Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Alcohol

Curlyqueen

Recommended Posts

Curlyqueen Rookie
Curlyqueen
Posted

Hello!

My 21st birthday was the last time I was able to drink alcohol. I must admit I drank too much but it was the last time I was able to drink alcohol with out get instantly drunk. After that birthday a lot of my symptoms began. My symptoms were mainly due to a b-12 deficiency and resolved with supplementation but returned and gradually turned into digestive issues. Most of my digestive issues have cleared up since going gluten free October '11 but I still can not drink alcohol. The first time I relized I couldn't drink alcohol I took 3 sips of beer( before going gluten free) and I could barely walk straight. I felt hot and kind of sweaty. My stomach was in such pain. My stomach felt like it was in knots and I was so nausea. After that I didn't try alcohol until after I went gluten free and had been feeling pretty good. The second time which was a few months ago I made sure I had eaten something and after a few sips( 2-3) I felt the alcohol. I guess it was the equivalent of a buzz but it wasn't pleasant feeling. My heart felt like it was beat fast. I felt kind of warm and slightly impaired. It took about an hour for it to go away. After it went a away I felt a little hung over but the next day I felt ok(not great but ok).

Every doctor I have told this too pretty much brushes it off but I'm concerned it is the symptom of a bigger issue. But I'm concerned for several reasons. In the past I was able to drink alcohol. I was still a light weight and lots of factors would influence how drunk I got. I never had a big tolerance but I could at least have one drink in a social situation. Now I don't want to go near the stuff. So I think there is a health connection. Maybe some pancreas, liver or maybe even kidney disfunction. Maybe a deficiency in digestive enzymes? I do not have celiac disease ( non celiac gluten intolerance) and I was told I have a leaky gut ( but no kind of testing was done). I also have other symptoms that suggest that it would be worth considering if this is an issue related to the pancreas as I have been experiencing hypoglycemic symptoms.

Anyway I was wondering has anyone else experience difficulties digesting alcohol? Are there any solutions to make consuming alcohol easier? Any advice, suggestion or anything would be GREATLY appreciated.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


bartfull Rising Star
bartfull
Posted

After I had been gluten-free for about six or seven months. i went to a friend's birthday party and drank tequila. Tequila had bee my drink of choice for many years and believe me, I could put away a LOT of it. But that night I had about two drinks over the course of four hours.

I was SO drunk and SO sick, I vowed I'd never drink again. And I haven't. And that's fine with me.

Curlyqueen Rookie
Curlyqueen
Posted
  • Author

After I had been gluten-free for about six or seven months. i went to a friend's birthday party and drank tequila. Tequila had bee my drink of choice for many years and believe me, I could put away a LOT of it. But that night I had about two drinks over the course of four hours.

I was SO drunk and SO sick, I vowed I'd never drink again. And I haven't. And that's fine with me.

Ouch! Yeah I have no problem with not drinking. I'm not a fan of alcohol in the first place but I'm just concerned it is the symptom of something else or the sign of something greater( at least for me). It might be that alcohol is not for those who need to be gluten free :-(. Thanks for sharing your experience. I know I'm not alone

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted

Yup, your tolerance will change. Be careful out there. B)

Mateto Enthusiast
Mateto
Posted

I don't drink alcohol. I've had wine, beer, whisky/whiskey......never again. I never got drunk, I only had sips. It makes me instantly sick, so it's safe to say I'm alcohol-intolerant. But do be careful! Mouthwash has a different alcohol in it which can also make you (it does me) sick. You may want to see a doctor, but it doesn't seem to be causing you any side affects? Maybe you just cannot handle alcohol?

lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

My tolerance didn't change. I could still drink just as much as before, maybe even more as my weight went up. You are right in that a sudden intolerance or strange reactions to alcohol can also be a sign of something else going on.

rihard

Juliebove Rising Star
Juliebove
Posted

Yep! No alcohol for me. Two sips leaves me loopy. Wasn't that way many years ago but it is now. Gluten isn't an issue for me so I don't know what it is.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Guest retes231
Guest retes231
Posted

I also get drunk easily everytime I drink alcohol. It also makes me very sick that it made me never want to drink again.

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

For many years, if I wanted to, I could drink 2 Bombay Sapphire martinis ice cold/up (that's a lot of rocket fuel ) and feel "just right". :)

This was before I was very sick from celiac disease and lost 90 lbs.

I did not touch alcohol for 2 years because I was ill and my gut was a mess.

Now, I am a wimp. Cannot do what I used to do.

I asked the doctor his thoughts. Is it because I have minimal body fat now? Is it because of gut malaborption? is it because I am so "clean" in my diet? Do I suddenly have an intolerance for booze?

He said "Who knows. Maybe your tolerance level has changed because of your gut alteration." He was just speculating.

So, I rarely drink now and when I do, I have about 1/5 of what I used to have and make sure I EAT.

Austin Guy Contributor
Austin Guy
Posted

I find alcohol to be very irritating to my digestive system so I stay away from it. It fires up the leaky gut very quickly.

sjpatt37 Newbie
sjpatt37
Posted

Prior to going completely gluten free, I had a fairly decent tolerance of alcohol.

After, my tolerance changed tremendously.

This was at first a surprise, but, not an unwelcome one.

