Alcohol reactions connected to M.E or M.S?????

New diagnosis and before diagnosis
1

Hi all,

I am newly registered and am awaiting for my first post to be placed by the moderator. I was going to put this in my original new post but wasn’t able to work out how to edit my first post lol.

When I was admitted to the Neuro ward for my symptoms, the surgeon asked me all sorts of questions, did the physical test etc. One question which stood out was “How did alcohol affect me”? I explained that I drink the same drink, and normaly I have 3-4 glassses of wine on Friday with a takeaway with my husband at home as a treat. Interstingingly I have had a few terrible reactions on some occasions when ive drank the exact same amount of wine? This is what happened this Friday: Had 4 glasses of white wine with dinner that evening a few hours later I felt strange and gpt brain fog, I drank some water and thought it would pass, and decided I’d got to bed, excpet I didn’t make it, within minutes everything went black with stars in front of my eyes, I coudn’t see and couldn’t get up, then vertigo kicked it, I vomited several times, had no balance what so ever and everything was still black. it took about 2 hours for this episode to pass, then I was back to normal. This has happened about 8 times in the 18months that ive been ill. Normal reation would be heavy tiredness and more wobbly and off balance than usual, nothing like I had Friday. Has anyone else encountered this type of reaction as a symptom? I do have many other symptoms, ill add my other post below, as this may help I hope…thanks again to all who reads or replies.

MY OTHER POST:

Hi all, I am a new on here and need some advice please.
In brief, 20 years ago I was DX with M.E. I am now 39 and for a long time haven’t really suffered with M.E. However in 2011 I became terribly ill with a whole list of symptoms. My first was cognitive impairment, disorientation, balance issues, heat and light intolerances. Following this was referred for c.t scan of brain marked as normal. I then started having non epileptic seizures, terrible right leg ataxia that took 8 weeks to correct it self, stumbling, brain fog, numbness badly in feet n arms, electric shocks in face, and rigid jaw, pins n needles, , headaches, spasms and pain in limbs, eye ache and heavy eyes, but eye test is normal. At which point I was sent to a neuro center for full test as they suspected mad cow disease. L.p, blood’s, nerve test, ecg, eeg, chest,x ray, MRI of brain n spine were performed. High signal intensity was shown on brain MRI but marked as normal. I was discharged. I was bed ridden and chronic for several months, but now I am up and about and a little improved, when ever I get a bit better, I relapse again. I have had thorough testing all so far normal. My last MRI was a year ago and I am due to have one in October. Has anyone experience this? I was seen by an M.E, Dr, he said I do not not have M.E and was missed diagnosed, I failed the Romberg test and was seen by his collegue (clinical Psychologist) both agreed I did not fit the criteria for M.E, they said it was Neurological and defo not psychogenic. The neuro said I don’t have M.S, and until a test becomes positive they’ll do nothing, so apart from my g.p requesting the MRI next month, we have no where to go, the neuros are not interested and suggested it was psychogenic to my horror! I was gob smacked. Last week I got blood results back, I have now been prescribed Vitimin D3 for 12 months due to low levels, and my white cell count is raised and the bloods need repeating. The cell count is likely to be because of throat infection 5 days before my bloods were taken. However, I do not understand why I am low in vit D, I go in the sun and eat lots of fish and never had this until now. Can anyone relate or advise, I am so sick of being consistently I’ll. I can’t drive or work any more either, I am being bounced back wards and forwards, been ill for 18mnths now and still have no answers …thanks for reading my post and to ever replies xx

2

Hi Melnic

I really hope you get some answers soon. I, too, was diagnosed with ME over 20 years ago but am now being investigated by te Neuros for new and different symptoms. I have never been completely convinced of the ME diagnosis, and even less since these other things have kicked in.

All I would say is please don’t give up and let them fob you off. I did this for too many years as I just couldn’t face being made to feel like a hypochondriac, malingering, time waster. However, I now wish I had pushed and pushed for more definitive answers.

I also wanted to say that I have been extremely intolerant to alcohol for many years…to the extent that one mouthful of homemade sherry trifle will make me feel strange!!! I was always led to believe this was a symptom of ME, and was asked about how it effected me by the doctor who finally diagnosed me with ME all those years ago. I am also extremely intolerant to medication, and can’t even take Paracetamol, although can take one or maybe two doses of Ibuprofen within a 24 hour period without too much detrimental effect.

If you look a little way down the forum in this section, you will find a thread about ME, and the responses on there show that there are a lot of us who are carrying around a very dubious ME diagnosis, some for many years.

Good luck with all your tests etc. Sending you strength to keep fighting xxx

3

Hi There,

Thank you Purpledot.

The bazzar thing is I have had no M.E symtoms for 15 years. I suddenly came down very ill, it was infact April 2012 not 2011 as I wrote in my post. The symptoms this time are nothing like what I had 20 years ago, and I can kinda understand why the specialist said I didn’t fit the criteria. However, more worrying is to how quickly (7 months) the neuro was to rule out M.S! a year after this here I am, so ill still. Everyday I get up and feel hungover, I say this as there is no way to explain the fuzzy feeeling/pressure in my head, I can barely walk today, I am wobbling everywhere. Im hopefull the next MRI may shed some light but knowing my luck it will show nothing and ill be left again to suffering.

I will read the M.E posts on here, thanks very much xx

4

Hi There,

Thank you Purpledot.

The bazzar thing is I have had no M.E symtoms for 15 years. I suddenly came down very ill, it was infact April 2012 not 2011 as I wrote in my post. The symptoms this time are nothing like what I had 20 years ago, and I can kinda understand why the specialist said I didn’t fit the criteria. However, more worrying is to how quickly (7 months) the neuro was to rule out M.S! a year after this here I am, so ill still. Everyday I get up and feel hungover, I say this as there is no way to explain the fuzzy feeeling/pressure in my head, I can barely walk today, I am wobbling everywhere. Im hopefull the next MRI may shed some light but knowing my luck it will show nothing and ill be left again to suffering.

I will read the M.E posts on here, thanks very much xx

5

Hi there,

It seems a rather odd question. I wonder if it’s just a slightly more subtle way of finding out about your drinking habits.

When I was first being investigated, my neuro rather undiplomatically came out with: “So do you drink too much, or what?”

Me: “Er, well, probably, according to what you lot would say…how much is too much?”

I don’t think you can read very much into the meaning of the question (i.e. whether he suspects a particular thing). Reduced tolerance of alcohol may be indicative of some things, such as liver problems, but I don’t think it’s particularly associated with either M.S. or M.E. (though I don’t know a lot about M.E.)

Some people find that if they already have problems with balance, corrdination or fatigue, alcohol makes it worse, but that’s just commonsense, really, not a particular hallmark of the disease.

It actually might have had more diagnostic value if you’d answered that alcohol makes you feel BETTER. Alcohol is (amongst other things) a muscle-relaxant, so if you have any disease that causes spasticity (abnormally tight muscles) alcohol might actually relieve that symptom. I usually find my walking is improved after a glass or two, because my muscles are not as stiff (I’m a person diagnosed with MS).

I hope you get some answers soon. Try not to over-analyse, I don’t think the question particularly “means” anything, and certainly not that he suspects A rather than B.

Tina

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