chest pain and difficult breathing a few days after drinking

It's Monday and of course we all hate Mondays. But for a fit 25 year old woman like myself, I am suffering from many of these symptoms. It is extremely embarrassing, frustrating, and at some points I just wonder if I'm going crazy when I have to roll over in bed in the middle of the night ot my boyfriend and tell him I feel like I am going to die. I too, suffer from the shortness of breath, the fast palpitations, the dry mouth, tremors, sweats, etc. ALL after a weekend of drinking. It's funny that someone said this above, but when I go for a run the day after drinking (obviously letting my body settle for a few hours), I feel so much better...But this weekend I didn't and last night was one of those nights where I felt cornered, panic stricken, edgy, scared, and as if I was going to have a heart attack. I never understood it because I'm in the best shape of my life, yet can't party the way I used to without feeling these symptoms. I often questioned myself if I was an alcoholic, but merely reading these posts just gives to show that as we age, our body makes massive changes that we just have to get on board with and cut back in the intake of substances that might be extremely harmful in the long run....I too had gone through cat scans, MRIs, wore a heart monitor (even while at the gym to test my level while running) , and NOTHING. I have a physical tomorrow to go over my blood work because I was so worried it was thyroid related. Perhaps it is all because of the alcohol? Scary how after reading all your posts this truly makes sense. I feel a sense of comfort knowing other people out there too have gone through what I have...My boyfriend and I are both very fit, yet he somehow doesn't respond the way I do with these symptoms.


Just curious, are there other mid 20 year olds who are athletes and have gone through this?! It just sucks when all my other friends are totally fine the next day (mild hangover, what not), and do not have these sleeping issues and troubles breathing after the weekend. ::Sigh:: atleast I know I'm not the only one out there suffering....

Hello,
Ok so I have something to say. I am very in tune with my body, I work out 3-5 days a week, and I have some health issues like:GERD, Anxiety attacks, and a few other health problems.  However, I have read about 5 pages of responses on here and have found that a lot of people  are blaming anxiety attacks and reflux.  Since I have both of those and medication for them I can assure you that when I drink and have one of these episodes I have tried taking both of those and it did not resolve the problem.  If I drink alcohol in mass quantities the next day I feel weird, get sicker from drinking a lot of fluids or eating, dizzy, blurred vision, chest pains, tingling in appendages, but the worst part is the shortness of breath and palpitations!  It's like my whole body is lethargic and struggling to function.  It doesn't start immediately, but about 20 hours after drinking is when it gets bad and it lasts for up to 48 hours after.  I have tried acid reflux pills and xanax for anxiety, but the chest pains, palpitations and shortness of breath are not affected by these medications.  if anything I think the xanax made it worse!!  I have had EKGs, blood work, and all sorts of tests, but nothing is showing up.  The only thing I can assume from my medical knowledge and what some of the more helpful people here have posted is that it is either to a electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, or as one member said a GABA imbalance. Alcohol is metabolized in your blood and then works it's way to your lungs and Urinary system.  It only makes sense therefore that you are reacting this way.  Alcohol also puts a lot of toxins in your body that your Urinary system has to filter, and if your body fluids are off then your kidneys try to compensate with urine output to maintain a balance.  However,  your kidneys also maintain your blood pressure balance and therefore need fluids and electrolytes to help balance it out.  The thing is you don't want to chug a gatorade, but take sips every few minutes and give your body time to recover.  If you chug a bunch of water or gatorade you are actually compounding the problem because your body then goes into shock and tries to balance itself the other way.  The best method I have found to deal with the issue is drink plenty of fluids before drinking, a glass of water in between and either a bottle of gatorade or smart water after I am done drinking before bed.  I know this is a bit complicated and not always convenient, however I think this is a better solution then suffering horribly for two days after. This method is not a cure all, and it does not completely solve the problem but it does help a lot.  I think it is mostly due to dehydration and an imbalance in the body system.
Dizzypea1

I have had all these symptoms over the last couple of years. I drank too much, slept too little, panicked every so often, had acid reflux, palpitations, tight chest, pins and needles, chest pain when lying on my side, short of breath, mild asthma.


I think electrolytes is the key for many of you.



There is a potassium based drug i have used in the past called 'Sando K'. It worked amazingly well for me (thats what its called in UK)

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Also, just thought i would mention that chest pains (that occur when sitting in different positions) could well be down to a pinched nerve in your back. Could be worth seeing a Chiropractor.

Chest pressure/pain and bad breathing problems here, same story.  My breathing issues are upper chest/throat area.  I am asthmatic, it is not the same as when I'm having asthma problems.  (had it since childhood)  Been battling it for 5 months.  Been through a bunch of tests...ekg, stress test, adn EGD to check throat/stomach.  I've gone from thinking it was GERD to allergy to maybe hypothyroidism now.  (which runs in my family)  I'm going to get that checked.  I'm 39, male, been a drinker for a while, fairly heavily for the past 2 years since my bro passed away.  It has affected my daily life and happiness.  I tried prilsec and nexium for a while...until I read the long term affects of those.  (getting off nexium is something else btw.)  I have tried the apple cider vinegar trying to treat reflux.  Obviously, my drinking has and needs to decrease.  I'm just hoping I can still do occasionally without issues.  I had nothing for 10 days, and still had some symptoms.  The breathing is the worst, asthma inhalers don't help.  I've been trying enzymes when I eat along with a B12 vitamin.  I've tried the magnesium a few times too.  I drink a lot of water, especially after drinking.  (rarely sports drinks)  I'm going to try the sports drinks some and see if they help.  Most of us seem to have the same issue...amazing.  Seems my body is trying to tell me something, hope it's not permenant.  Doesn't seem we'll ever get it pin pointed, other than alcohol.   