Since growing older the desire to drink until drunk, gave way to a pleasant having a cocktail or two without ever getting to the point of sick.

For me, it's now one or two drinks, occasionally... Most of the time I never make it to drink number 2.

I do agree with many of the others, a sudden and drastic intolerance may point to something else going on.. Be very careful.

lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

Not to scare anybody, but a sudden weird reaction or intolerance to alcohol is a symptom of Hodgkin's. With that said, I imagine the odds are MUCH higher that it's something else. However, if you have other symptoms or strange stuff happening along with this sudden intolerance, see a doctor.

richard

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. trents
      - trents replied to Ginger38's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      1

      Shingles - Could It Be Related to Gluten/ Celiac

      I don't know of a connection. Lots of people who don't have celiac disease/gluten issues get shingles.
    2. Ginger38
      - Ginger38 posted a topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      1

      Shingles - Could It Be Related to Gluten/ Celiac

      I’m 43, just newly diagnosed with a horrible case of shingles last week . They are all over my face , around my eye, ear , all in my scalp. Lymph nodes are a mess. Ear is a mess. My eye is hurting and sensitive. Pain has been a 10/10+ daily. Taking Motrin and Tylenol around the clock. I AM MISERABLE. The pain is unrelenting. I just want to cry. But Developing s...
    3. Russ H
      - Russ H commented on Scott Adams's article in Latest Research
      5

      Study Estimates the Costs of Delayed Celiac Disease Diagnosis (+Video)

      This is the test KelleyJo is referring to: Blood-Based T-Cell Diagnosis of Celiac Disease
    4. Russ H
      - Russ H posted a topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      0

      Coeliac UK Research Conference 2025

      There were some interesting talks, particularly Prof Ludvig Stollid's talk on therapeutics for coeliac disease. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRcl2mPE0WdigRtJPvylUJbkCx263KF_t
    5. Rejoicephd
      - Rejoicephd replied to Rejoicephd's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      5

      Basic metabolic panel results - more flags

      Thank you @trents for letting me know you experience something similar thanks @knitty kitty for your response and resources. I will be following up with my doctor about these results and I’ll read the articles you sent. Thanks - I really appreciate you all.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,376
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Citydweller
    Newest Member
    Citydweller
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Shingles - Could It Be Related to Gluten/ Celiac

      By trents · Posted

      I don't know of a connection. Lots of people who don't have celiac disease/gluten issues get shingles.
    • Ginger38
      Shingles - Could It Be Related to Gluten/ Celiac

      By Ginger38 · Posted

      I’m 43, just newly diagnosed with a horrible case of shingles last week . They are all over my face , around my eye, ear , all in my scalp. Lymph nodes are a mess. Ear is a mess. My eye is hurting and sensitive. Pain has been a 10/10+ daily. Taking Motrin and Tylenol around the clock. I AM MISERABLE. The pain is unrelenting. I just want to cry.   But Developing shingles has me a bit concerned about my immune system which also has me wondering about celiac and if there’s a connection to celiac / gluten and shingles; particularly since I haven't been 💯 gluten free because of all the confusing test results and doctors advice etc., is there a connection here? I’ve never had shingles and the gluten/ celiac  roller coaster has been ongoing for a while but I’ve had gluten off and on the last year bc of all the confusion  
    • Russ H
      Coeliac UK Research Conference 2025

      By Russ H · Posted

      There were some interesting talks, particularly Prof Ludvig Stollid's talk on therapeutics for coeliac disease.    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRcl2mPE0WdigRtJPvylUJbkCx263KF_t
    • Rejoicephd
      Basic metabolic panel results - more flags

      By Rejoicephd · Posted

      Thank you @trents for letting me know you experience something similar thanks @knitty kitty for your response and resources.  I will be following up with my doctor about these results and I’ll read the articles you sent. Thanks - I really appreciate you all.
    • knitty kitty
      My only proof

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      You're right, doctors usually only test Vitamin D and B12.  Both are really important, but they're not good indicators of deficiencies in the other B vitamins.  Our bodies are able to store Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D in the liver for up to a year or longer.  The other B vitamins can only be stored for much shorter periods of time.  Pyridoxine B 6 can be stored for several months, but the others only a month or two at the longest.  Thiamine stores can be depleted in as little as three days.  There's no correlation between B12 levels and the other B vitamins' levels.  Blood tests can't measure the amount of vitamins stored inside cells where they are used.  There's disagreement as to what optimal vitamin levels are.  The Recommended Daily Allowance is based on the minimum daily amount needed to prevent disease set back in the forties when people ate a totally different diet and gruesome experiments were done on people.  Folate  requirements had to be updated in the nineties after spina bifida increased and synthetic folic acid was mandated to be added to grain products.  Vitamin D requirements have been updated only in the past few years.   Doctors aren't required to take as many hours of nutritional education as in the past.  They're educated in learning institutions funded by pharmaceutical corporations.  Natural substances like vitamins can't be patented, so there's more money to be made prescribing pharmaceuticals than vitamins.   Also, look into the Autoimmune Protocol Diet, developed by Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, a Celiac herself.  Her book The Paleo Approach has been most helpful to me.  You're very welcome.  I'm glad I can help you around some stumbling blocks while on this journey.    Keep me posted on your progress!  Best wishes! P.S.  interesting reading: Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.