Tuesday, August 26, 2008

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/

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow! I had no idea. I'm glad you know this so that you can make healthy/safe choices for yourself! Thanks for sharing!

Rosebud Collection said...

What a great blog..Your information could really help someone that has this problem.

Sandee said...

Wow thanks for sharing this...I had no idea.

BaldyLocks said...

That's pretty intense. I know little things can send me in a horizontal position for days at a time but alcohol isn't one of them.

I hope people who are suffering from this will read your post.

-WallCandy

ARTISANNE DESIGN said...

This is fabulous information that will help a lot of people. Alcohol can be responsible for so many health problems which certainly isn't acknowledged nearly enough over here. Good on you for giving up, when it does this to you, it's no fun anyway!

Giftbearer said...

Very interesting. It makes sense because alcohol metabolizes to glucose amd many of these types of diseases have a disordered glucose metabolism inherent in their biochemistry.

Handmade Product and Creative Expression said...

this is really interesting...best wishes!

Ravenswick said...

I had no idea either. I no longer drink alcohol either because of an inner ear disease which tends to make me feel like I have been drinking from time to time, even though I have not. I really don't miss it but sometimes I just WANT a beer!

kim* said...

i dont like alcohol anyway.

redbarbi said...

After living with a alcohlic for almost 25 years, I do know the dangers. It took his life, (well he took it, his choice), so I try not to mess around with it. I'm now remarried and very happy I don't have to deal with it anymore. Thanks for putting this on your site.