Alcohol Allergy?

LegacyUser

I've had a bit of an on-again off-again relationship with alcohol. But recently it's gotten really weird, and I am not sure if this makes sense at all. I've a question, but I'm going to put it in context:

About 5 years ago, in my mid-20s I found myself drinking every night - often on my own, but generally as part of a hard-living partying lifestyle. Not classic alcoholic, but not healthy either. This went on over a few years, but varying between types of drink (beer, wine, spirits) but never got so bad that it was straight spirits, never got so bad that I drank during the working day. But there were a few years there where I didn't have a day without drink in the whole year.

In my late 20s I changed my lifestyle, and turned back into the classic irish binge drinker, only a couple of nights drinking a week, but drinking a serious amount in those times, plus a few evenings sitting in alone or with a girlfriend and managing a couple of bottles of wine to myself. I'd also developed a high tolerance, and could easily outdrink most people.

Things got bad a few years ago with the binge drinking. I realised I needed to change things after 4 or 5 incidents where I was so plastered I didn't wake up during the night when my bladder needed me to, and instead woke up next morning in a pool of my own urine. Awkward. Also realised that I had been suffering from alcohol-induced depression, and that the hangover blues was seriously messing with my head. Worrying.

So I quit drinking. Best thing I ever did, a full year on the wagon.

NOW, the problem and the question.
I'm drinking again since a year ago, but less than once a week, and mainly only socially and completely controlled.

The problem is that since I took the year off, I can't seem to drink alcohol without it driving me a bit mad. Not mad in the social sense, more that if I have a drink, just one drink, then about 3 hours later I get crazy paranoia. Like I'd have a glass of wine and a few hours later i am walking down the street and i'd be almost talking out loud to myself saying that i'm an idiot, that people were laughing at me, or i'd be running over stuff from my past in my head but putting myself in a really bad light. I know alcohol can be a depressant, but this is only happening since i quit, and it is frightening. And it used to be as part of the hangover the next day, now it is within a couple of hours of having a drink. On top of this if i have one or two drinks I can't sleep at all afterwards. Insomnia till 3 or 4 in the morning after just a couple of drinks. And when I do sleep i'd wake up in a feverish sweat.

It's not just normal tipsiness or anything - when I have 3 or 4 pints, which in the old days would barely have registered, I now get paranoia, insomnia and then wake up with crazy sweats. So what I am wondering is could i be allergic to alcohol? Could having quit it for a year somehow changed how my body and mind cope with alcohol? In a way it's better, because it puts me off drinking. But i'd like to be able to have a social drink or two again, with only the normal side-effects (drunkeness + hangover) instead of these weird ones. Or is it just my tolerance is low - and so I need to drink more often if i want to be able to drink again!?

O'Coonassa

Alcohol is a serious neurotoxin and sounds like it's inducing psychosis or a condition called Alcoholic Idiosyncratic Intoxication this is a rare phenomenon that produces a severe change in mental state and behavior after an individual drinks only a small amount of alcohol. Symptoms may include confusion, transitory delusions, hallucinations, and transient loss of consciousness.

gerry28

Op if this is happening you after a few hours with small amounts of drink could it be mild withdrawl symptoms?

LegacyUser

Unregistered wrote: »

The problem is that since I took the year off, I can't seem to drink alcohol without it driving me a bit mad. Not mad in the social sense, more that if I have a drink, just one drink, then about 3 hours later I get crazy paranoia. Like I'd have a glass of wine and a few hours later i am walking down the street and i'd be almost talking out loud to myself saying that i'm an idiot, that people were laughing at me, or i'd be running over stuff from my past in my head but putting myself in a really bad light. I know alcohol can be a depressant, but this is only happening since i quit, and it is frightening. And it used to be as part of the hangover the next day, now it is within a couple of hours of having a drink. On top of this if i have one or two drinks I can't sleep at all afterwards. Insomnia till 3 or 4 in the morning after just a couple of drinks. And when I do sleep i'd wake up in a feverish sweat.

Wow this really chimes with me, except with me its from smoking weed that it happens.

Went 4 years or so smoking weed virtually every waking moment, gave up last year for a couple of months and been on and off since then.

But I get exactly the same feelings as you about half the time I smoke, getting worse and worse every time I do too. Id have a smoke and go from normal and outgoing to completely withdrawn, unbelievably paranoid, convincing myself people are taking the piss out of me or looking at me or that they know something I dont, have to just leave/go to bed when it happens. Then lie awake in bed thinking the most horrible, self destroying thoughts, feel absoltely worthless and cant sleep.

Sorry OP, but Ive learnt that there just isnt any middle ground unless you can deal with the symptoms when they happen. It just isnt worth it for me to maybe enjoy having a J half the time and the other half be depressed for a couple of days afterwards because of these horrible thoughts ive had about myself. Id recommend talking to a doctor about it but you have to recognise its not gonna get any better with you just continuing as you are.

Any way good luck, and try to stay off the booze if you can