three attempts to give up, and I only tried due to asthma.

Then I was addicted to amphetamine. Again, I think it took 3 attempts, but I managed it, although I lost my job (unfairly, I think, as I'd kicked the habit and my record was improving - it had been excellent before).

Giving up is extremely difficult, and anyone who's done it should feel good about it.

 

[V.R.T.]

Giving up is extremely difficult, and anyone who's done it should feel good about it.

Absolutely! Sorry to hear about your struggles, glad you were able to overcome them.

 

[Axel]

The year things got really bad, a single glass of wine was enough to send me to bed for several hours after just fifteen minutes. The sort of reaction you’d more expect from a virus – A need to sleep as if I were being sucked into a vortex. When I woke up, I felt the need to go home and rest as if I were facing months of convalescence. Nothing like a normal (good or bad) reaction to alcohol.

Come to think of it, I remember feeling drunk that year after eating cakes.

Now I can drink from time to time, but it tires me out immediately and, at best, causes a vague, analgesic, excitement that has nothing to do with the relaxation and warmth of the past, apart from the fact that the taste no longer seems very rich to me. (But that applies to almost all foods). Pastries and sugar still give me a bit of a buzz.