Very abnormal hangovers, thinking it could be allergy to alcohol

Hi, I'm a 21 yr old female and I believe that recently I have developed an allergy to alcohol. It started about 3 months ago when I spent a day feeling terribly unwell after a night out drinking (not a normal hangover). Now this happens every time I drink (even if it's just a glass of wine). Basically, I spend the day with a very soar tummy and a headache and a tingling feeling all over, I'll be feeling dizzy and I find it impossible to concentrate. Also I noticed that I get drunk now very quickly. It's a funny feeling because I've been able to hold my alcohol in previous years and my hangover would pretty much consist of a normal headache which would dissipate by the afternoon. I do in fact suffer from headaches regularly and migraines but I believe that it's mostly due to sinuses. Please help!? Am I just imagining all this!?

Hi there,

I am sorry to hear about your problem. I would suggest trying to dilut the alcohol a little bit. I'm not sure what else you could do. If you are allergic than I guess the best solution is to stop drinking.

I am a 23 year old female and for the past 3 years have experienced the worst handovers in the history of mankind!!
After a bit of my own research I am now going to consult a naturopath so they can conduct and adrenal functioning test and assess my liver. This is sort of a last resort as regular GPs have left me with no answer but to stay away from alcohol.

A typical hang over for me consists of about 10-12 hours of throwing up about every 15 minutes the following day (I never throw up the night I drink) accompanied by a severe migraine. Sometimes I have only had 2 drinks and ended up like that other times I can have 5 drinks and be ok. My mum has taken me to hospital twice but all they did was tell me to try and keep water down and then they tested my blood sugar levels. They probably thought I had been out binge drinking all night.

It wasnt always like this-I used to be able to go out and drink as much as I liked but now a glass of red wine can give me a migraine. Something just changed in my body so if you are suffering the same symptoms I suggest going to see someone who practices natural medicine to get some answers rather than a doctor who just says "dont drink!" I think I have accepted the fact that I will be designated driver for the rest of my life because I never want to spend another minute of my life feeling so sick!!!

monbon wrote:

I am a 23 year old female and for the past 3 years have experienced the worst handovers in the history of mankind!! After a bit of my own research I am now going to consult a naturopath so they can conduct and adrenal functioning test and assess my liver. This is sort of a last resort as regular GPs have left me with no answer but to stay away from alcohol. A typical hang over for me consists of about 10-12 hours of throwing up about every 15 minutes the following day (I never throw up the night I drink) accompanied by a severe migraine. Sometimes I have only had 2 drinks and ended up like that other times I can have 5 drinks and be ok. My mum has taken me to hospital twice but all they did was tell me to try and keep water down and then they tested my blood sugar levels. They probably thought I had been out binge drinking all night. I too had exactly the same problem, now at 33 I cannot even have one drink without ending up in hospital, had many tests and nothing physically wrong, don't know where to go from here. Does anyone have any suggestions?? It wasnt always like this-I used to be able to go out and drink as much as I liked but now a glass of red wine can give me a migraine. Something just changed in my body so if you are suffering the same symptoms I suggest going to see someone who practices natural medicine to get some answers rather than a doctor who just says "dont drink!" I think I have accepted the fact that I will be designated driver for the rest of my life because I never want to spend another minute of my life feeling so sick!!!

Wow I thought I was the only one! I am a 21 year old female, and I am sitting here after one of those days of vomiting every 15 minutes (as usually happens after a night out drinking), and I am trying to figure out what is wrong with me because I am the only person I know that gets hangovers like this! I have considered going to the doctor but assumed that they would say to just stop drinking, as you said. If you get this message, and have had any progress in helping this problem of ours, I would love to hear what you've got! my email is lkpowell26@yahoo.com if you have any information. Until then, I'll be the permanent designated driver like you are! As sorry as I am to hear that someone else goes through this too, because it is absolutely awful, I am relieved to know I am not the only one...

monbon wrote:

I am a 23 year old female and for the past 3 years have experienced the worst handovers in the history of mankind!! After a bit of my own research I am now going to consult a naturopath so they can conduct and adrenal functioning test and assess my liver. This is sort of a last resort as regular GPs have left me with no answer but to stay away from alcohol. A typical hang over for me consists of about 10-12 hours of throwing up about every 15 minutes the following day (I never throw up the night I drink) accompanied by a severe migraine. Sometimes I have only had 2 drinks and ended up like that other times I can have 5 drinks and be ok. My mum has taken me to hospital twice but all they did was tell me to try and keep water down and then they tested my blood sugar levels. They probably thought I had been out binge drinking all night. It wasnt always like this-I used to be able to go out and drink as much as I liked but now a glass of red wine can give me a migraine. Something just changed in my body so if you are suffering the same symptoms I suggest going to see someone who practices natural medicine to get some answers rather than a doctor who just says "dont drink!" I think I have accepted the fact that I will be designated driver for the rest of my life because I never want to spend another minute of my life feeling so sick!!!

Hello! Im Female 27 years.

I have been suffering from exactly the same problem for nearly a year now. Even the most boring and sensible amounts of alcohol (one glass of wine) can now result in the most horrific of hangovers. It tends to be of a gastric than a dehydration thing (bloating, terrible nausea, wretching all day). These symptoms dont happen till the day after but while im drinkign I get sneezing/sore eyes/runny nose. Does anybody else get these?!

Its really depressing! Ive been to the GP several times, but as my liver and kidney function are apparently normal and there is nothing chronically wrong with me - they have got more serious problems to deal with, and they are not interested! I cant udnerstand it either, I usedto be able to handle alcohol just fine. I have accepted the fact that my wild nights are over, but I am desperate to be able to enjoy a sedate glass of wine from time to time or at least to understand why not!!!

I am also going to pursue a natural medicines path and will post back if I find out anything helpful.

GOOD LUCK ALL!

e mail address: ella.kilgour@network.rc.ac.uk

When I read MONBON's response I almost died of happiness that someone else has experienced the exact same thing as me!!! I'm 21 and I've been experiencing this on and off problem for at least 4 years now. I've kept food and drink diaries, researched on the internet (all the evidence I find is occasionally people with SIMILAR problems writing on boards like this with no explanations), and had an upper endoscopy done (all they found was some acid reflux) and every doctor just tells me to "not drink." A typical hangover for me, like MONBON said, involves throwing up bile ALL day long, an extreme migraine, weakness, and such terrible discomfort that i lay there immobile for up to 24 hours. It is so much more agony then I can possibly describe as exaggerated as that sounds.

However, I continue to drink because I'm 21 and there seems to be no rhyme or reason with it. There have been times and time periods where I've drank EXCESSIVELY and barely had a hangover at all, and there are times where I've consumed as little as a few glasses of wine and had this terrible day-long hangover. It's happened with beer, wine, hard alcohol, and every combination of the 3. I've also had normal hangovers or no hangovers with beer, wine, hard alcohol, and every combination of the 3. It is frustrating to not know what's wrong. I plan on drinking at my wedding one day, and its hard to not be able to socialize normally without knowing whether or not you're going to be deathly ill the next day.

I don't know what doctors to see anymore, I wish I could find some kind of specialist who knows what alcohol can do to the body so I can figure out what is wrong with me that this only happens 2/3s of the time. I don't think it's an allergy because i NEVER have any adverse symptoms while drinking. Nothing happens until the next day, sometimes not until the afternoon.

Any information would be GREATLY appreciated, feel free to e-mail me directly.