Dizziness/lightheaded nausea after binge drinking?

[Cedmar]

been kinda a heavy drinker for about 2 years... I started where i would have a couple of cocktails and a couple of jooses ever couple of nights or drink 4 days in a row... then it was like 2 Jooses a night. between like may and nov 09, then not so much drinking. 2 times a week... then In feb started drinking more with the new gf. like 3 days a week... finishing 1.75 litres of vodka every 2 days. recently its slowed to about one night of drinking a week. and like 1 or 2 drinks the next day instead of binging everyday... ok , just wanted to give some back ground... so May1st i took a two week break... then on the 12th.. last wednesday I binged again with the gf. normal amount 5or 6 cocktails with around 6 shots each. dont really remember but we drink in unison. shots and cocktails at same intervals. I'm 25, 300 or more lbs i think.... shes 24 120lbs?? so the next day i woke up dizzy and a lil drunk as usual. but worried by the time evening came around and was still lightheaded and nauseas.... days went by with only slight improvement... its the 17th and am lightheaded when getting up to fast... and not really nauseas but have had no appetite... felt a stomach growl i think today so that might be good. but also every night since thursday night i wake up suddenly, like im frightened by a nitemare or can't breath... arms were numb first 2 times but i figured i was layin on them. then night before last slept on a recliner and awoke the same way but my leg was asleep... happened 2 times within about 10 mins last night only while dozing off. no numb limbs and i assume i slept fine. I usually go to sleep around 5 or 6 but ive been getting sleepy at 3 every night. woried i may have messed up my CNS from what ive read online and the feeling that i stop breathing in the middle of the night... is this something i should really worry about or just will pass considering lightheadedness has gone for the most part and not really nauseas... and think i might have an appetite and won't have to force today... all help will be greatly appreciated...

[ThatGirlxxxxxxxx]

Well I thought I was the only one and I am so happy I started doing some research.
So I'm 25 years old, and have been drinking pretty heavily for the past 3 years (about 4-5 times a week) Recently though I have started having very bad side effects. I am a social worker so my job can be super stressful at times. The first incident that happened I was actually in a clients house and out of nowhere I started to feel extremely dizzy, light headed, and my heart rate was through the roof. I was able to get out of there (by making up an excuse) and went straight to the hospital. I felt so weird like I wasn't even myself and everything looked different too. The hospital did blood work, blood pressure, and a EKG. Everything came back fine, they also gave me an adivan to calm me down as I was freaking out. I felt fine for a little bit then 2 days ago it hit me again. I was also at work and this time I wasn't able to leave as quickly as I would've liked. It was really scary and I felt like I was going to faint. Went to the hospital, did the same tests, all clear. Now I am going back Friday to see a specialist and put on a heart monitor for 48 hours. It happened AGAIN this morning after drinking last night. I did not go to the hospital, instead I am at home laying down writing this thread trying to calm myself down. It is absolutely the worst feeling imaginable, I don't even feel like myself. It is interfering with everything now, my job, my realasionships, and I'm just starting to feel like I'm going to be this way forever. I don't know if this some sort of anxiety disorder I have developed or if it is strictly related to my drinking. I guess the only way to find out is to stop drinking and see how I feel durning that time. If it does happen again though, does that mean I need to be on anxiety medication? If so, I have heard very negative things about anxiety medication, basically that is it very addictive and not healthy. I have never taken any except that one day at the hospital when they have me an adivan which did seem to help at the time. I just want to feel normal again. But I guess all I can do is take it one day at a time and hope for the best. I appreciate everyone who has posted on here because I cannot express how alone and "crazy" I felt before reading all this. I know I'm not alone and I know that one day I will have this under control. For now I will try my best to follow up with all my Doctors appointments, and refrain from drinking until I figure out what is really going on.
I wish you all the best and hope we all get the answers we are looking for.

Sending you all peace and love.

[Jacker]

Nickname, the continued alcohol abuse is most certainly causing the dizziness, increased heart rate, etc.  We all like to drink as if we're care-free 20 year olds, but years of abuse will catch up to you, and your body will gradually change the way that it processes alcohol.  If you can stay sober and alcohol free for a period of several months, it's very VERY likely that you will see a drastic improvement or complete remission.  

[discobrother]

Hi Nickname!!

I have had the EXACT symptoms youve described for the past 14 years. When i say exact i mean word for word. Ive been to all the specialists too and had brain scans and everything is fine. I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure also but same as you, theres no correlation in the level of dizziness and high B.P. readings.

