What is meant by "Alcohol intolerance"?

[M Paine]

I've heard that mentioned, but I would like to clarify what exactly does alcohol intolerance mean?

I find I get drunk very quickly, and get very tired, is this what is meant?

 

[daisybell]

I find that I can only drink one (or on a good day) two units, otherwise I feel extremely unwell... Not the same as getting drunk, but feeling poisoned.. I just don't enjoy it anymore, which is disappointing!

 

[M Paine]

Sorry to hear that. I certainly don't feel poisoned (thankfully).

Greetings from AKL

 

[drob31]

I wonder if this is an issue with glutathione. Interestingly, some people who wish to avoid a hangover take NAC before drinking and don't get hung over, because it enhances the liver's ability to detox by increasing glutathione.

 

[alkt]

i had to give up drinking bitter because of pain and bloating in the stomach .so you could say my stomache was intolerant of beers . ruins the rare evening that i managed to go to my local pub.

 

[Mary]

I used to be like @daisybell - one glass of wine would leave me feeling sick or poisoned for an entire day, and 2 glasses would affect me badly for 2 or 3 days. And then together with my chiropractor who does muscle testing, we discovered my liver was overloaded with toxins, so it could not process the alcohol. A good part of it most likely had to do with a job I had had at age 19 where I had heavy exposure to chemical solvents. I did a liver detox under the chiro's supervision using Standard Process products (Parotid PMG and Cholacol II), took them for a month, it was rather rough, I got very tired and felt like crap, but at the end of the month my liver was much better. I started taking milk thistle and also HCL for digestion and alcohol (in moderation!) no longer makes me sick, and my digestion is much improved.

 

[Mary]

I've heard that mentioned, but I would like to clarify what exactly does alcohol intolerance mean?

I find I get drunk very quickly, and get very tired, is this what is meant?

Alcohol used to hit me pretty hard, pretty quickly, sort of like you (though it didn't before I developed CFS/ME). Last November I started taking l-glutamine in a branched chain amino acid combo (the BCAAs to help with post-exertional malaise), and noticed shortly thereafter that I was no longer very sensitive to alcohol, that I could drink a couple of glasses of wine and be fine. I was taking the glutamine for my immune system and overall health, and then discovered its effect with alcohol. Here is an article which talks about glutamine and alcohol: http://www.livestrong.com/article/540555-l-glutamine-alcohol/

Before I got sick with CFS/ME, alcohol neither made me sick, nor was I very sensitive to it. Somehow it's all connected. I currently take 1000 mg. l-glutamine a day.

 

[Mary]

@M Paine - One more thing. I read somewhere (but cannot find it now) that low B6 can contribute to sensitivity to alcohol.

 

[M Paine]

Thank you for your comments. I guess I am inclined to feel as though I don't suffer from liver or gastrointestinal symptoms like some others, and that perhaps this aspect of the disease I'm thankfully not afflicted with.

While I get drunk a little quickly, I can tolerate a large volume of alcohol on occasion. As for the significance of this as it relates to the other issues I face, I don't know. I know that Dr Rosamud Vallings has mentioned that some evidence suggests that Alcahol intolerance is almost a hallmark of ME/CFS, and that one should look at alternative diagnosis in the absence of Alcahol intolerance.

I'm not sure if low tolerance counts, or where that evidence is coming from exactly, but I will be visiting her soon as I just visited my doctor today for a referral, so I will ask her and report back.

 

[M Paine]

I visited Dr Vallings today, and the topic did not come up. I've stopped drinking at all for the moment, so it seemed like a side topic or distraction from the other useful information I was getting.