I know it's the alcohol, I know I will experience this the next day. I started treating the problem with drinking one or two beers before bed. Bad idea I guess, because then I end up with no non drinking days. Today I decided no more drinking. I am gonna tough it out. And then stop drinking so much. meanwhile I am sitting here feeling my heart squiggle skipping heart rate or what ever the hell it's doing. I freak out, and that makes it worse. This has only been happened ing for the last year and a half. If I don't get too drunk, I don't get the chest issues the next day.

i got an appointment day after i thought for sure i had a heart attack.. i was dancing and felt like my heart had stopped but was drunk so continued next day chest pain was unbelievable felt like i needed to clear my throat even trying to puke helped doc ran ekg said everything was normal but on day three and my chest is still hurting

I am only 20 years old and in college. This past summer while i was only 19 i started experiencing the issue talked about on this forum. This past summer, I really started drinking heavily (4-5 nights a week, 10+ drinks on average) and i smoked weed and dipped chewing tobacco just about every day and one day it started happening out of the blue. However, the issues i was experiencing were not really episodes, they lasted all day long until i got drunk again. I went to the doctor one day because i thought i was having a heart attack and he told me all the tests turned up negative and that I was perfectly healthy, and that the symptoms i was experinencing was anxiety related. However I am extremely carefree individuals and the only anxiety i feel is about feeling this way. I took a 2 week break from drinking, smoking and dipping, and the symptoms seemed to reside. However, when I went to college first semester I was pledging a fraternity where heavy heavy drinking was mandatory, much more than I do now, and the problems never arose. Then this semester about a month ago they started again. I cut out the smoking and dipping as it seemed to be worse when I would do either but the drinking has become such a part of my weekly routine that its become hard to stop (I'm a sucker for peer pressure). I dont drink that much water so I wouldnt be surprised if these problems were due to dehydration, however the only thing that differs from my symptoms and the symptoms I see on this forum are that mine tend to last from the time I wake up til the time I go to bed, and the only time I find relief is when I go to sleep, when I drink, and when I workout. Relative to many of my friends, I dont drink all that much, and the 20s are supposed to be the best years of your life so I don't want to cut it out completely just yet. I'm gonna buy some salt tablets and drink a lot more water as well as take a 2 week break to sober myself up, hopefully this solution will prove promising

After a week of heavy drinking I started to hear my fathers voice right when I get in bed.  I haven't sleep in about three day and these voices want go away. I took some Melatonin tonight thinking that would help but the voices are still there.  Any suggestions would be great.

there is a good way to reduce the symptoms the next day and that is before u go out get a pint glass with a big bottle of water next to ur bed before u go out, also put 1 or 2 sachets of dioralyte in the pint glass ready for when you get home and if u suffer with serious bad headaches aswell stick to ibuprofen there aswell, then when u get in put the dioralyte in with the water and neck it with the ibuprofen, this will stop you getting too dehydrated the next day, also after being awake its also really good to sleep a couple of hours of being awake, it will help you recover seriously quick, personally when i had to start doin all this i knocked it on the head and realise to some people alcohol can be very dangerous if you have a sensitive system, it does piss me off now tho not being able to get hammered but i just feel so much better for it, i do envy those who dont get these problems tho, i used to think hangovers were really funny untill the panics started lol

This thread is a now a mixture of people with anxiety and general problems.

olanzapine will sort that right out, its a halucenation, i get that but ive decided to stop drinking now altogether so i dont have to take meds, the voices used to make me jumpy, trust me if u can even get 2.5 mg, i am hypersensitive to all drugs including drink, ive tried nealy all the antipsychotics and olanzapine is THE only option when i get voices, and u dont get withdrawals coming off it either so if u could get some somehow u can just take it when u need it

hey people. its very interesting reading all the stories i must say. im now 27, and i have been having problems for the past 5 yrs, with chest pain, breathing problems, stomach problems etc. i have drank alcohol since im 13, but not very much till i was 18 really, because i was around it as i worked in a niteclub. anyways since im 22, every morning after being out the night before, i feel like im dying. even after a bottle of wine, i still feel like im dying. i presumed it was the cigerettes, but i gave them up and the problem still remained. i have been to every doctor possible, heart, lung, stomach etc, and they were all clear, they all said it was anxiety. i have been to a&e about 15 times over the past few yrs, and checked with my symtoms, but still nothing. i take xanax and nexuim but they help a bit. also my symptoms always accour the following evening, not the morning after a night out drinking. anyways the moral of the story is, i went to a new doctor about 1 yr ago and checked me and she noticed something on my back, a curve, so she sent me for tests and finally i got some answers, they said i have schuermanns disease, and bullging discs on my spine, and trapped nerves on the left side of my chest. if you google schuermanns disease it states it can cause breathing problems etc. anyways my point is that it might not be just anxiety, and an underlying problem. i would advice to get more opinions. i always knew there was something wrong with my body besides anxiety, and i was right. i know how ye feel with the symptoms. i dont really drink anymore, because im always fearful of the hangover, and the agony of 2/3 days feeling like c**p. hope i have been a slight bit helpfill. sorry for my thesis lol. slan :)

Alcohol relaxes the body while drinking it; afterwards it can have the opposite effect! This because alcohol reduces the blood flow to the whole of the body causing muscle cramps. Alcohol will also dehydrate you so drink lots of water. The effects will soon wear off once the alcohol has left your body.

hey again. i left a post just above the last one. i got more results back today, and also turns out i have a problem with my blood, so had to get a dna test done, for some reason, nothing to do with parential reasons lol. supposedly to do with enzemes, which causes other problems, breathing etc. so as i said before, its more than anxiety :)

Hi it would be great if you update us with the results of your DNA test.