That makes perfect sense and I have contribued to this thread over the last couple of years as I suffer with all these symptoms. However if it were that simple why would everyone not get these symptoms? I am 29, fit and go to the gym / cycle copious amounts during the week, when I don't drink anything at all.
I never get pain but I have just read the gues posts by Legion who mentiones a sensation at the front of his left ribcage on his left side, thats absolutley spot on and something I get in phases. I was convinced I had a "collapsed left lung" for ages but of late I have not had this particular symptom.
Other things I have noticed is I don't suffer so much if I drink beer only - I don't usually drink lots of beer and it is although I dont get that drunk from it. If I have my usual tipple though which is wine, or if I drink spirits which I don't normally touch, it comes without fail, sometimes worse than others on occasion.
I find my heart pounds hard which effects my breathing. Lately I have also had the sensation that my dangly bit in the back of my mouth swells and bashed against the sides of my upper throat, and also detracts from the airway which gives me the sense of breathlessness. I am sure this is nonsense but it is what it feels like.
I had my liver checked in 2009 and it was in better than average condition. No further checks done, I just get on with it now. I am learning to love with it better and better, mine started around 2005, got awful around 2007 - 2008 and has improved since. I just stick my heels in and refuse to be affected, if it was serious it would have had me by now.
I have read these posts all the way through as I too have been suffering these same symptons. They always start the day following heavy beer drinking, fine in the morning (except slight hangover symptoms) then early to mid afternoon they come on without warning. I have found lying down completely flat and trying to relax and do slow deep breathing has helped them to subside, but they do recur sometimes, always just the next day. I've been lucky so far and not experienced these symptoms after drinking caffeine or certain foods. I know there are a lot of judgemental people posting on here that we should all just grow up and stop drinking, and probably that is a non-drinker replying. We all know that it is not that easy to do. What has worked for me is changing from regular beer to either Bud Select 55 or MGD 64. I found this on accident, as I was looking for a lower calorie beer. I found that after drinking even large quantities of this beer I did not have any chest pains or difficulty breathing or tingling sensations the next afternoon. These beers have half the alcohol of regular light beer. I can still "socialize" with my friends and feel like part of the crowd. I still feel some of the affects of the alcohol, but do not get drunk and after several months of this, I like not getting too drunk anymore. Quitting is so hard and wasn't even something I wanted to consider, and finding this lower alcohol beer has been wonderful for me. I thought I'd put this up there for others in the hopes that it may help.
Thanks Scott.....that would be very helpful!! Please make sure to check back in with the results. I have been following this thread for over a year now. My symtoms come and go but the breathing issue has made numerous appearances even without the presence of alcohol. Please ask your doctor about acid reflux and/or severe dehydration....possibly a severe withdrawl symptom. My doc said you can have withdrawl symtoms if you have over 5 drinks.
I have also noticed that if I don't drink beer and hydrate well when I get home, I have little to no symtoms the next day. I rarely drink anymore these days but if a social occasion arises, then I stick to a few mixed drinks.
Thanks again Scott....I look forward to hearing what you come up with.
Best,
Reguy40
I have had a lot of tests recently and though they picked up other issues they were not related to the symptoms of
(Actually they picked up some galbladder polyps and perhaps some Protienuria)
I thought I might have Hashimoto's thyroiditis , reactive hypoglycemia or hyperthyroidism but doctors think it is not that.
They think it is a type of nerve damage such as peripheral or automatic neuropathy, as a result of poor nutrition and drinking too much alcohol in the past damaging the myelin sheath.
Do a search for Peripheral neuropathy on Wikipedia and also look at Demyelination.
A lot of the symptoms will appear, basically when a trigger such as caffeine, alcohol or excessive excitement occurs the nerves could try firing but not work properly which will affect different involuntary bodily functions.
I will try and follow up more on this nerve damage because from what I have read the damage is permanent...
For the record I had Brain Scans, numerous blood tests, urine tests, xrays, artery ultrasound scans, ultrasounds.
I have this issues as well. It comes and goes and is not always just from drinking. I have Hypothyroidism and feel that I need to drink more water than the average person. I feel like if I work out a lot I will get sick if I don't drink enough water. Piecing together a bunch of the threads here I feel that the cause of our issue could be low sodium in the blood.
Hyponatremia
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyponatremia/DS00974/DSECTION=causes
Although this article doesn't specifically mention chest pain and breathing as a symptom I've read other websites that do.
A few people have mentioned that drinking pedialyte or gatorade fixed them up. Again as I drink a ton of water on a daily basis I believe I'm probably diluting my blood. Also Hypothyroidism is a contributing factor to hormones causing the low sodium. I believe I've read elsewhere that adrenal gland issues can also cause this. I think I've taxed my adrenals really hard in the past and they are somewhat weak. So there are many factors pointing to a possible low sodium issue. I will make sure I get electrolytes in every large glass of water I drink for a while and see if that fixes me up. I will post back with my experience.
