Alcohol why does this work

[kangaSue]

looking for some advice, if I drink alcohol on a night which is once a week, why the following day do I feel great with no pain, I as wondering what medication or supplement I could use to substitute the alcohol and have the same affect.

If it's because of the vasodilatory effect, you might benefit from nitric oxide boosting supplements or nitrate meds which have been reported to help others here.

 

[Glycon]

looking for some advice, if I drink alcohol on a night which is once a week, why the following day do I feel great with no pain, I as wondering what medication or supplement I could use to substitute the alcohol and have the same affect.

How MUCH do you drink? And how does your current alcohol consumption it compare to your pre-illness drinking habits?

 

[Marco]

If I recall correctly wasn't it about 30% of pwme who responded to the poll here on PR who said they can tolerate alcohol?

I think I'm right but didn't Jason find around 40% of PWME were alcohol intolerant?

 

[taniaaust1]

I disagree with @taniaaust1. ME is highly heterogenous and getting a benefit from alcohol would not rule out ME even if alcohol sensitivity were on the diagnostic criteria.

Hi, Im not sure what you disagreed with which I said as I didnt specifiy it ruling out ME/CFS, I just said it isnt usual (seeing we know something like 40% of ME/CFS have been wrongly diagnosed, it "may" indicate a person may of been wrongly diagnosed). There are many ME/CFS specialists who do view alcohol intollerance as a fairly usual thing to have in ME.

http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Alco...ves_us_a_clue_as_to_the_mechanisms_of_fatigue

"(By Dr Sarah Myhill and Craig Robinson)

Alcohol intolerance is extremely common, if not universal, in patients with CFS/ME. Indeed during the 1980s, I chatted away with Professor Fields at Warwick University, who was diagnosing ME at that time, and he would not diagnose ME unless there was alcohol intolerance!"
...........

- p214, Dr Shepherd, 'Living With M.E.' --

"So if you have M.E./CFS, it is likely that you may have developed an intolerance to alcohol. "

among others.

I think the big issue is CFS is very heterogenous but ME seems to not as much so.

 

[Living Dead]

I disagree with the above. Assuming ME is a b-cell disease (as evidenced by the Rituximab trials), there is no reason patients can't tolerate alcohol. Assuming, instead, that ME is Martin Palls NO/ONOO hypothesis, alcohol could possibly help due to blocking NMDA receptors. So alcohol tolerance does not exclude or indicate that the person doesn't have ME.

 

[Darran321]

How MUCH do you drink? And how does your current alcohol consumption it compare to your pre-illness drinking habits?

i will drink 4/5 pints a week and did prior to my illness, i just notice the following day i feel great and have no pain, it occurs every single time time

 

[Marky90]

If we want other people not to question our diagnosis, lets at least not question other patients. If someone with ME get better with alcohol, they get better with alcohol. At this point in time there is no reason to suspect otherwise.

 

[helperofearth123]

I became intolerant to alcohol when I got CFS but almost 5+ years later and now I can tolerate it again but still just as ill overall. Who knows what is going on.

 

[Glycon]

i will drink 4/5 pints a week and did prior to my illness, i just notice the following day i feel great and have no pain, it occurs every single time time

Are you or have you ever been on any antidepressants, or any other medication that messes with your serotonin?

 

[Living Dead]

If we want other people not to question our diagnosis, lets at least not question other patients. If someone with ME get better with alcohol, they get better with alcohol. At this point in time there is no reason to suspect otherwise.

Especially because I've seen several patients say that they get better from alcohol, so this isn't even something new and strange. Klonopin is also used a lot, and IIRC even proven to enchance cognitive function in ME, and Klonopin and alcohol both stimulate GABA activity. So this is totally plausible ... unless you also consider patients who responds to Klonopin to not have ME... But now I'm falling into the fallacy known as "no true scotsman".

 

[Darran321]

Are you or have you ever been on any antidepressants, or any other medication that messes with your serotonin?

Hi Glyon
yes i am on armtriplyne 25g

 

[flybro]

I'm just starting to try 25mg at night, could be just early days, but I think it helps with my pain the nextday, as well as improve sleep.

Previously i just used it 10mg when needed but could amp it up if i needed more.

So i'm testing 25mg atm, see if I'm still getting benefits in a few months.

 

[Glycon]

Hi Glyon
yes i am on armtriplyne 25g

There is some evidence such medications may reduce alcohol intolerance.