Hypothyroidism and Alcohol?
 

I have a weird problem / observation, and the endorcinologist I finally got referred to had NO interest in hearing about it at all (He was a condescending ass from the start of the appointment, too!)

Anyway, I've been hypo for years. About a year ago, at the same time my thyroid tanked, my alcohol tolerance went WAY up. I did not drink often/a lot, and usually liked to rely on a glass of wine to help with pms or back pain from time to time.

ALSO at the same time, my tolerance for painkillers went WAY up as well. I used to keep a prescription for T3's in my bathroom for emergencies (If my back got to the point of making me wish I was dead, I'd take one). 30 pills would last 6-12 months. All of a sudden, rather than them making me stoned feeling, sick, giving me a hangover (all of the reasons that I HATE taking them and avoid it at all costs), I wouldn't feel even so much as a dent in the pain, slight nausea, or any sign of that awful "stoned" feeling. Regular tylenol, aleve.. nothing worked for anything anymore.

This all went on for a year. I tried a few times over the past year to see if it was possible for me to get intoxicated, and no dice. Probably not the smartest idea, but the whole thing baffles me.

This week, after being on a new, higher dose of synthroid for several months, I got sort of fuzzy after ONE drink. I took some Aleve for my back that night, under the hunch that it would actually help, and it did!

As un-classy as this sounds, the next day I decided to test it again, and managed to get pretty drunk off about 7oz of alcohol. Big change from last October, the first time I decided to try to get drunk. I gave up after 17 shots and a few vodka coolers.

A couple of my friends present that night are either pretty far along in med school, or actual doctors. They're baffled. Aside from being hypo, I'm VERY healthy, and they pointed out that if it was a liver issue, the exact opposite would be happening.

Because it's followed the pattern for a long time, I'm wondering if anyone has experienced a similar pattern. I find it kinda weird to be thinking "Ooh! I can feel the alcohol! My thyroid must be a bit better!!", but it really has remained consistant through a few waves of it.

I'll be damned, never heard of such a thing. I had something of the opposite happen to me, I can't tolerate alcohol much at all. On a low carb diet it gets even worse.

YES! At my worst point I could drink a bottle of wine and not feel anything other than a mild drowsiness...As I've been on T4 for over a year now, I find having a drink will help, though when my thyroid is low, I just get tired after a drink. When thyroid is good, drunk on a glass.

Weird or what?

Glad it's not just me! :D

Disgusting.

I can totally relate to this. I can drink HUGE grown men under the table and when i went to get my oral surgery done; I was under twilight sedation, had 3 doses of halcion, and still needed a shot of novocaine every 60 to 90 seconds. He said he never used that much medication on anyone and the killer is that I told him about it and he said I wouldn't remember anything so he gave me a code word to remember while I was starting to feel the IV and I remembered the whole procedure and told him the code word when I was done. He said in 15 years I am the 2nd person who was able to do that.
also I've had 4 c-sections. During my first two I was given epidorals (sp?) and each time they had to inject me 15 times before I was numb enough for them to do the surgery. No one believes me when I tell them this.
Thankfully my last two c-sections were under general anesthesia because the first two were nightmares.

Wow, no I have never thought of that. I'll have to start paying attention. I have noticed I used to get a buzz, but now I just get tired. Figured it was age. I also use 2x as many painkillers (ibuprofin, goody's) to get rid of aches than a few years ago. I wonder if that dr who wrote the thyroid book, (Dr. Blanchard?) would be interested if you wrote and asked him?

Just wanted to check in with an update.

Turns out that not only was I under medicated for 9 years (I've always known Synthroid was crap, just couldn't find a Dr that'd prescribe Armour), but my adrenals were fried.

Now that I'm on Armour and hydrocorisone, things are much better, and I'm less hypo than I was. Also, I had a glass of champagne the other day, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm more sure than ever that it's hypo related.

Also, the day after the champagne realization, my husband encouraged me to take an aspirin for a headache, something I haven't bothered with in years.. and it worked!!

Yes, I found that synthroid was horrible..... switched to Armour two years ago and found it to be much better.... tho I have not related to any alcohol changes.

I'm curious. What is 'disgusting'? :lol:

Just to throw this one in, I haven't seen any difference with the effects of alcohol before and on T3, but had noticed my tolerance seemed to be dropping as my health (lots of hormones out of whack) deteriorated.

I have since worked out that this was actually down to just one of those out-of-whack hormones: insulin. What was happening wasn't a case of one drink and under the table, it was one drink, a huge insulin spike and then hypoglycaemia.

Having experimented a little, with the aid of my trusty glucometer, I've found that if I'm going to have a drink, I need to get some protein (and fat) into me FIRST. Then no problems. So, the old rule about not drinking on an empty stomach is even more relevant for me.

So, a possible answer to the question may be an effect of thyroid hormones on insulin response, or something like that.

Interesting post Smiffy. Thanks for that.

:)

I too am hypothyroid, but have always been on armour. Lately, I've been taking some of the thyroid supplements, too.

I've had a weird thing with alcohol happen with me too. I found I can't drink hard alcohol, but am ok with beer. Wine sulfites always seemed to get me more drunk than usual and my face got really red, so I've avoided too much wine.

What happens is that I get really really sick off of just a little alcohol. Not sure why beer is different, but I don't get sick off of it. Maybe because it's hard to drink too much beer?

In the past I've avoided using pain pills because they didn't effect me much either and I used to get killer cramps.

Anyone that likes to party won't find this thread "disgusting." I for one found it interesting b/c I too have lost my tolerance since I have become sicker with the Hashimoto's. So, to anyone that finds this disgusting, consider some people make a living entertaining clients (in my case with a charter boat business) so this can be a detriment for a person in this situation if they aren't aware that their body has changed.

aeroangie - did you just lose your tolerance or do you get sick from the alcohol?

Lost tolerance! I used to be able to pound beers or had no problem having several martinis with folks. I am the one that mixes and provides the party for my clients when we are out to sea. We also own a limo biz and again, I am the host and the entertainer for our various types of clients that are here on vacation. Now, I have to mix mine really, really weak or I will have to pass out before dark! Man, what a lightweight! LOL! My husabnd is like "WHAT is the deal?" I didn't know for the longest time that it had to do with me being undermedicated with my thyroid.