Is Alcohol the culprit?

[Pbilly]

Hello, 3 years ago I lost consciousness on an airplane that was attributed to common vaso-vagal syncope brought on by dehydration, fatigue and stress. Two years ago it happened again on the way home from work. It happened again a month later again on an airplane. Since then I have had a series of symptoms including light-headedness, periodic extreme fatigue, and what the neurologist has called "siezure auras" (it's a feeling that's difficult to describe. Like I'm watching a movie and suddenly realize no, this is reality). Sometimes it takes hours for me to feel like I have truly woken up in the morning. I occasionally experience slight abdominal pain that I feel when I press on the bottom of my rib cage on either side. Also, since January of this year I have had a pain on the inside of my right arm that feels like tendonitis. However I have felt it every day and it has not gone away despite constant rest. Also, when I make a strong fist my entire right arm shakes uncontrollably. The neurologist believes it is "essential tremor" but it only affects my right arm. My left arm is not affected. I occasionaly feel slightly nauseous when I feel the syncope thing coming on and have been near to fainting several times aside from the 4 times I have gone completely unconscious. I seem to be able to stop it from happening if I quickly lat down and raise my feet allowing the blood to return to my head.

So anyway I have had a series of medical tests including several heart tests (Blood tests, ECG's, stress test with and without nuclear tracer injection, xrays and echocardiogram) all of which have been normal. One of the tests revealed a possible calcium buildup on my aorta which my Doctor said is normal but premature for a person my age (37). I've had an abdominal ultrasound which was normal. I have had a brain CT scan, brain MRI, 2 EEG's and numerous blood tests. The only questionable results have come from my liver enzymes (GGT, AST and ALT). The GGT (130) and ALT (53)  were slightly elevated on two occasions as a result of drinking alcohol previously. However after a few days of no alcohol intake they have all returned to normal. My last blood test was for cortisol levels which turned out normal.

I have never had any classic alcohol problems (I don't argue with my wife, I have done well professionally, and would never think of drinking or driving), however when I told the neurologist how much I drank he called me an alcoholic. When I laughed out loud he called me an alcoholic in denial. I would say it makes sense I have been a functioning alcoholic.  I have definitely been a heavy drinker in the past few years probably consuming 1-4 drinks on average of 5-6 days a week. Once or twice each week I would consume 4-15 drinks in a night. So it may be that alcohol is the culprit and it is affecting me in peculiar ways. My drinking in the past year has been limited to about once or twice a week. The longest I have gone with a drop of alcohol in recent months has been 4-5 weeks.  When I have drank it has typically been 2-4 drinks.  The symptoms have not lessened at all but I guess it may take some time if alcohol had anything to do with it.

So the neurologist believes my symptoms are the result of alcoholism although all tests have proved normal thus far. My GP believes alcohol may be a factor but whether it is the cause or only exacerbates the problem he does not know. I do not intend to drink in the near future.

Has anyone out there seen anything similar or had similar experiences? While it doesn't seem to be getting worse I cannot carry on like this forever. My work has been very accommodating and understanding but I cannot expect this to be so indefinitely. I am open to any ideas and intend now to consult with a naturopath.

[uberadtx]

I hear what EVERYONE is saying.  I had NO IDEA how progressive alcoholism is.  It keeps going and going. By the time I got sober I had run through a few of those "I never would...."  to get drunk or high.  I was shocked by my behavior even in the throes of my drunken stupors. The real reality of the disease hit me when I was about a year sober.  I knew this guy who had about a year more than me.  He seemed to be doing soo well.  Actually he was until he got into a bicycle accident.  The ER doctor gave him a script for Percocet and he didn't tell anyone.  He took the script, filled it and went home.  7 hours later he was on life support.  He took those pills and went out looking for his drug of choice, was pulled over by police taken home, where he finished the prescription until he was unconscious. He wound up in detox.  When he came out 4 days later, his landlord had packed up his **** and it was on the front lawn, his car was impounded and he had lost his job.  All in 7 hours.  After 2 years of being sober.  Talk about a flippin progressive disease.  He was in worse shape than when he got sober those 2 years prior.  I knew then I didn't need to pick up a drink, a pill, a joint even a tylenol.  Thankfully that was about 4 years ago and he's been clean since.  

[ibizan]

i like ur comments.I've seen people 1 yr.5yr.10 yr..and one friend 18 yrs sober pick up that first drink again after ALL that time...and the results were disastrous.the 18 yr.sober was first person i met at NA many moons ago,former counselor....he is going to die as a result of his drinking.I see him staggering around town in broad daylight.....and i shake my head.....AA has that saying...ther4 by the grace of God go I"! damn not this girl!he has been offerred tons of help,been in jail numerous times.......keeps drinking.tragic!such a waste!