What im certain you have is vestibular neuritis which is normally caused by an infection of the inner ear. You should see a Balance Rehabilitation Therapist or a Physiotherapist that specialises in balance therapy.

They will do a full evaluation of your balance and visual issues and set up a program for you to follow. It usually involves different head movements while focusing on a target in front of you. Over time this will make you dizziness more manageable and you will have days where the you wont even notice that your dizzy at all. OR, like some patients you might recover fully. It took me 9 years to find out where i needed to go to get sorted so i hope this is of help to you.

Check out this website for more information and resources
www.vestibular.org

I hope this is of help to you. I know EXACTLY how you feel and you did a great job of describing your symptoms. Feel free to get in touch if you need anything else.
Best of luck with your program

Rob

[ibizan]

I've never had problems like this but i've been sober/clean 31 years...one hour at a time,one day at a time.the benefits far outweigh the challenges being sober bring.....here is an acronym- S-son of A....B-Biotch:) E-Everythings R-Real!it is indeed,but remaining in a haze of alcohol/drugs just muddied my life's waters too dang much.....i handle the ripples much better SOBER and clean!You have good insight into your issues and yes,it does indeed give you a better life back!

[NIckname54321]

This sounds all too familiar. I am 34 and have been a very heavy drinker for 5-7 years and moderate the prior 3.  In late 2011 after a particularly festive night, I experienced a panic attack for no obvious reason sitting at my computer around the time I would normally bounce back from a hangover. I got dizzy and lightheaded, my feet got cold and my heart started racing. Since that day, I’ve constantly been dealing with a misery medicine and doctors haven't been able to pinpoint. My drinking has also escalated.

It's difficult to explain the way I feel because it seems to effect so many different things. Generally, I would say it is similar to the feeling of the time between waking up drunk and sobering up, only I feel like my head never fully "clears", and I don't feel stable and fully alert. It’s that spaced out and groggy feeling when you have the flu. I don’t feel present and fully engaged in what’s going on around me. It doesn’t come and go, there aren’t any triggers. It’s always there.

My balance isn’t right and there's a visual aspect to it as well. I have a hard time focusing on stationary and particularly small objects for any length of time. There's a sense that stationary objects slowly drift or sway in my field of vision. If I am looking at a moving object against a stationary background, I feel like I’m moving in the same direction as the object.  Driving and reading is a nightmare. Sometimes it seems like images stutter or vibrate. There is of course the sensation of swaying or drifting while I am standing or sitting in one place. It’s like watching a fuzzy TV channel that’s not quite fully tuned in. All of this is accompanied by a bizarre head pressure I feel in my temples, upper molars and across my forehead, but that seems to come and go with the visual anomalies.

All of these things are amplified the morning after I have been drinking and some of it improves throughout the day but none if it every fully goes away. If I don’t drink, it’s all present the next day. Generally, it seems to be worse in the morning and when I’m under stress.  

Immediately after this started I sought medical help. I can tell you I have high blood pressure which I started medicating after the fact. I monitor it and don’t notice any correlation with the symptoms.  My blood work shows I am otherwise healthy for all intents and purposes here. Anxiety is an issue but I believe it is derived from the symptoms I’ve described. This would drive anyone crazy. I was prescribed Buspar for the anxiety but it gave no reprieve. I stopped taking it cold turkey and absolutely nothing changed. I’ve been to neurologists and had imaging done. Everything looks normal. My eyes are fine and I’ve even been through a bout of vision therapy thinking that all of this might be related to hitting my head a few months prior to the day it started.

I want to believe this is related to my drinking and can hopefully improve with abstinence. That’s something I have control over. I’m hoping for some confirmation from others who have had similar experiences and made their way out. The hope that sobriety could help these issues and give me my life back would be a very powerful thing to me.

[natassa1929]

I am experiencing the same symptoms after I drunk a lot over 3 weeks during the festive Christmas period, normally I do not drink alcohol at all. The spirits I drank were wine, O' Grady's irish cream and mulled wine. The symptoms come and go for almost 3 weeks now. Even though I have not drinken alcohol since then, I think coffee might have prevented recovery. Could you share with us apart from remaining sober what else did you do to return back to normal?

Can the relevant symptoms appear because of the quality of alcohol? I am not entirely sure about O' Grady's quality, it is much cheaper than Bailey's and maybe there is a catch to it.

