Shoulder cramps after drinks some types of alcohol

i have same problem. Not happened for a long time, but it used to happen after drinking Smirnoff ice mainly and sometimes cocktails I was thinking its the sugar. When I got it I chewed chewing gum and it went every time! Really random but not a clue what it's about, doctors think its nothing and I'm over reacting!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ MY STORY I BELIEVE I MAY HAVE THE ANSWER... I BELIEVE IT MAY BE A DEFIECIENCY THAT'S NOT CHECKED IN REGULAR BLOOD TESTS!! .Be patient as I write how I speak lol!! hi all I went to write in this forum before but it would have been the same as many others saying Ive suffered from it but have no answer .... until now!!! ( touch wood ) When I was 17 (11 years ago) I used to be able to drink all sorts vodka, Bacardi breezier, wine etc ... the usual then one night I went out and had the reaction (like many others have on here) what i can only describe as my muscles seizing up and spasms in the back of my neck and shoulders the pain is awful you try to rub it but doesnt help, but only lasted about 20-30 mins max!! The first time was from drinking Smirnoff ice!! I didn't realise till I had another bottle a few days later that it was that, that caused it as it happened again!! So I just avoided Smirnoff Ice I was young and just thought I must have had a reaction but never bothered to follow it up then it started happening with vodka, bicardi breeder, carrabean twist!! I was gutted as these were my faves!! So i just avoided them and never drank them again!! The only things at that time that I was ok with seemed to be Malibu, armeretto, baileys, cider, wine and beer!! So i just stuck to things i knew wouldnt give me a reaction!! I had my first son ten years ago and seemed to be ok with the drinks that I knew was safe but after having my second son 6 years ago I felt drained etc I never had depression but just always on the go with him so put it down to that! ( by the way this is linked with what I'm going to tell you) over the years i had to watch cocktails as some had things i didnt know i was "allergic" to So about 2 years ago I started to have the reactions with malibu, magners and bulmers cider ( but not Stella cidre!!) These were my safe drinks that I could always rely on not to have the effect and they had started to give me that reaction so once again I cut these ones out!!! I mainly drinked Rose wine more than anything else as I always enjoyed it and in the 11 years of drinking it was always ok!! Until last year and low and behold I had the famous "reaction" to it!! I was gutted and annoyed as I'd never gone to the docs as I knew I could avoid the situation by not drinking what caused it .... BUT when it come to rose , a drink that I'd always been bloody fine off I knew I had to do something!! Oh and also around the same time it happened off innocent apple juice and pure apple juice not concentrated apple juice so I began thinking it was the acid or something like sulphates in the alchol!! I'd also been getting fit with lots of excercise and I had to stop as my knees were constantly burning and constant leg ache!! But at the time it was summer so I'd have a drink after my jog or Zumba sessions, although I never had the neck spasm of my "safe" alcholic drinks , this burning knees and leg ache was happening!!! (which I've now linked why) I had gone to the docs last year about my leg muscles aching but forgot to mention about my alcohol experience as i didnt think they were linked at the time and also i was more bothered about my legs!! he gave me some naproxin and just said your muscles have probably inflamed take these!! any time i have inflammation ibroprofen based products always work and these never so i knew it wasn't muscle inflamitary!! then a couple of minths later i went again this different doctor checked my legs over and groin!! still nothing!! didnt have a clue and just sent me away with no answers really!!! .. I'd read this forum as part of my research as to what the hell Ive got!! I had looked years ago but nothing really came up!! I read on here about hodgkinsons lymph but I knew I didn't really have that as it not really other symptoms that related to it plus I'd had it for over ten years and I'm sure it would have severed by now!! So when I went to see the new doctor ( who was brill and actually took time to listen) she said she'd never heard of anything like it and will try and do some research and send me off for blood tests and scans on my liver kidney Gaul bladder etc) I told her about this forum and how no one knows what it is and is also read on here about low sodium!! When my first lot of bloods came