Booze

[traci]

I was a beer drinker, tried to kill the pain, which I was sure was bone cancer. Beer only made it much much worse. Now I drink Barcardi Limon with Sprite or Sierra Mist or 7 Up. The last 2 times I drank, I woke up with a killer migraine. I mean killer, wanting to die. And no I did not drink the whole bottle Last night I had 2 drinks in about 2 hours with snacks. The time before 3 in about 4 hours with dinner. I have found that I am no longer the drinker I once was. I could drink most people under the table before. Now A couple and I am buzzing, which I take to mean I am healing and a positive thing. But now this.. I know migraines are not usually celiac signs, are they? But has anyone else had this happen? I wanted to die last night, really and truly. Does anyone else have a bad reaction to booze? I have given up so much and now it looks like I have to give up my drinks that I have 5-6 times per year??? Ok sorry, that was self pity. But it makes me mad.

The first time was out to dinner at a restaruant I previously had no trouble with. spose the second time some silly waiter may have poisoned me accidently. But last night? I ate only what I brought to the party. I have learned the hard way to not listen to even my closest friends when they say Oh that only has this and this in it.. I am sure they used the same knife for the cheese that they used to saw off a hunk of bread or somethin'. I get sick every time I take someone's word for it.

[darlindeb25]

sorry traci--but i find i have the same reaction to booze as you do --i dont always get a migraine if i drink, but i do react and it isnt pretty --my tummy hurts, my head spins, and i am miserable for a few days--we celiacs, once gluten free, tend to absorb alcohol so much faster then before and it doesnt take much to make us buzz --at least as a general rule, this is true of many celiacs--i dont know that we are glutened by it--we just get a nasty hangover from almost nothing , not fair, i know deb

[astyanax]

personally i have no problems with drinking... were you on meds though? even something over the counter? even if a med doesn't have any alcohol warning, they can make you feel kind of funny. or everyone i know (none of whom has celiac) will have completely random reactions to alcohol - like someone who can always drink a ton will get sick off of like 2 beers so maybe it's just something like that? that's the only stuff i can think of sorry

[Twister2]

I usually drink wine and I don't really have much of a problem with that....I'd hate to see what a beer would do to me now though!

[DrLeonard]

Who knows why these things happen, right? I had the same experience as darlindeb25, where once I got healthy, I lost my alcohol tolerance. But it seems like something different is going on with you...here are some guesses:

If you only get sick like that when you drink at bars/clubs, you might think about cross-contamination. Maybe they mixed you the wrong drink, caught the mistake, but used the same glass. A lot of bars use taps for colas that contain traces of gluten, and not washing the glasses enough might lead to trouble. But I guess you brought your own booze last night, so that's probably not the magic bullet.

I'm not sure about Barardi Limon. I'm always a little wary about artificial flavorings and I don't believe companies who swear it's gluten-free. What if the gluten-free artificial flavoring is manufactured at the same place where they make non-gluten-free flavorings?

Alcohol gets absorbed by the same villi in the small intestine that get flattened out by celiac disease. So it would make sense that once you get good and gluten-free, those villi grow back and make you more sensitive to alcohol than before. But alcohol actually numbs those villi, reducing absorbtion, and also triggers a release of a hormone (can't remember the name of it!) that is like a diuretic. Bottom line, the more you drink, the more dehydrated you become (that's why the lines for the bathroom at bars can get so long). So it could be that you can avoid the headaches if you make sure to drink plenty of plain water. Also, alcohol changes the reticular activating system that controls your sleep, so if you have too much of it in your blood it can keep you from getting into the deep sleep you need AND wake you up prematurely---both of which might account for the migraines.

Sorry you got sick but hope you can figure it out.

[tom]

I've found that rum will give me a headache but gin is fine. I think it's gotta be the sugar content somewhere in a liquor made from cane, tho i haven't really tried to find out any details; just stopped drinking it.

Gorden's gin is allegedly still made the original way, starting w/ juniper berries, instead of the grain used in many.

And Gin&Tonic is a great drink !

