# Well this blows...



## Mike (Feb 2, 2010)

3-4 years ago, I started experiencing issues when I would drink alcohol. An uneasy feeling in my stomach shortly after consumption, fatigue, and an overall malaise. The next day I would also feel hungover for basically the entire day. I could understand it if I was drinking a 12-pack of beer, but we were talking about drinking half a beer. I wasn't sure if I had developed an allergy to alcohol or what. Back in college (I'm 28 now), I used to drink like a fish like everyone else so to not be able to drink basically anything now is confusing. So I went to the doctor who did blood work which apparently showed nothing abnormal. It wasn't Celiac's disease. I've always had chronic heartburn (which I now take daily medication for), but I didn't have an ulcer. He referred me to a Gastroenterologist. He diagnosed me with gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining caused by a number of possible things) and said after a month of no alcohol, my stomach should be fine. So I abstained for a month only to have issues again. When I discussed it with him, he basically said I was an alcoholic so my relationship with him was over.

Since then, I've basically just lived with the discomfort and frustration of a seemingly incurable issue. I only drink 1-2 beers in a session anyway so the discomfort isn't intolerable. In recent times, though, I've developed such a passion for beer/beer brewing and wine/wine making that I just can't continue accepting this situation. I love nothing more than taking my time drinking a perfectly-crafted beer or wine, but it's so frustrating and disappointing when it results in the next 24 hours of malaise and fatigue. So I'm heading back to a (new) doctor and will pursue this issue until it's resolved or at least the problem is revealed. I'm just nervous that the prognosis will be that I just can't drink alcohol anymore. That would truly be heartbreaking.

Anyway, hopefully this gets resolved. I'll post back with updates in case others experience a similar problem.


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## non-grapenut (Feb 2, 2010)

Is it possible that one of your meds might be affecting your discomfort? Short of weaning yourself off of 1 at a time (assuming you may take multiple meds) and using the scientific method in doing your 'acid test', it will be the only way to rule this out a possible conflict...

I understand your dilemma..with my rosacea, wine exacerbates my facial redness and breakouts at age 44, making me look even more like a wino with a bad skincare regimen. It's amazing the anomolies that flair up as we age.


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## Julie (Feb 2, 2010)

Wow, that isn't good. Please do keep us posted. You know I had started another thread about my Hot Pepper Wine and finding out the health benefits of cayenne pepper. Cayenne pepper supposely will cure stomach ulcers. I know you do not have an ulcer but you know if might help you out.

Hopefully it is nothing more than a vitamin deficiency.

Good Luck

Julie


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## MN-winer (Feb 2, 2010)

I was diagnosed with Gerd a few years ago after having all sorts of seemingly unrelated issues. Sore throat, intestinal issues, malaise, pain, general lousy feeling. Ironically - no heartburn.

After GERD diagnosis I went on a Low fat, no-alcohol, no chocolate, no coffee, no carbonated beverage diet for 4 months. Not fun, but after ward I went on meds (prilosec OTC) and have learned that if I take any of the above too much my body warns me with return of symptoms. I have eliminated chocolate and carbed beverages and put limitations on coffee, but I can still drink wine and other alcohol. Not Beer though. Its alcohol and carbonated and its a deadly combo for me. 

I'm not a doctor but it looks similar to what I had.


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## Larryh86GT (Feb 2, 2010)

That does suck. I hope your new doctor is more helpful on solving your problem. If not, find another doctor who is more sympathetic to your condition. 
Larry


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## DesertDance (Feb 2, 2010)

What a tragedy! You have mentioned "beer" but not wine. The Bible recommends 1. 1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. 1 Timothy 5:22-24 (in Context) 1 Timothy 5 (Whole Chapter),
so maybe "wine" is key? If God said it, it must be true... Have you tried wine? We are all pulling for you! Get well soon!

Suzi


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## Mike (Feb 2, 2010)

I don't think my current meds are the cause. I wasn't taking anything years ago when I first noticed the problem. I'm not sure it's GERD as I don't have any other issues except for the response due to alcohol consumption. Actually, the only other thing I can think of is that I feel like I get dehydrated VERY easily. I don't really care what the treatment is as long as I can ultimately drink alcohol normally. I would gladly give up all of that stuff you did, MN, if I could drink normally in 4 months. I'm pretty sure it happens with wine and liquor (which I rarely ever drink), but to a much lesser extent. I suppose I should verify that before I see the doc in 2 weeks. I'll be in the Dominican next week so taking some time to test that theory shouldn't be a problem!

We'll see what the doctor says and I'll post back.


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## DesertDance (Feb 2, 2010)

Mike, there is a site that is full of lots of remedies from people who suffer similar symptoms. Warning! A lot people on there are vegans, so sometimes it makes you nauseous just reading all their "cures," but that site was immensely helpful to me. I have no insurance, and found myself one night passing in and out of consiousness, bleeding from my rectum on the floor with severe diaharrea. This went on for months, and I lost 40 lbs! I have had colitis for my entire life, but not the bleeding kind. I self diagnosed, UC (ulcerative colitis), followed some of the suggested remedies, and I have recovered very well! I had to no longer eat any nuts, grains, or mostly ANYthing! Some dude suggested spinach only. So I was like "popeye" for days, and miraculously, I am now well, and nuts no longer bother me. YAY!

