Reaction to alcohol

[midwestgirl80]

I am about two and a half weeks out of my Whole30, and it's been quite challenging! As I see most of us going through reintroductions are experiencing. My diary, gluten grains and non-gluten grains reintros all went okay. I didn't get terribly sick or have any major reactions, but they were noticeable - bloated, sneezy, runny nose, etc. And I have gone back to my restless sleeping patterns. After those reintros were done, I haven't been eating as clean as I had imagined I would. But that's a whole other topic!

This is about what happened when I brought back in alcohol. I had my first sip a week ago. I also ate non-Whole30 that day (pizza). When I woke up the next morning, my right eyelid was slightly swollen and itchy. It wasn't terrible- I was still able to go out in public. I drank again that night (and again, ate foods that weren't compliant, so not a controlled experiment). When I woke up the following morning, my eye was ten times worse- nearly swollen shut and covered in little red hives. I took an anti-histamine and a few hours later it had settled down but was still red and itchy the rest of the day. Because I had already brought back in dairy and grains and hadn't reacted that way, I was fairly certain it was the alcohol.

But now I'm positive because I drank again last night and the same thing happened! Same eye, same little hives, same itchiness, same puffiness/swelling. I can't find anything in the forum about people reacting this way. I read online that this is usually an indication of a food allergy rather than an intolerance, but why would I have developed an allergy all the sudden?! I have gone two months before without drinking (but not eating clean otherwise) and nothing like this happened when I brought it back in then.

Unfortunately I had both beer and wine both nights so I am unsure which was the culprit (if there was only one). How worried should I be? Do I need to see a doctor? I mean, I think it's pretty obvious what's causing it. But it does scare me I have just seemingly developed this allergy at 31!

[befabdaily]

First do a controlled experiment, i.e. eat clean for a week and only then bring in alcohol. Because you won't REALLY know what's causing it unless you do that.

Then introduce one type at a time. Drink only wine, go back to being clean, drink only beer, whatever.

It could be the alcohol itself (although that's not a reaction I've ever heard of anyone having) or it could be something in a particular beverage, like sulfites in wine.

[Tom Denham]

Allergic reactions to grains is common. It sounds like you were eating grains when you drank, so grains are a more likely problem than alcohol itself. Of course beer is made with grains, so that could be a double dose - beer and pizza.

When your body heals by feeding it clean for a while, it does not go back to the way things were before without a fight. It objects to things it doesn't like. You can probably get back to where you were before by eating your old diet long enough, but why would you do that when you know how much better you feel eating clean?

A doctor can prescribe anti-histamines to make going back to your old ways easier. And I guess you could be tested for food allergies, though you can fail to trigger positive results on a test and still have problems with a food. But what I think you should do is go back to compliant Whole30 eating for a week and think about how you really want to live your life.

[MonicaRenee144]

This isn't something covered on the whole 30, but have you looked into a yeast allergy? I have a couple friends with yeast allergies and they have very similar results (swollen eyes, itchy hive-like rashes, etc.) Just a thought! W30 pretty effectively eliminates yeast as well...so It might be worth doing a controlled experiment for that too.

Good luck!

[midwestgirl80]

Thank you everyone for your feedback and thoughts! I had come across sulfites as a potential culprit in my initial research, but not yeast. Upon further research, that too sounds possible. And Tom, thanks for the tough love - all things I have thought to myself already, but it's always good to see it in writing from someone whose opinion you respect! I particularly loved this part:

When your body heals by feeding it clean for a while, it does not go back to the way things were before without a fight. It objects to things it doesn't like. You can probably get back to where you were before by eating your old diet long enough, but why would you do that when you know how much better you feel eating clean?

That being said, doing is harder than believing and I am struggling. I had to travel for work a day after I wrote the opening post and the stress of travel plus the pain I was in (eyes were itchy and burning) plus feeling terrible about how I looked meant I did not eat Whole30 compliant. It wasn't out of control, and I did not touch a drop of alcohol, but it wasn't clean. And a week after the hives/swelling started, they had not gone down - in spite of taking anti-histamines every day and not drinking at all. I finally went to a doctor once I was back home who ordered me to eat only bland foods for a few days and gave me a steroid cream. Between the two, it was finally gone within 48 hours. Such relief!

Now that I am back to normal, I am definitely doing some soul-searching. I have an appointment with an allergist in January (the earliest they could get me in), and until then I'll be doing some experimenting, as well as trying to figure out how to break past my emotional issues with food. You would think if I KNOW something is going to make me very sick, I would not consume it, yet it is not that simple just yet! I have faith I'll get there though!