And i'm with ya on eating only what i bring to the party. So much easier to just have a good time w/out label-reading and worrying where that knife has been and telling ANOTHER person "well, it's not really an allergy".

[traci]

I used to be able to drink like a fish, not anymore. I was prepared for that.. And am fine with it.

Maybe it is the lemon flavor.. I was not at a bar so I brought my own.. I loathe most liquors. Gin is one of them.. UGGGG Sorry Tom, my hubby is a gin and tonic man too. It tastes like lighter fluid to me.

Yeah the whole party scene is a nightmare. They mean well, at least these friends do but I am always terrified that they used the same butter that had crumbs in it or the spoon the stirred the pasta up with. I spent Thanksgiving with them and altho she assured me, I was very ill. Very ill, felt like someone had beat me with a hammer. No thanks!

I was not on any meds either. Thats one thing about being gluten free, no longer must I eat 12 Advil just to walk from the car to the house.

The sleep thing makes perfect sense! I hear people say oh if I drink I can sleep anywhere. No way not me! It has always messed my sleep up which is why I dont drink more often. I am dead the next day, hang over or not.

I guess I will just stay away from it. Jeesh, no fun in my life but hey I feel better and thats worth any price. Thanks all!

[DrLeonard]

Since you mentioned Thanksgiving and booze, I'd like to vent about going to a big party and bringing my own food and beverages. Since there were 20 people there, that led to 20 separate explanations about celiac disease. Then, in what was probably a well-intentioned gesture, people decided to try my gluten-free food to see how it tasted. Trouble was, they didn't ask me first and I didn't bring enough for 20 folks.

Worst of all, a couple of guys pulled me aside and tried to convince me to have a beer with them. When I politely declined, they got offended: One said that it's "just not right when a man won't have a beer."

That's my vent. Thanks.

[traci]

Good Grief.. Ya know the older I get the more I am convinced that most people are just idiots. I mean really...

This does not happen to me often. But then I am sort of um... prickly as my hubby affectionately labels me. I dont try to be, its just me.

I too get real tired of explaining it... I mean I know that some people just want to know.. But some just demand why cant you eat this??? ITS GOOD!!! I live in the midwest where most of the people are larger... food is the center of the Universe for these folks.. Again most of them, we have thin people too. But all my "friends" are heavier and they seem to take affront that I wont sit down and eat a plate heaped with this and that. One woman, shes a real you know what.. we dont see eye to eye anyway.. She exclaims loudly NO WONDER SHES SOOOO THIN.. Yeah thats right pick on me because for most of my life I have had a malabsorption disease, my bones my turn to powder in another few years and now I am scared to eat and disgusted with food YOU MORON. Now I have been taking this for quite a while from her. For over 2 years actually, the glares the possesiveness of her boyfriend, I am happily married, and so forth.. she seems to be a bit happy about my not being able to not eat what she brings. She always brings some pasta thing.. My sister told me to Moo at her. I just smiled sweetly and said, Well thats MORE FOR YOU.. Dont want YOU to go hungry. Go ahead have another plateful. Needless to say she slunk off and left me be.

Why is it fair for them to pick on me, resent me because I am thin when I dont persecute them because they are not???? Why do some men think only real men drink beer?

Sometimes people just force you to defend yourself. I am a pretty stoic person but damn sometimes I just get mad and when people do stuff like tell you you aint man enough to have a beer or resent you because you have a disease which can make you thin.. well thats too much.

Tell ya what Doc? Lets buy a big mountain, not allow any gluten stuff on it and if you want to come see us all, you have to pass an IQ and sensitivity (not food either) test as well as the personality test. We will put a large high voltage fence around it and get trained attack dogs. Sometimes that sounds like heaven to me.

There is my vent/rant.

[Sterndogg]

Off on a tangent but we were visiting fam in NJ over the holidays and my aunt called her local supermarket's bakery for gluten-free breads. I knew they wouldn't have any, but here was the response from the head baker: "What is gluten??" I almost threw-up...how could someone be so ignorant especially in the field...duh...why does your bread stay together so well??? Damn!!!