back it said I had low sodium in my kidneys I thought "yeahhhh" that's what it is!! .. just lacking in salt as I don't add it to anything and don't really eat much added salt stuff!! Reading up on it, the symptoms were there ..... BUT NO I got retested to make sure before she put me on sodium tablets and the bloody results came back ok!! I was back to square 1 but luckily she stuck with it she sent me off for multiple blood tests and it took her a couple of months a time to keep getting back to me she just didnt have answers she also confirmed that i would of have had other symptoms if it was hodgkinsons lymph as its gone on for so long!! Which I knew anyway!! Then when she rang me back she said it might be a VITAMIN D deficiency ( which is actually a hormone) believe it or not For years I kept saying I felt deficient of something like being anemic but my iron was always ok when tested even through pregnancy, I had my blood sugars tested aswell they were fine suprisingly as I often feel light headed!! I started researching vit D and thought " nahh" thats lack of sun but then it dawned on me I'm not good in the sun always like the shade or when I do sit in it I feel ill, like sun stroked!! Funny because I'm mixed race black carrabean and white and people always laugh and presume id be good in the sun but i was born here ( England) I've never got any energy, always feel lethargic and achy etc but definatly got worse over the last 6 years!! Well my doc sent me for vit d test aswell as loads more others AGAIN and after a few weeks ( as its a long one) it came back that I had vit d deficiency! I can't remember how low it was but it was low!! She put me on some vit d tabs she was advised by a specialist to start me of on a low prescription dose for a month and then retest me in 3 months then up it to a higher dose!! Well I took my months supply she gave me and didnt feel physically any better I tried my best to sit in the sun ( well when it decideds to appear yes typical british weather) as this is the best form of vit d and went of my own back to buy a higher spray dose from online chemist!! As i want to get myself better as wuick as possible but like iron it supposedly takes 3 months to get into your system!! It's now been 2 months of taking vit d and I don't feel as achy as before knees and leg ache have got better but still feel lethargic and not much energy!! Anyway sorry to bore you and fill you in with nitty gritty details.... But this is where we get back to the alcohol!! As I said before I the last year to 2 years i couldn't drink magners rose etc i have started drinking rose with no effect what so ever not even burning knees or muscle spasms and I had a a good few magners last week which someone brought for me i asked for stella cidre but they didnt have any so they brought magners and because it was in a pint glass rather than a bottle i didnt know till i drank a quarter of it and nothinggg... No aching spasms, no reactions... nothinggggg!!!! So obviously I carried on drinking it and couldn't believe it!! I know you might get a lot of sun so my story may not make sense to you but please please get your VIT D checked I believe I've had it for over ten years and its got worse and worse esp with having my kids then finally my body's told me enough and showed signs and there was no way I was knocking rose in the head like I had with other drinks ( if it was a serious health issue then obviously I would but to have spasms cramps etc that last 20 mins text that was just unexplainable) by the way I'm not a heavy drinker I will probably consume a bottle of wine a week Or have a few drinks now and again (but nothing serious or binge) I believe in my case the 2 are linked!!! Hope this helps atleast one person out there Also my mom who is very anaemic and had a cancer scare ( so she covers up in the sun hat factor 60 etc) went to the docs a couple of years ago because she felt like her iron was really low had the symptoms etc of how she feels when its really low got tested to put her on a higher dose and they said her iron was fine infact it was really good, so she mentioned she read about vit d somewhere having a similar effect but the doctor dismissed it and didnt test her!! My mom didnt push it and just went to the chemist to top up and she felt better after a few months ( love how she didn't tell me this till after I'd told her I'd been diagnosed with vit d deficiency lol) SO please push your doctor if they won't test you for it!!! Thankyou for taking the time to read this I know its long winded my spelling and punctuation isn't the best but I'm sure you understood the context and I wanted to tell you in my words what I've experienced!!!

