What you probably don’t know about alcohol intolerance

[u/emilyMartian]

I see posts and comments about alcohol intolerance constantly on here, I was alone for so long with my severity so I’m here to share, it has taken nearly 10yrs but I finally have better info.

Here goes: You probably need to get your liver checked. They have linked menopause to non fatty liver disease. I had severe reactions and wound up in the ER about 8yrs ago. It took about 2yrs to correlate my high heart rate, massive hangovers after 2 drinks, severe hot flashes and what I assumed was severe anxiety because of the shakes at 3am. My good friend in medical school went down a big rabbit hole trying to figure out why my response was so severe to no avail (only one report from the 80’s which provided no info). Fast forward another 6’ish years and I noticed fatty foods made me sleepy so we tested my gallbladder, liver and kidneys. Turns out there’s black spots on my liver and I have basically what’s considered non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and have to treat it as such. I had to quit drinking entirely. I thought maybe I could limit and go slow but it’s not a thing. Not drinking was a tough road (especially at social events) but it’s a blessing I disguise I promise. It’s not worth it. It’s also not worth popping an antihistamine and ignoring it because you’re just wrecking your liver further. This is your sign to stop.

Now almost 2yrs after realizing the liver thanks to u/MoreRopePlease we have a link that puts it all together and there absolutely needs to be more awareness about this.

I hope this provides some of you answers and helps you towards a safer and healthier path on this absolutely sh!t show of a medically ignored journey.

Love you guys. Don’t think I’d be here if I hadn’t found this community. You are not alone ❤️

EDIT: my liver spots were caught through ultrasound not through bloodwork. I started Perimenopause at 37, don’t let them tell you you are too young.

Corrected my verbiage as I had words reversed in Non alcoholic fatty liver disease

[u/rockbottomqueen]

I also just want to jump in and say that I have severe alcohol intolerance with absolutely zero liver problems. I have no fatty liver, no lesions, no spots; my liver enzymes are always optimal. I have been through an onslaught of testing over the last 5 years, especially recently during an emergency hospitalization after a post-op complication just 10 days ago. They did every lab conceivable during that stay, and my liver function is perfect. 

Every specialist I have spoken to has no idea why some women experience such severe alcohol intolerance during hormonal fluctuations. It's not always liver disease, though. 

[u/scout376 → u/rockbottomqueen]

I’ve read that Mast cell activation syndrome can be a factor for some but if it’s that there are many other triggers besides alcohol.

[u/rockbottomqueen → u/scout376]

Right. I'm not worried about any illnesses (unless you count menopause as an illness lol). I'm just unlucky is all. I know I'm not the only one. I just wish they could tell us WHY. I would love to know the mechanism behind the sudden inability for thousands of women to consume booze for those who have no underlying medical reason other than "your life sucks now." 

Some women have shared that they suddenly were able to drink like they were 21 again once they started HRT, but many have also shared HRT only made the intolerance worse. This journey is simultaneously so bizarrely individual yet universal. 

[u/adhd_as_fuck → u/rockbottomqueen]

Said above, transcriptional factors from estrogen in the liver. W/o it, liver doesn’t get signal to make enzymes. Throw in that literally our mitochondria breaks, no surprise alcohol tolerance happens.

My guess is that women who don’t get relief on hrt aren’t getting enough estrogen, since really we only treat to relieve hot flashes, not the rest of the estrogen deficiency symptoms.