[bday55]

Must be old age creeping in. Same thing happened to me last week. And I didn't even finish the bottle. Dizzy like crazy the next day. I'm a power drinker too...always been. I'm taking some time off (much needed), been heavy drinking since Thanksgiving. I'm just an idiot. I feel pretty good after 4 days   of no drinking. Hope it works out for you. "Alcohol, a Hell of a drug"

[dollbud]

i am a silly 54 year old female,...who drank too much wine a couple days back. prob about one 750cl bottle and another half, no other mixes. i am on medication for heart and hypertension as well. i usually try and moderate and know ehen not to exceed as have had probs before in past 12 years when drinking at binge level became a problem. all brought on by personal stuff of very heavy nature!!! altho i suppose some will say that no life experiences should turn you to drink....but i say lucky the individual strong enough to not fall this path...i certainly shouldnt have any reason now tho altho at times reflection kicks in, but generally am ok for past year or bit longer, since had scary moment couple years back with alcohol poisoning. anyhows, a couple days back i was out and had bottle wine to last whole evening along with pint soda to water down effects of wine strength, unfortunately got embroiled in a companions drinking speed and ended up binging too much, result....vomitting..passing out..unable to get up/function until 8pm the following day...now it is 3rd day and still feel dizzy if get up too fast or even if head turns from side to side when in bed..and as usual am now very worried over health that have caused irreversible brain damge..any thoughts...chrissi

[pettygil]

Feeling dizzy could mean many different things. It may, or may not be the booze you are drinking.

I would see a doctor. I did and come to find out I have a nasty inner ear infection, which will cause a person to feel light headed, or off balance. I don't have any pain in my ears, still don't, so I was surprised to find out I have an inner ear infection. I have bladder infection with no symptoms, but I have an infection. My point is this: If you don't have any symptoms that doesn't mean you are well and you should be seen by a doctor.
I have another doc appointment it a few days. I'm dizzy again to.

I also have panic attacks, which make me feel dizzy and I have vertigo, which makes it seems like the room is spinning. However, booze doesn't help those problems I have, it just makes it worse. Drinking can cause dizzy spells to. A lot of things can cause you to feel light headed, so best if you get that checked out.

Also, drink lots of water, as when you drink that much, your body become dehydrated.
Which can cause dizzy spells.

[Westguy1003]

Apnea is not something you "get," it's something you "have." It's still worth getting checked out as even though it's a common condition it's potentially very dangerous.  Many people with sleep apnea wake up trying to breath dozens of times throughout the night, sometimes hundreds and are never even conscious of the fact it's happening as they're still half-asleep when it happens. I went for a sleep study and was astonished to find that on average I "wake up" 30 times an hour. Losing weight helps, sleeping on your side instead of your back helps, etc. But again, that's something thats up to you to pursue.

You really have to listen to your body though. Sleep apnea or not, binge drinking and alcohol abuse can cause a whole slew of health problems not the least of which are sleeping disorders. like Jacker said, give up the booze until at least you feel normal again. If you get the dizziness and the lightheadedness again it's probably time to seriously hold off on the booze for a good, long while. Like Jacker I started getting horrible bouts of dizziness and balance issues after drinking and that's what finally convinced me it was time to stop for a while. It's been over a month and I'm still feeling dizzy and lightheaded for most of the day but it's better than a hangover and it's not nearly as bad as it was when I was drinking.

Sometimes your body tries to tell you things. At the very least you should probably take a break from the booze for a few weeks / months and give your body time to recover from it. Binge drinking is never a good thing, healthwise and can lead to many problems. As I said, being an alcoholic doesn't always mean you drink a lot or drink often... but those things don't help either. Addict or not, give your body a break. If only as an experiment maybe do what I did and make plans to stop for a month. If you find you miss alcohol, more importantly if you CRAVE it then maybe it's time to consider getting some help. If you can go the month without thinking too much about it then I can guarantee you'll feel better and more productive at least physically and mentally speaking and maybe you'll choose to abstain longer.

It's up to you but remember to keep your health in mind and mind your health.

Good luck.

[Cedmar]

okay, pretty much not dizzy at all right now... don't think i had any apnea or atleast that woke me up freaked out. Still a little nauseas tho. sometimes almosr ro where I WANNA throw up.

[Jacker]

What you should worry about is your increasing quantity. Dizziness is what finally ended my drinking career too.  I went on a binge that left me so dizzy that I didn't' feel normal for about 6 weeks.  This is not to scare you- it's to let you know that your body is trying to tell you something.  If you are this dizzy, lay off the booze until you feel normal again.

