Spinal Pain Only While Drinking Alcohol

I have had this same problem since I was 18.  I am now 36 and still have the problem, and no one has ever figured out what is wrong. I, like you, keep away from alcohol because I never know when the pain is going to occur.  My sister and two of my female cousins get the feeling too.  Its very strange and hard to explain to others.  It's like a pain that shoots down your spine and almost paralyzes you with pain and makes it hard to breath for about 20-30 minutes or so.  I find eating and drinking alcohol at the same time are particular triggers or drinking something that combines hard alcohol with a sugary non-alcoholic mixer like soda or fruit juice causes the pain.  Other than that, I haven't been able to pin-point what is causing it.  It doesn't/didn't happen every time I drink, but it happens enough that I stay away from drinking most of the time. I am sorry I am unable to help you with a diagnosis...but I can tell you I understand your frustration in getting the pain and not knowing if something more serious is causing us to have an adverse reaction to alcohol.  The only thing I saw, other than an allergy to alcohol, was people having pain while drinking who had lymphoma.  If you have no other issues related to lymphoma or liver disease, I wouldn't worry about it just yet.  Good luck with your search. 

OMG- This is crazy. About 4 years ago, I was at dinner and had 1drink of a popular cooler and felt like I was slowly being paralysed. It hurt so bad that I started crying, sweating, and turning red. My husband just sat there helpless. About 3 weeks ago it happen with a cooler and I could only lay prone on the couch and wait for the spinal pain to subside 20 minutes later. I am posting this today 7/8/12 due to it happening again but to a mild degree when I drank a cheap wine while on vacation. My husband ask me research and see if anyone else has the same spinal pain with alcohol. I hardly ever drink but the few times that I do, It has caused a burning pain in my spine and sometimes labored breathing. What is the cause and who else is out there experiencing this awful symptom. Please help me!

You are defiantly not the only one. I have had the same feeling every time I just take a sip of alcohol. It could be the weakest stuff and I will be in pain. Last week though I tried a Redds apple ale which is 5% alcohol. i drank half of it and fell to the floor in pain. crying sweating and rolling trying to make it go away. it took an hour and thirty minutes and a heating pad for this pain to go away. I wish y'all had a clue what this is because i never want to feel that way again. Im not a drinker because of this pain and now i doubt i will ever again unless i can figure out whats wrong with me. Good luck y'all

I really don't know either. I am 41 and have a progressive neurological disease. I have also had spinal cord damage from Ehlers Danlos Syndrome hypermobility of the spine.

I don't know which neuromuscular disease I have yet. I am wondering if it is demyelinating disease. If that is the case the alcohol burning down the spine would make sense. The myelin is the protective sheath on the nerve axons. It's like the plastic coating on an electrical wire. So you could have basically sensitive nerves exposed. Alcohol crosses the blood/spinal cord barrier and the blood/brain barrier so it hits the nervous system very quickly. That is why it causes neurological dysfunction for everyone. But if you have damage in that area, it could be why there is burning. Please do the hypermobility test and see if you might also have EDS too! The other possiblity I don't suspect but I have unstable mast cells. See the list of other possible symptoms for mast cell activation disorders.

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