Alcoholic developing allergy to wine!
 

Hi, lurked here a long time! Am 52. Brief history. During last 10+ years I became increasingly addicted to alcohol. I'm talking loads. Vodka, wine, cider, pretty much from when I got up, midday until I crashed out early evening.
Stress from many avenues as well as own disabilities helping pick up the bottle. I got sober from 28 dec 2017, was doing well, got up to 12 weeks. Tried moderation, a couple of cans of g&t each evening. Of course that soon progressed to wine!
When I drink wine, my nose begins to stream! Makes me feel crap, so a good incentive to jack it in, along with the other cans of g&t. I loved being sober. Is it possible to become allergic to certain alcohol, eg wine? I did drink a hellish amount of it in my time.
Thanks for reading. Wx

If you burn your hand on the stove why would you ask if its harmful?

If you come to a forum that is dedicated to people getting sober why would need to know if you can still drink?

I'm lost... AND figured out that drinking doesn't make you sober..

Pretty sure I am allergic to rye whisky. Guaranteed headache with just one. I do eat rye bread with no issues. I suffer from a lot of allergies in general and take otc allergy pills daily.
In the end I was getting sick every time I drank. Even just small amounts. Whether it was an allergy or internal processing issue I dunno. It was enough to pack it in. It affected my family, health. Time to go booze!

I used to get a really stuffy nose after drinking wine, blocked sinuses and all that. It's usually down to sulfites and histamines in wine, the cheaper the wine the higher the sulfites usually. Alcohol allergy comes with a lot of other symptoms but if your concerned always best to check with a dr, or alternatively stop drinking.

Thanks for your tepid welcome!
Maybe you ought to read my message properly. I do want to get sober. Was just asking if one could develop an allergy to alcohol.

I was a huge vodka drinker. Then when I wanted to try & quit, I did beer (per hubby). I found that I got deathly ill after I went on my vodka binges (snuck it) . I'm also assuming the fact that I drank for a huge number of yrs and have gotten older that each detox time after a binge was worse than the previous.

btw- (49 here) and welcome~~my nose also also ran like a faucet the morning after drinking vodka (but not beer).

Welcome to SR SpringIsSprung. I have never heard of anyone developing an allergy to alcohol itself. It does sound like you have all the telltale signs of alcohlism though, which most of us do as well. We all tried different forms of moderation, cutting back. switching types of alcohol, etc.

Whether you call it an allergy or not, the solution is one in the same, right? You'll find a lot of support and understanding here if quitting is your goal.

I did a quick search and it appears allergic reaction to wine is a real thing.

And welcome to Sober Recovery!

Thank you! I'm an alcoholic for sure. My mother was also an alcoholic during my formative years, that was hard on our family for a while. She did quit after a few slips. She attended AA and had a sponsor. Was probably around my age when she quit for good. She passed away last Nov aged 91. Hope for us all.

SIS is just making an observation...correct me if I'm wrong Spring.

Everyone here wants to quit. SIS just asked a simple question if anyone else experienced anything like drinking your beverage of choice-then relapsing-only to notice that your body can no longer tolerate it as it once did.

Mylittlehorsie, that is exactly what i'm hoping for. An allergy to alcohol may be a little extra help in recovery?

Breezyfe, you have got me spot on!☺

Sorry about your mom-my dad was a functioning alcoholic with some bad moments. He quit but on his own due to health reasons 10 yrs ago. He passed away this past Sept. at age of 86.

Allergy is, as far as I can tell, an abnormal reaction to a substance. My feeling is you have two allergies. The one that you asked about would be to a substance other than alcohol, like the sulfites or histamines already mentioned.

The other abnormal reaction is the one alcoholics have when they ingest alcohol. This manifests as a loss of control, an overpowering craving to drink more, which is why alcoholics cannot sustain moderation. That never occurs in ordinary drinkers.

Hi Spring is Sprung :)
no experience to share on physical allergies but it sounds like a good thing to me :)

Welcome to SR :)

D

I believe I have an allergic reaction to Fruit based alcoholic drinks.

If I drink to much cider or 2 - 3 bottles of red wine, I begin to get red blotches all over my my body and a very tight chest.

At this stage the alcohol content in the drink does not get me drunk anymore for that day. I'd need to move onto something heavier.

Welcome to SR Spring. Glad you're here. :)

Hi spring
Alcoholism is in part defined by a physical allergy.to alcohol..I suggest reading the doctors opinion from the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book it's described in there with bullseye accuracy!
Then go on and read the rest of the first 164 pages which describe in masterly detail the problem/ illness of alcoholism/ addiction and the solution!
Best wishes for you in your recovery!
G

It has certainly helped me to know it was happening with everything suddenly. All my allergies have come on suddenly. My issue with horses came on at the track one day. Was fine loading, driving, 45 mins in the paddock and I looked like a coke head. In 40 something years, I have always been around horses, grew up on a horse farm.

I have a good friend, she gave alcohol up three years ago because she became allergic.

Wheat and gluten are one of the fastest growing allergies and with a global food market it is only get to get worse. We Don't have the bacteria in our guts for one or the natural antihistamine to deal with foreign food without travelling to the foreign country first.

Just my 2cents anyways. I sincerely believe we will see a lot more allergies in people than ever before. I am huge buy local food, can and preserve for winter. One of the best defences for allergies is raw, local honey. The key is in the pollination. Anyways think I am off track, got wretched sunburn, didn't wear a hat so not only are my highlights probably damaged, my brain is more addled too...

This is getting really interesting, reading about different sorts of problems with alcohol. At dinner last night one of my guests said she hardly ever drinks because more than one glass of wine makes her feel quite unwell. A couple of contributors above mention stopping drinking because it was affecting their health in varous ways. That would be a very sane and normal thing to do.

OTOH, when the alcoholic is confronted with such issues it normally brings on more drinking, which doesn't make any sense at all. The alcoholic allergic reaction to alcohol involves an overwhelming compulsion to continue drinking once they have taken the fatal first drink. It's pretty much unstoppable. I have lost more than one job when the boss tried to get me to stop drinking and get back to work. Large quantities consumed in out of control drinking will eventually prove fatal, so you would think our alcoholic friend would stop.

But instead he suffers from another problem, a mental obsession, or false belief, that he can once again enjoy the good feelings that came with a few drinks when he first started drinking. He may swear off as I did, but soon the memory of the last disaster fades and is overwritten by the strange obsession. It happened to me so many times, and my onle intention when I took a drink was to realx and have a good time. The stuff that happened after the fatal first drink was the furthest thing from my mind when I started.

The alcoholic is stuck with a mind that leads him to the fatal first drink, and an allergy of the body that will eventually destroy him. To survive he must find a way to stop, and that usually involves a lot more than just not drinking.