If you're an alcoholic, then you should stop for ever.  If not, then take a break and moderate your drinking........but if you can't moderate, then you have your answer on whether or not you are an alcoholic.

My balance is back now, the vertigo is gone.  Prolonged sobriety is what fixed it.  

[Cedmar]

thanks for the comment, I don't consider any of it preaching.  It's welcomed. Yeah, I only freaked so bad because I felt perfect before that Wednesday. Then its like the hangover never went away... well the nauseas..and light feeling... and the sleep apnea JUST started for the first time the day after... You know? It's like too much for a coincidence ... yhen yeah, as you said... started climbing up the walls. Gonna get myself checked sometime soon here.

[Westguy1003]

So many things could be going on that may or may not be related to drinking. But to give you my own experiences:

I used to be able to drink a lot, heavily, and I'd feel hungover the next day like usual but it'd more or less go away. Then about two or three months ago I found that my hangovers were getting worse. I'd be dizzy, lightheaded, and off balance for the day, and even days after I stopped drinking. MUCH worse than anything I ever had before. It was then that I started thinking that I was drinking too much and made plans to quit.

You could have so many things it's impossible to say with any certainty but regardless of that you're clearly doing damage to yourself by drinking as much as you do. Best to hold off drinking for at least a few months and see if things don't get better. Although I strongly urge you consult with your doctor and tell him/her everything you've told us.

People who drink heavily tend to be defficient in any number of vitamins or minerals because the liver works overtime to process the alcohol. If you drink regularly than your liver is likely on overdrive and not doing what it's supposed to be doing. The good news is that your liver is a very tough organ and can actually repair itself most of the time if you give it a break. You're still young so it's possible that any damage you've done to your body you can reverse or at least manage if you quit the booze.

If you're body is reacting to your drinking differently then you're used to then it's trying to tell you something. Thing of your body like a car. You know your car better than anyone else. You know what it can and can't do and you know what it normally sounds and feels like and you know what it sounds and feels like when somethings wrong. This is the same. Your body is telling you to stop doing what you're doing.

Don't drive yourself crazy trying to diagnose yourself by reading on the internet. Lightheadedness, dizziness, nauseau are such broad symptoms they're indicative of almost everything and anything you could think of from a brain tumor to liver disorders, cancer, to motion sickness, etc. You'll convince yourself you have a dozen different things before you even set foot in a doctors office and it'll make you crazy. I know, I've done it! Go to your doctor and get properly diagnosed.

There really is no UPside to heavy drinking. Given time, heavy drinking or binge drinking will have negative effects on nearly every organ in your body. Brain, liver, kidneys, heart, etc... And that's to say nothing of the hangover the next morning. You're still young so if you can cut out the binge drinking, limit your alcohol intake, or better yet give it up completely I strongly urge you to do so, at least until you get a diagnosis from your doctor and give your body adequate time to heal.

I won't preach to you too much about the evils of alcohol but consider your health and the possibility that you might have a drinking problem. Alcoholism is not defined by how much you drink or how often you drink but rather by continuing to drink even when the drinking causes problems and/or you know it would be better, safer, or smarter not to continue drinking. You can be an alcoholic and only drink once a week or a few times a month and you can be a non-alcoholic who drinks much more than that! It's in the effect that the booze has on your life, not the extent or frequency. Only you can say if you have this problem and if you're drinking is having negative effects on your life. Although At the very least it's having negative effects on your health and wether or not you have a drinking problem realize that your health is extremely important.

Here's how I looked at my life and my situation: At WORST, I'm an alcoholic. At BEST: I'm drinking far too much and doing damage to my body and my overal health. See? No real upside there.

Aside from the drinking I'd mention your sleeping problems to your doctor. While alcohol can cause some sleep disturbances and disorders it's entirely possible you may have sleep apnea which is a fairly common problem especially among larger people. If you shoot awake in the middle of the night and have trouble breathing or catching your breath it's a definite possibility that you might have sleep apnea. It's common but potentially dangerous so certainly bring that up to your doctor as well. It can be easily diagnosed with a sleep study (although they're certainly no fun). I have it myself and I can tell you firsthand that stopping drinking and/or losing weight goes a long way toward managing it.

Again, I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to consult with your doctor about this as I, and the others on this forum, can only share with you our own experiences and insight from our own lives. We can't diagnose you. Any or all of this could be caused by the bing drinking or any number of other things. For the sake of your sanity at least, talk to your doctor.

Good luck and keep us posted!
31 Days.