The site is http://www.curezone.com There are tons of forums, and tons of search options. Good luck and get well soon!
Suzi


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## Wade E (Feb 2, 2010)

That really does blow Mike. I hope the docs can target the problem and resolve this issue.


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## Runningwolf (Feb 2, 2010)

Mike, keep us posted, We're thinking of you!


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## St Allie (Feb 2, 2010)

difference between beer and wine is hops, yeast, nutrient, sulphites and the malt extracts.

perhaps it's worth excluding one at a time from diet and see if it makes any difference?.. note malt is in other products too, as are yeast and grains.

my suggestion would be to go see a naturopath and get their allergy test done.. It'll be cheap in the long run.. their allergy tests are good.

Allie


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## MN-winer (Feb 3, 2010)

Thats pretty good advice St. Allie.

You have to somehow eliminate things one at a time. Its most likely not a disease or virus. Its your body's reaction to something or an accumulation of things. A nutritionist or someone who understand holistic medicine might be an option. 

Good luck.


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## Mike (Feb 3, 2010)

Thanks Allie. Yes, maybe I can think of what makes beer different from other alcoholic beverages if my reaction is indeed significantly worse when drinking beer than let's say wine. Hops seems to be the most apparent difference. I'll have to run some tests on myself, to find my reaction to drinking specific beverages.


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## non-grapenut (Feb 3, 2010)

Hops is related to the cannabis family...a weed. Makes sense. Could be an allergy to hops, possibly.


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## Mike (Feb 3, 2010)

Another shot in the dark is that it could be the carbonation. Beer is the only carbonated beverage I drink.


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## St Allie (Feb 3, 2010)

take beer out of your diet for a week, then reintroduce it and see what happens Mike.. Can't hurt to give it a try.

Allie


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## Torch404 (Feb 3, 2010)

You might want to look into a wheat alergy. Do you have the problem when drinking wine or rice beer. Most people's body can not really process wheat well. I have met more then few people who have problems ranging from sever headachs to stomch issues, they switch to rice beer and problem solved.


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## St Allie (Feb 3, 2010)

Torch?.. I see you have a rosemary flower and carrot green wine.. have you tasted it yet?.. what's it like?

Allie


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## Wade E (Feb 3, 2010)

Is it all beer or do the bigger hopped beers affetc you more.


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## TheTooth (Feb 3, 2010)

Torch404 said:


> You might want to look into a wheat alergy. Do you have the problem when drinking wine or rice beer. Most people's body can not really process wheat well. I have met more then few people who have problems ranging from sever headachs to stomch issues, they switch to rice beer and problem solved.



Most beers don't have wheat in them. Does barley cause the same issue?


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## Torch404 (Feb 3, 2010)

*off topic sorry*



St Allie said:


> Torch?.. I see you have a rosemary flower and carrot green wine.. have you tasted it yet?.. what's it like?
> 
> Allie



Here is a link to my log of it so far:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg55t38g_2cg7d5dg9 

It tasted really good. Like a light rosemary syrup but I've only tried it twice in the real early stages. An experiment really, the carrot greens were not noticeable really but I think they made it a pretty healthy and strong ferment.


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## St Allie (Feb 3, 2010)

Thankyou!

I might try the same recipe and substitute parsley for the carrot greens.. 

Allie


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## Mike (Feb 4, 2010)

As far as the wheat issue goes, wouldn't I have a problem eating wheat bread too? Because I don't.

The issue has been going on for so long, I've stopped paying attention to what types of beverages I have a problem with. Over the next two weeks, I will test and document my reaction to drinking an assortment of drinks.


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## Torch404 (Feb 4, 2010)

The couple of people I knew that had wheat allergies would only feel the effects from beer. Then when they removed wheat from their diet completely they found they just generally felt better then before, but nothing specific like with the beer. One guy I know started drinking only Bud Light because it's a rice beer...Let hope it doesn't come to that!

A lot of people are pointing to wheat allergies as a contributing factor to ADHD in kids. They are pointing at a lot of everything else too for what that's worth.


St Allie:
I've been looking at Luc's parsley wine recipe quite a bit too. I may have to give it a try!


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## TheTooth (Feb 4, 2010)

Torch404 said:


> One guy I know started drinking only Bud Light because it's a rice beer.



Very few rice beers are made anymore, and they mostly come from Japan as specialty products.

Bud light is a standard lager with very light hopping and some rice used to make the grain bill less expensive. It still uses plenty of barley. Wheat is only used in a few beers, so your friend is safe as long as he/she stays away from weizens (hefeweizen, dunkelweizen, weizenbock, etc...), wits, lambics, and some specialty microbrews that will may use wheat as part of their grain bill.


