Does Anyone Feel Better When They Drink Alcohol?

[kayjay]

Do any of you do better when you have alcohol? I do not like to drink but with a little wine (I mix it with water) my heart rate and blood pressure are so much better. I do take a Beta blocker (metoprolol) and Lexapro and I worry about drug interactions so i make sure to not have more than one drink an hour... but it really slows me down (and that is a good thing). Does this happen to anyone else? Is there something else that could have the same effect that is not alcohol (I really don't care for it)? TKS

[skyblu]

For years having one glass of wine before dinner made me feel better. It kind of cut the edge off of things and just made me feel "good". I got a nasty virus for 6 weeks over the holidays and after that I didn't seem to do too well with my glass of wine. One night, several months ago I got very tachy after drinking less than half of a glass and I haven't had any since.

[ramakentesh]

God yes! Ive been saying this for years. My doctors all just shrug because the theory is that alcohol is ALWAYS bad for POTS and OI.

However, some forms of POTS may be caused by excessive vasoconstriction (reduced nitric oxide or elevated NE levels) and this might explain why alcohol is helpful to some patients.

Also in a small percentage of normal people, alcohol results in vasoconstriction rather than vasodilation - and a resultant increase in blood pressure.

I find that when im brain foggy and very weak, a light beer works wonders. To the point where on holiday Id have one before shopping or whatever and id feel almost normal, or at least greatly improved.

Secondly, small doses of alcohol seems to slow my brain down in crowded overstimulated environments so that I can keep up with the conversation.

Check the veins in your hands when it improves you - in me they become very dilated, whereas when symptomatic my hands are cold, veins disappear and I have vasoconstriction.

[kayjay]

Ram- I know I must have elevated NE levels. I was actually first misdiagnosed with pheochomocytoma 3 times based on 24 hr urine tests. I just get paraniod about the wine b/c I am on a beta blocker and Lexapro.

[potsgirl]

I love to have my Riesling or White Zin, but don't drink it very often due to some of my meds. It makes me feel a little better if I don't drink it too quickly. Otherwise, I feel almost drunk off of one glass of wine - which is probably due to how rarely I do drink. I usually have a glass every 2 - 3 weeks, but may increase that to see what happens. Darn it.

Cheers,

Jana

[bjt22]

One glass of wine can ease angina/cluster headaches for me. That said, I can feel the alcoholic effects of just that one glass. No tolerance. Very cheap drunk/date. Two glasses of wine when I'm feeling fairly decent can definitely cause slight to moderate enebriation. Not always a bad thing...hey, is it so bad to not mind feeling crummy every now and then?

[ramakentesh]

I read somwhere the acute alcohol intoxication can improve norepinephrine reuptake, but that chronically it reduces expression on NET.

[Mcsissy]

It's crazy bc I'd been avoiding alcohol but we had a very festive family situation two days with family and friends and I can barely walk right now. During the time I was drinking I was able to walk, stay alert, and it's just been so nice and such a relief. I haven't felt that good in so long

[WinterSown]

I can drink a glass of pInot grigio and feel awesome, a glass of pinot noir will make me turn as purple as that wine. Tolerance is going to be individual but I find a glass of white wine and a little something salty to nosh on is as good as medicine. Happy hour really is!

 

[cmreber]

I can tolerate wine and I'm also taking Metoprolol. No issues with that and I asked my cardiologist and he said it shouldn't be a problem. You might check with your doctor though, just to be sure!

[HangingByAThread]

Yes!  Before I knew I was hyperadrenergic I had such horrible insomnia each night.  I was too tired to do anything but too wired to sleep.  I'd lie in bed but then the tremors would start, as well as involuntary muscle movements.  I got into the habit of having 1/2 a bottle of beer each night while watching tv in bed and the next thing I knew, I was out cold (my tolerance went way down some years back when all my symptoms started). 

Now that I'm on meds, I feel they really help control the adrenaline rushes (and stopped the migraines) so I don't drink (that and the fact that the doctor said I shouldn't and also, I suddenly started having allergic reactions to beer)   but once or twice a year I will have a shot of Jägermeister (like for my birthday) just so I don't feel totally deprived.