If any of you have similar conditions as I do, or feel you drink way more water than most I'd be interested to hear about that too.
We should definitely try to pin down some similarities. So I think sharing any endocrine issues you have (thyroid, diabetes, lymph nodes, adrenal) could help us pin this down.
Thanks for all the posts people.
I just want to thank everyone for posting. I am a 22 yr old male and I had this start in May the weekend of cinco de Mayo. Needless to say I got excessively drunk on cinco de Mayo and the following night for a friends birthday. During those days I played 18 holes and 27 holes of golf as well while drinking. That Saturday afternoon I was have chest pain in my left side and was extremely worried, but tried to ignore it, and while leaving a movie Saturday night with my girlfriend my heart started to pound, I got tingles down my arms and a body feeling that I can't even begin to describe, and I became short of breath. Needless to say I freaked out and my girlfriend called 911 and I had an EKG and everything done and they said I just had a panic attack, and then I had another identical experience the following weekend after a day of golf and a night of drinking. I went into the ER and had blood tests, EKG, chest x-ray, the works... All of which came back negative, and my doctors said my heart was perfectly fine. Again they went back to the anxiety theory, and I refused to believe that I had anxiety, but they gave me celexa, and I guess that takes 8-12 weeks to fully kick in, and I had multiple experiences like the ones I previously mentioned after nights of drinking, but I also was given clonazepam for situational anxiety, and I will say that when I take those if I feel an "attack" coming on it does help me. I have had the worst 3 months of my life since this has started. It has affected who I am on a day to day basis. I want to believe that the docs are right and that it is just anxiety, but it is extremely difficult when you have chest pain and your an extremely healthy and active 22 yr old.
One thing I was told, that many of you may not know is that excercise can supposedly help rid a lot of this. I just quit playing college hockey before all of this had started, and I am not going to lie I was a lazy piece of sh*t for a while because it was the first time in my life where I had free time, and I wanted to enjoy the college experience without having to go to team workouts, practice, etc... Well anyways I guess when your body is use to working out, your brain makes more serotonin while you excercise, and less when your being lazy. They sort of described the pain, and panic to me as taking a hamsters wheel away... A hamster has no idea what to do if they can't run on that wheel. It started to make sense to me because I never had any problems with anxiety untill my hockey career came to an end. I can't say that this is the cause for the chest pain, but they did say a heightened sense of anxiety can be caused due to lack of excercise.
I have also been diagnosed with something called chostochondritis, because my chest pain has now remained somewhat constant. They believe that I might have caused it myself by stretching out my chest so much while I had these chest pains after drinking. I have developed cracking in my chest where my ribs meet my sternum, and I guess it is due to cartilege inflamation.
Just reading other's stories has really helped to calm me down, and I am going to try to use the advice that you all have given. Thank you very much!
While the various symptoms of a panic attack may cause the victim to feel that their body is failing, it is in fact protecting itself from harm. The various symptoms of a panic attack can be understood as follows. First, there is frequently (but not always) the sudden onset of fear with little provoking stimulus. This leads to a release of adrenaline (epinephrine) which brings about the so-called fight-or-flight response wherein the person's body prepares for strenuous physical activity. This leads to an increased heart rate (tachycardia), rapid breathing (hyperventilation) which may be perceived as shortness of breath (dyspnea), and sweating (which increases grip and aids heat loss). Because strenuous activity rarely ensues, the hyperventilation leads to a drop in carbon dioxide levels in the lungs and then in the blood. This leads to shifts in blood pH (respiratory alkalosis or hypocapnia), which in turn can lead to many other symptoms, such as tingling or numbness, dizziness, burning and lightheadedness. Moreover, the release of adrenaline during a panic attack causes vasoconstriction resulting in slightly less blood flow to the head which causes dizziness and lightheadedness. A panic attack can cause blood sugar to be drawn away from the brain and towards the major muscles. It is also possible for the person experiencing such an attack to feel as though they are unable to catch their breath, and they begin to take deeper breaths, which also acts to decrease carbon dioxide levels in the blood.
Looks to be a pretty common issue- one which I have suffered from on/off for years.
I'm a 27 y/o female and I often get the following symptoms following a heavy night of drinking:
-chest pain- mostly a very heavy/crushing pain but sometimes sharp if I move/bend down
-Pins & needles in my right hand
-Twitching of the thumb & forefinger
-Trouble swallowing- really sharp pain in throat that comes on suddenly
These symptoms only usually last for the following day, but sometimes for 2-3 days.
I have been diagnosed with Wolff Parkinson Whyte Syndrome, during an ECG for a surgery I had (Non cardiac) a little while ago. Not sure if these symptoms are related.
I also used to suffer from anxiety & panic attacks when I was younger- and this is completely different to those!!
Hasn't anyone found out what this is yet?!?