PLEASE read my answer for some reason its not coming up on my mobile even tho I wrote if from my mobile its only coming up when I click on view full site!! It may be because its long winded!! I also forgot to mention in it that aswell as explaining the pain as painful muscle spasm cramps its so tense!! Also I never had the burping sensation or sickness!! But exactly the same as others please read my story MINES A Simple DEFICIENCY!! Thanks

I also get the same symptoms, however mine last all night.  I get severe shoulder and neck pain for hours and a lot of nasal congestion.  These symptoms occur after 2-3 sips and then I'm down for the entire night.  All alcohol does it . Wine is the worst. I wish someone could please let me know what this about.  

Yesterday morning after a rough night, my upper back was quite sore and I felt a lot of muscle tension all day, like how I feel when I've been sitting at my desk all day. By the time we got to the reception, it had gotten worse and I felt like my back needed a good cracking. Then I had some champagne and a really sweet shot of something and the pain in my back got so much worse, especially in my shoulder. I was in pain all night. I also got congested and got a bit of a runny nose. I remember getting pain in my neck from wine several years ago, but last month I drank a lot of champagne at a friends' house with orange juice and I felt nothing. I only drink about twice a year. I know I have a sulfite sensitivity from a test I did, could this be the cause?

 

O my god im so glad im not alone with this., I have crippling shoulder pain like a dull ache but very very high level pain, only when i drink cider quickly or weirdly if i have lots of icing sugar? its been happening for about 2 years and is quite infrequent ( thankfully ). But its happening more now so i thought id google it, i was worrying it might have been diabetes related sue to high levels of sugar apparently being the trigger. So weird.. i also might mention it to my doctor next time i see her. xx

I have the same problem!! Have for more than 10 years. I'm not much of a drinker, so its not an issue often enough for me to try to get doctors to resolve it, but I've learned through the years that its the combination of sugar and alcohol that brings it on. I've never gotten it checked out, and I'm in good health otherwise.

My symptom is a dull throbbing pain in my right shoulder, it starts within a few minutes and lasts for about 30-45 minutes. I've found that it goes away faster if I drink a lot of water... though it rarely happens these days since I just avoid the combination. The wrong combination for me is any sugar, whether combined with alcohol directly, or consumed prior to drinking, for instance drinking a can of coke, eating cake, etc, then drinking alcohol say an hour later - throbbing shoulder, though the more time between sugar intake and drinking alcohol the less the pain is. If my alcoholic drink is sugary...throbbing pain almost instantly. 

I can drink hard liquor, without any sugar added or consumed in the same time period, and be just fine. Alcohol will make me turn red in the face, and generally really warm me up. Unless I'm active while drinking (like walking, dancing, lively conversations), alcohol will make me exhausted quickly, its a bone-deep exhaustion where I just want to crawl into bed, and a proceed to sleep for hours; with my ability to be woken up directly correlating to how many drinks I've had.  If I'm actively engaged in something while drinking, I can generally have upwards of 5 or 8 shots in an hour or so period and remain cognizant.   (At least I think so!)

 

I started getting the same pain from my first drink after my first child was born. I can still drink beer and don't even like wine. I get hot flushes, pain in the shoulder and down the arm and feel sick. I have just had my gallbladder removed but have not yet had a drink as I don't want to risk that pain. But a friend experienced the same pain for years, til she got her gallbladder removed. Now she can drink anything.

Its the combination of additives and citric acids and high fructose corn syrup. Its basically a form of heart burn. Try drinking lots of non diet mtn dew. It causes some sort of reaction in many people.

I know this feed is old, but I too have this problem. When I drink strong drinks that have sugar in them, sangria, or frozen margaritas, mai tais; etc I get this painin my right arm near the pecs. I feel terrible for about 30 min and usually have to lay down. I figured it had to do with the sugars and the alcohol. I feel like I am having a heart attack!

I have had the same problems as everyone else after drinking margaritas.  After an episode tonight, I decided to do an online search. I did find a post from a doctor who said this pain was called by a spasm of the sphincter of oddi.  Essentially, the spasm blocks the flow of bile and enzymes into the stomach and thus, it backs up into the pancreas and liver causing intense abdominal pain.  After reviewing the information online, this seems like what is happening to me.  You may want to research that term to see if the description fits your condition as well.  Unfortunately, I haven't found any solutions to the condition besides avoiding the triggers.  But, as others have mentioned, I have found relief with milk and Tums.  However, if I drink milk right before I drink a margarita, that usually prevents an episode.

I have had this happen twice recently. It has happened before, but not in awhile. I had two Margaritas about two weeks ago, and started feeling growing tightness, uncomfortable spasms in my shoulders and upper back. Turns into miserable feeling. Almost nauseous and then belching a bit. Soooo uncomforatbles, almost like heartburn, but not!  Then tonight, I had two Mango Daquaries and it started again. Very scary and hard to describe. Anyone have any ideas what causes it? Know it has to be the sweet, but why that reaction?

 

Like all the posts before me, I am so relieved that I am not the only one out there. I have had this problem since I was little. it started with Welches strawberry soda.  It only took a few cans at 15 to make me realize not to drink it. Since then the pain in my shoulder and tightness in chest with the burning blood feeling has happen a few times with mixed drinks, most recently with Bud Light Lime-a-Rit. It was a hot day and I drank a small can in 2 gulps and I thought I was going to die. this was the worst episode I have ever had. No answers as to why or how to stop other thank avoid mixed drinks.i am trying Prilosec asleep if that works. I plan on checking this board often to see if anyone discovers the cure to this...

I noticed when I drink sugary drinks I have this problem. Alcohol eventually turns into sugar. So there is a possibility your body is temporarily being over loaded with sugar and alcohol.

The stronger the drink the faster it hits me.  Those fun mixed drinks where you couldn't taste any alcohol almost became a game.

Taste nothing but react.... yup booze in it.

How much can I drink before it hits.  It feels like I'm playing chicken with a migraine

Got bored quick, gave up drinking all but wine coolers

it's written down alot but I'm glad to see I'm not alone and it's not all in my head