[kpflma]

On 7/12/2009 at 9:04 PM, kayjay said:

Do any of you do better when you have alcohol? I do not like to drink but with a little wine (I mix it with water) my heart rate and blood pressure are so much better. I do take a Beta blocker (metoprolol) and Lexapro and I worry about drug interactions so i make sure to not have more than one drink an hour... but it really slows me down (and that is a good thing). Does this happen to anyone else? Is there something else that could have the same effect that is not alcohol (I really don't care for it)? TKS

Me too Kayjay! A glass of white wine tends to level off my blood pressure (my BP is usually low/often variable) and clear up my mind. I have always thought that was weird. Red wine makes me feel worse though --the tannins I guess. I do worry about the dehydration effect, but it does seem to help. 

[green]

Yes. Alcohol also sometimes seems to be good for me.

[Peter Charlton]

Last night I posted a question on the relationship of heart beat rate to blood oxygen, I also mentioned in that post that my blood oxygen, which is normally much to low, went up to a very good 99% when I drank a small whiskey, so I did the same again tonight. Where you see the green blood oxygen level quite high at the beginning of the following graph, was whilst I was drinking this small whiskey!. It soon returned to its normal low self though.

[KiminOrlando]

@Peter Charlton Have you googled 'alcohol and sludging'? You might have to add 'blood' to that. I don't know. It could explain the heart rate too.

I didn't find an explanation for the increase, but I found one for the decrease in O2. Interesting.

[statesof]

Early in my POTS I would find that a shot of alcohol would make me feel more 'normal' and less exhausted from sleep the following morning, but now I find I really can't tolerate it at all, I'm guessing just changes with my condition over time.

[Peter Charlton]

On 1/15/2018 at 11:33 PM, KiminOrlando said:

@Peter Charlton Have you googled 'alcohol and sludging'? You might have to add 'blood' to that. I don't know. It could explain the heart rate too.

I didn't find an explanation for the increase, but I found one for the decrease in O2. Interesting.

I only had a single shot so wouldn't have thought it would be enough to cause blood sludging which as you said, would cause a decrease rather than an increase in blood oxygen. But you suggestion has pointed me to another possibility, as alcohol is a drug that depresses the central nervous system, I wonder if the imbalance of my Autonomic Nervous System that is causing my low oxygen content and breathlessness, is temporarily put back to normal by the temporary effect of alcohol?.

I will mention this to the Neurologist that my GP has today referred me too.

 

[DizzyGirls]

I think you are right about the fact that alcohol depresses the central nervous system, and, therefore, giving you some positive results.  My daughters have that kind of effect with anesthesia.  My oldest has a procedure coming up that she will need anesthesia for, so she is looking forward to it because it might bring some of her symptoms back to baseline and give her a little respite until they kick in again a few days later. 

[Samantha91]

I wish it was the same for me. I had a glass of wine and within the hour I had the worst headache ever!! Alcohol just does not agree with me! Anyone else get the same feeling??

[Guest alkria]

I feel better while on it, the worst will be to come at 3 or 4 in the morning though after drinking if I haven't checked the right boxes. If I consume the right amount of water while on it, salt load and possibly skip or have a smaller meal in the evening, I can sometimes evade any issues, but it isn't really worth the risk for me anymore.  If I'm at home or in a right POTS setting it should be fine, but often if I went drinking in town I would have to walk a mile back which just excerpates the recovery. Going pub/bar can also be taxing if you want to get involved in dancing and often walking to get around. 3 or 4 in the morning is when the real dehydration sets in and at this point it is really hard to hydrate yourself again. The issue then I think is drinking too much water quickly, which then flushes more minerals your body - as your liver has used some to detox the alcohol. 

My symptoms are very mild. I can go a whole day without knowing I even have dysautonomia. When I consume a large meal (e.g. pasta, potatoes), I will get fatigue and heart rate increase with mild shortness of breath. When I'm ill my symptoms get exceperated more. I have hyperadrenic, so if my blood pressure gets lowered from drinking or eating, this will infact be worse when lying down after night out, so my symptoms mostly disappear from standing up till I can restore more of the balance. 

Now I take small amounts of salt throughout the day and have more or less eleviated my mild symptoms.

It is really annoying as I'm 25 and still have friends regularly going out, then this also ties into the dating scene, but I have got more used to being sober in drinking environments now. Friends still smoke cannnabis with some film nights etc. I used to enjoy smoking this in only social occassions, but stopped when I came down with candida infection/dysautonomia and at the time didn't know what was going on, so this created some anxiety I never ever had before and caused me to distrust it. Cannabis lowers blood pressure, so I think I might be able to smoke this again if I salt and water load a lot before it and avoid a large meal. It would nice if I could at least have one social drug I could go to occassionally again.