Alcohol Allergy?

[ddjohns83]

So, first let me say that I do not drink alcohol often even when I'm not doing the Whole30. I maybe drink alcohol once or twice a month and it is never more than a couple drinks at a time, even when I plan it to be. I've never liked alcohol really, especially beer. I really think I drank more in high school than college and certainly more than I drink now. That being said, I think I now understand my aversion to alcohol and maybe why I never understood why my classmates could drink almost every night and wake up and go to class without terrible hangovers. I also wonder if my rheumatoid arthritis symptoms that started in high school were directly connected to alcohol consumption (my gut feeling is yes). PS...my symptoms were the worst in high school...a lot of pain in my feet like gout, swollen joints, fatigue, loss of appetite.

When I drink alcohol, it doesn't matter what kind, gluten-free or otherwise, sugary or salty, I quickly get head stuffiness, fatigue, headache, crabby, swollen, bloated. This is not after a few drinks. This is after a few sips of one drink! And I feel it the next day, especially the bloating and swollen feeling. I seriously can get on the scale before I have a drink and get on the day after having a drink and the scale moves up 3-4lbs.

That all being said, I've told people I think I may have an allergy but never knew if there really was such a thing. My grams and my mom don't drink either for the same problem. My grams actually always told me she got really sick when she was younger and was bed-ridden for 2 weeks from a night out on the town. I always joked with her that she was just telling me that to make sure I didn't drink but now I think I understand. I did look it up recently and found it can be genetic for a small percentage of people and am wondering if I fall into that category or if it may be something else like the gluten (of course that doesn't help) or sulfites or a combination. The correct term is also alcohol intolerance but most call it an allergy.

Can anyone else relate to this?

[Karen]

I have that too, though I used to be able to handle it better when I was younger. I, too, don't drink often anymore, although a night out with coworkers last week actually left me with pitting edema on my for the first time ever. Beer is the worst - my joints start aching by the second sip, though I'm gluten intolerant. I'm curious how others are affected and why this happens.

[CAK911]

My mother has this. Like, she drank when she was younger and was basically ok, but she hasn't drank at all in about 30 years (she's in her 60s now) because she got to where she'd have a debilitating hangover from a glass of wine. She also had thyroid cancer, and has arthritis and gout (and diabetes, but that one started years after she quit drinking).