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## Boyd (Feb 4, 2010)

If the problem is related to the wheat used in making beer then it is usually the gluten contained in the wheat,

If gluten in the wheat is the problem then barley also needs to be avoided as it also contains gluten.

So says my brother who has problems with gluten containing grains. Only eats rice and corn.


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## TheTooth (Feb 4, 2010)

Boyd said:


> If the problem is related to the wheat used in making beer then it is usually the gluten contained in the wheat,
> 
> If gluten in the wheat is the problem then barley also needs to be avoided as it also contains gluten.
> 
> So says my brother who has problems with gluten containing grains. Only eats rice and corn.



Good point. There has been work on home-brewing gluten-free beers, so there is hope if you have a gluten problem and still want to make beer.


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## Boyd (Feb 4, 2010)

Don't know about beer from corn.

I was in Panama with the Army a few years ago doing road improvement in the boonies.

A panamanian gave me a drink of what I later found was made from corn. I liked to spit that stuff clear across the road.

They got a good laugh and gave me a bunch of ripe bananas. Bananas were very good.


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## Mike (Feb 17, 2010)

I just got back from vacation the other day. Punta Cana is pretty nice, especially compared to Philadelphia's 4' of snow. 

While I was there, I drank quite a bit since it was an all-inclusive resort and the booze was flowing like water. I had no problem drinking margaritas, rum and cokes, (horrible) wine, and even a shot of mamajuana. The only beer that was at the resort was Presidente which tasted like Milwaukee's Best. I had no problem drinking a few of those as well. So all of that is encouraging.

My doctor's appointment was scheduled for today. I canceled it as I want to continue doing my own tests so that I can go in there with as much information as possible. I will continue this testing over the next few weeks. Last night I had a single bottle of a pumpkin beer I made a few months ago. If there was an feeling of malaise, etc. after drinking it, it was negligible. I feel fine today as well. I have a sour beer in the fridge I will drink at some point in the near future.

I'm now entertaining the possibility of the timing of my beer drinking. I'll see what happens when I drink consecutive nights vs. when I take a few nights off. On a full stomach vs. before a meal. What I do while/after I drink may be important too. I usually drink while laying down watching TV. It may sounds weird, but it may matter how the beer sits in my stomach. When I used to get heart burn badly, my doctor told me not to lay down within 30 minutes of drinking and that helped tremendously. Maybe I'm drinking too close to when I go to bed and am just suffering effects of dehydration as well.

Anyway, I'll keep you guys posted.


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## Torch404 (Feb 17, 2010)

This is kinda a shot in the dark but you might want to start taking an acidophilus pill, or make a habit of eating live culture yogurt, kefir, and those types of thing. Having a big healthy batch of intestinal bugs can help as much as a big starter helps a ferment. Good luck!


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## Runningwolf (Feb 17, 2010)

Mike said:


> I just got back from vacation the other day. Punta Cana is pretty nice, especially compared to Philadelphia's 4' of snow.
> 
> While I was there, I drank quite a bit since it was an all-inclusive resort and the booze was flowing like water. I had no problem drinking margaritas, rum and cokes, (horrible) wine, and even a shot of mamajuana. The only beer that was at the resort was Presidente which tasted like Milwaukee's Best. I had no problem drinking a few of those as well. So all of that is encouraging.
> 
> I went there about five years ago. It was a good time and we did a lot of snorkeling. Food was just ok..didn't care for goat meat. It sure was beautiful though. Some of the exposer on the beaches should have been covered up..


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## Mike (Feb 18, 2010)

Torch: not a bad call. I randomly started eating yogurt again a couple weeks ago.


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## Mike (Feb 19, 2010)

Had a sour beer last night. No noticeable issues. More testing to come...


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## Mike (Feb 23, 2010)

Saturday evening I had a sour cherry imperial stout and a bottle of Rochefort 10 with no problems. Whether it's eating yogurt regularly or something else, it's awesome that I'm again able to enjoy quality beer/alcohol with no problems.


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## non-grapenut (Feb 23, 2010)

Mike said:


> Saturday evening I had a sour cherry imperial stout and a bottle of Rochefort 10 with no problems. Whether it's eating yogurt regularly or something else, it's awesome that I'm again able to enjoy quality beer/alcohol with no problems.



That's great news, Mike! I can imagine how hard it would be to enjoy a hobby but not really GET to enjoy it. Welcome back to the partakers party.


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## TheTooth (Feb 23, 2010)

Awesome! Happy to hear you figured it out!


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## Runningwolf (Feb 23, 2010)

Mike, welcome back to the party! I hope this continues to work for you. We are all tipping our glass to you.


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## brewtus (Feb 23, 2010)

Mike, 

As a chemist, I am encouraged at your entrepreneurial approach to experimentation to problem solving. Cheers!


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## St Allie (Feb 23, 2010)

fantastic news


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## Mike (Feb 24, 2010)

Thanks for the support. If yogurt is the solution (still surprised that could be so!) hopefully this thread may prove helpful to someone experiencing a similar issue in the future.


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