Alcohol Consumption: Drinking with ME/CFS

Alcohol Consumption

How Badly Can It Affect ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Sufferers? Part I

(Copyright, Claire Williams, 2003-2007. All Rights Reserved.
The wonders of alcohol. )

The achilles heel for many people. The 'norm' for some others. And probably poison if you have ME / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ...

I remember when I first got Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS /CFIDS) back in 1995, I thought that having a drink or two wouldn't affect me any differently to my pre-PVFS days. Unfortunately I didn't realize what I was doing to myself.

I didn't know how badly alcohol consumption can affect the severity of Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS /CFIDS) ...

Nowadays I don't touch alcohol at all, and haven't done so for a few years now. I'd rather see at least a few hours in the day instead of being bedridden for weeks on end because of one alcoholic drink!

Because when you have ME/CFS /CFIDS , you might as well be pouring arsenic down your throat...
------SIDE NOTE-------

Okay - so that comparison might be a little 'dramatic', but you get what I mean right?
-----SIDE NOTE-------

You see when you have ME/CFS /CFIDS , you are likely to develop **alcohol intolerance**...
The smallest alcoholic drink - even a tiny bit of alcohol consumption, can send you into a relapse - as I learned the hard way many years ago.

Having an alcoholic drink now and again was enough to tip the severity of my ME/CFS over the edge and put me in bed indefinitely.

When a **normal** person gets drunk they may feel ill for a day or so after which, they're back to 'normal', bouncing back and raring to go. But when a person with ME/CFS gets drunk - or even has just one drink, they're likely to feel like 'death warmed up' for what seems like an eternity!!!

Personally, I don't actually like alcohol much so I don't miss it. But even if I did, I have realized that alcohol consumption no longer makes me feel the way it used to before I had ME/CFS ...
Drinking alcohol now feels like I'm feeding myself poison, and my body reacts accordingly - i.e. a flare, or worse, a relapse - and I suffer the consequences for a long, long time afterwards.
Unfortunately, most of us ME/CFS sufferers are just not strong enough to resist the poisons of alcohol.

So for most of us, it's unfortunately a case of accepting it, or getting much, much worse.
As Dr Shepherd writes in his book 'Living With M.E.', many people who might have been able to drink alcohol before the onset of their illness, often find themselves getting very unwell even after small amounts of alcohol consumption.

So if you have ME/CFS, it is likely that you may have developed an intolerance to alcohol.
To find out more about diet and nutrition for ME/CFS visit:
http://www.sleepydust.net/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-nutrition-supplements.html

And to read reviews of my favorite supplements & items for ME / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome visit:
http://www.sleepydust.net/ME-CFS.html

This article will be continued in Part II...

Copyright, Claire Williams, 2003-2007. All Rights Reserved.

-------Claire Williams is editor of sleepydust.netand has suffered from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome/ ME / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 1995.
She created 'Sleepydust' to helpME/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgiasufferers deal with their condition - fromrecovering from their illness, to handling their money worries.
http://www.sleepydust.net/