Yikes! Alcohol And My Pots Don't Mix

[sue1234]

I used to drink beer in my younger years, then quit probably 20 years ago because I had begun a few meds and didn't want any interactions. So this past summer I decided I can drink beer again. Keep in mind, in my past I was a lightweight compared to others when drinking, so I didn't drink much.

Well, I bought gluten free beer and began to drink one in the evening. One is 10 oz. Some evenings I would just get a big buzz. Other evenings it felt like I drank 3x what I really did. All of this off of 10 oz.!! I cannot handle any alcohol apparently. I'll admit just one night early on, I drank 2 beers over about a 2 hour period, and I almost had to hold myself up holding the walls!!

I quit after 6 weeks. What I thought would be a nice way to relax like other people turned into me feeling out of sorts all evening. I guess maybe since we usually have a lower blood volume, it gets more concentrated?? That's just my own theory. Anyway, once again, no drinking for me.

[MomtoGiuliana]

I am not sure what the explanation is. Maybe alcohol can act enough as a vasodilator to cause low blood pressure to plummet for some. I know typically I do not feel well after even one drink. Typically I will drink very tiny amounts if I drink at all.

[Jan]

Alcohol IS a vasodilator. It lowers blood pressure. That is why sometimes people freeze to death when they are drunk and don't realize they are dying, the veins are so dilated they don't feel the cold. I don't know how anyone with low blood pressure can drink it and not get more symptomatic?

[Katybug]

Between POTS and MCAS, alcohol has become the devil for me. Half a glass of wine, half a beer (forget mixed drinks) and I'm sometimes unable to walk because I can't control my leg muscles. I get severe burning joint pain, headache, violent projectile vomiting. And none of the fun to go with it!! Lol!

[yogini]

Some of this may not be POTS related. You lose your tolerance if you haven't had alcohol in a while. Other factors play a part, like if you drink on an empty stomach it will go to your head a lot faster than if you are full. It also depends on the quality of alcohol and what your body can tolerate. White wine is the easiest for me to drink. I have many non-POTS friends who can't handle more than 1 drink a night.

After getting POTS I took a couple year break from alcohol, but was able to drink again after a while. My tolerance is actually fine but I get after effects (like a hangover) more easily. I will feel sluggish, have a headache and POTS symptoms like rapid heartbeat and dizziness the next day (or days). I don't drink every day because I have to rehydrate/recover.

Many POTS patients can't tolerate alcohol, but many of us can. For me it is not only relaxing but made me feel more like a "normal" person to drink socially. It might be worth experimenting gently. For example you could have 1/2 a can of beer or 1/2 glass of wine rather than 2.

[MomtoGiuliana]

That's interesting Katybug--one symptom I get even from just a small amount of alcohol is burning muscle pain and weakness. I assume it is due to vasodilation but really not sure.

[fitnesskelly]

I can do the occasional hard cider because it's gluten free and so low in alcohol. It does cause me symptoms, but I don't feel horrible with one. All other alcohol, esp. wine makes me feel horrible, so I just avoid it. Even a couple sips of my husbands wine will make me feel horrible. I have yet to get a diagnosis, but I'm thinking it's either MCAS or having been on almost a year of antibiotics for possible Lyme that have caused this strong intolerance to wine.

[cmreber]

It definitely seems like it affects a lot of us very differently, and it seems while some people can tolerate it rather well, others can't drink at all. I would definitely say take it easy and do whatever works for you. For me, as long as I stay really hydrated and don't drink on an empty stomach, I'm okay with wine. Hard alcohol, especially tequilla seems to give me a pretty high heart rate though. One thing I do enjoy about drinking wine socially is that it helps with the anxiety I can sometimes get when really overstimulated, so I'm a lot less prone to panic attacks at large social functions!