Can You Tolerate Some Alcohol?

[Rachel Cox]

Lucky for me, wine is more helpful than harmful. We never really understood why until we researched my new drug to see if I could still have a glass of wine occasionally. Alcohol and mestinon are not recommended together because alcohol has the same anticholinesterase-inhibiting effect. So now, if wine is on the agenda, I miss my final dose of mestinon and voila(!) happy days. Honestly, wine is a lovely distraction for me from some of the less pleasant aspects of life. I am so glad I can still drink it. Good luck with the trials!

[Science girl]

Wow so glad you brought this subject up. I'm like many of you and i often feel better after a drink but have felt guilty about taking a drink since being diagnosised.

I have narrowed it down though to certain acholols. I live in Europe where people drink beer and wine at 11am so there is certainly opportunity to experiment. Lol I find Italy red wine (chianti and montepulciano) and dark Belgium Trappist beer (made by monks so maybe it's blessed lol) are great and I feel heaps better. I have some mast cell involvement but nothing they can test for here so it is all clinical diagnosis but I react well to mast cell stabilizers. I do flush a little on the first few sips but then it's fine. I get lots of pain and weakness that is better even the next day after 3 glasses of red wine or one Trappist beer.

I also drink one expresso ever morning which helps me heaps (but I need to be on omaprozole to deal with the acid in the coffee).

Interestingly all these drinks red wine, dark beer and coffee all have high levels of quercetin which is a mast cell stablizer so maybe that's why. If I take other acholols I find I have heaps more symptoms of both POTS and mast cell disease the next day. Many people say red wine is bad but I find it is only wines such as Malbec, franc, Cabernet Sauvignon make me flush really bad and make me feel worse. If I drink French, American or NZ wines then I go for a Merlot.

To kellysavedbygrace: I love your version of 2 Cor 4:8. I whole heartily agree!

[Angela]

weird, red wine, specifically cab was always my fav but i noticed caused GI issues that i do not otherwise have if i limit alchohol to only drinking vodka. I am russian in heritage, well, baltic region and that's only my mom's side that I know of so Idk if that has anything to do with what I can/cannot tolerate well. I havn't tried wine since i've been vegan (1 month today!) but notice that I am much more solid (so to speak). i seriously think genetics has something to do with tolerance of alchohol and certain foods. I mean, they say red wine is good for your heart & blood flow but the sugar level is like eating a slice of cheesecake.....ummm...which I certainly crave. my gi issues only occurred when I drank red wine, never liked the white wines;)

[Science girl]

I agree with you I'm sure genetics are involved. We all have so many things playing into our symptoms that you just need to see what you can tolerate and go with that. I haven't tried vodka but I also have no Russian blood. Lots of Irish so maybe I should try whiskey lol!

[Angela]

hah yes! me too! I have reason to believe my dad was irish, well i know he was catholic and my mother is jewish. i read (not from a "published medical site")

Decreases the Risks of Common Medical Issues

Dr. David J. Hanson of State University of New York states that people who consume one or two alcoholic drinks, including whiskey, daily have a 50 percent lower chance of having a stroke or developing dementia in old age. This moderate amount of drinking can also decrease the chance of developing diabetes by 30 to 40 percent. These benefits come from alcohol's ability to increase good cholesterol and decrease blood clots.

Decreases the Risk of Cancer

Alcohol contains ellagic acid, an antioxidant that destroys cancerous cells. According to a study presented by Dr. Jim Swan and colleagues at the 2005 EuroMedLab conference in Glasgow, Scotland, whiskey contains more ellagic acid than other types of alcohol, providing even more cancer cell-fighting antioxidants.

[HopeSprings]

I mean a sip of red wine sends me into a tail spin. i am not exaggerating. Heart starts pounding, blood pressure goes up, get very lightheaded, other cardiac oddities.

This is me too. I can literally feel it after just a few sips. Heart pounds, vision starts going black, dizzier. I've tried a few times - I can't do it... and boy, I'd love to!

[Lemons2lemonade]

I tolerate it ok too. Just make sure you have a few days to recover. Hangovers last a lot longer with pots.

[ramakentesh]

Im on mestinon and I drink the odd beer here and there with no ill effects.

[cyndi75rose]

I drink bacardi and diet. I am not an alcoholic and I don’t get drunk often but almost every night I drink a drink or two... I do it because for some strange reason, alcohol is one of the things that doesn’t mess with my dysautonomia. It helps! It calms me, Helps with the constant anxiety, I helps with the pain. I helps to lessen the skin crawling feeling I get every night. It helps me to sleep because normally I can’t sleep. I wake up with Night sweats, and palpitations, and insomnia, and the alcohol helps. I am not promoting alcohol but it helps me feel better.

[missmisfits]

I was at my family Christmas party, and my sister said I should try a sip of this really great wine someone had brought over. I took a sip, and it was really great! Then the next thing I knew, I was lying on the bed that I had just been standing next to. Apparently I blacked out. 2006: The first and last time I've ever drank alcohol while having POTS!

[bebe127]

I'm with you cindi75rose! I am not an alcoholic either, but I drink (beer) nightly and my husband and I agree that it makes me feel better. Don't understand it and quite frankly I don't want to at this point. Whatever will get me to feel better, if even for a shortlived period. My husband can always tell. I can have the crappiest of days, but when he gets home and we relax on the patio with our drinks, I'm always more relaxed and seem to feel so much better. I've have talked this over with my dr. I don't want to condone imbibing alcoholic drinks and what works for some might have a totally different affect on others. Know your limits and your body.