[working dog]

i wish i knew you when i went through all this...at least i'm getting info now...and i don't expect my symptoms to go away all the way for a while...i think by next summer i'll be doing a lot better with my anxiety...i think i came real close to killing myself by stopping drinking fast with out help....it's funny before i found this forum i was telling anyone that was talking about quiting to watch out..and to get help cause what i did was nuts...i hope now i can help others...one thing that concerns me is some of the folks that hear my story and then quit for lets say 3 months and don't have bad withdrawls might go back thinking it won't happen to them....i think you cross a line that you can't come back over with drinking.or maybe there are phases that you go through..and as you enter each phase things get worse..about a year before i quit..in that last year i hurt my body and mind so much..thats not to say i didn't have a problem before..just not as bad...and to think i had no idea i was an alcoholic...thanks for your info...it's neat to hear from some of you guys that quit a long time ago...billy

[ibizan]

dig ur comments....so true.pbilly-please heed them and keep us in the loop!

[uberadtx]

The problem is that the medical community is so ignorant to alcoholism. It is too dangerous to quit alcohol cold turkey.  The only drug withdrawal you can die from is alcohol!  Thats a fact. A doctor prescribed detox is the safest way.  It takes over 30 days to clear the body of alcohol completely, then maybe one can start assessing the damage to the vital organs, brain included. It takes a while for the anxiety to subside.  To steal a phrase: "Get busy living or get busy dying" the choice is yours today.  I hope you stay well.  Please keep us updated.

[working dog]

ok ..i quit in march of 07 or cut down to 1 to 2 beers a day from 1 third of a fifth of vodka a day...at that point i had bad withdrawls and the dizziness went away quite a bit in 3.5 to 4 months..maybe a little more...then stopped the 1 to 2 beers in feb of 06...i went through withdrawls again but not as bad except the foggy brain and dizziness( still it was bad though)...that went on a lot like lots of everyday for about 4 months...it got better but real slow...i guess i'm in the process of rebuilding my liver...about a month ago it finally got to the point where it wasn't too bad...at first i didn't even want to ride a bike...then that started comming back...i'm not all better now but most of the way...still have dizzy feeling but not as bad as before and not for that long..just remember they can test for sugar problems and not get it right....another symptom i get is... i would go to sleep at about 11 and every night wake up with bad anxiety just real bad dreams that i had real trouble wakeing myself out of...that would happen at 130..and would last for about an hour or more...untill i could calm myself down....good luck...billy

[Pbilly]

Thanks for all your thoughts ibizan, dog and uber.  I have indeed been tested for hypoglycemia as well as Hepatitis, AIDS, and a whack of other things.  I was honestly up-front about the amount I drank with my Doctor from the start but he initially seemed to think it was something else.  It was only after several normal tests that the neurologist pointed to alcohol.  He ordered the brain MRI to look for tumors and to see if alcohol had had any impact on my brain.  The MRI was normal.  I do not know if I have been tested for depleted vitamin potassium or niacin levels but will ask next time I see my doctor.  I have had probably no less than a dozen blood tests as well as 2 urine tests all of which have not unearthed anything except the hightened GGT and AST on a couple of occasions.

I find that I do not have any of the classic withdrawal symptoms when I stop drinking (insomnia, anxiety, sweats, dt's etc).  Working Dog I take your advice well and agree that I probably need several months alcohol-free to truly find out if it is the cause.  The trick will of course be putting it into action.  Can I ask you how long you had dizzy or near fainting spells after quitting?  Did you taper off alcohol or was it cold turkey?  Did you find any correlation between when you stopped and the severity and timeliness of the symptoms?

Thanks for all your good wishes!

[uberadtx]

Have you done any research on the effects of alcohol?  I see why the Drs have honed into your alcohol consumption.  Alcohol affects the central nervous system and brain.  It causes numbness in the limbs, extremities, seizures, dizziness, clouded thinking and dementia. It doesn't matter if you drink one drink or a thousand.  It seems to have these affects on people.  Your genetic makeup might contribute to the fact that the alcohol is having such a ravenous effect on you.  The term alcoholic is really a catch all for many things, only you can determine if you have a problem with alcohol.  AA and other organizations have great 10 question quizzes so that you can determine it yourself. Check out the mayoclinic.com; that site seems to have the most comprehensive information I have seen in a while.  Unfortunately, the neurologist could be accurate in his assessment.  I would ask him what his treatment plan would be for you. Given the severity of your reaction to the alcohol, I would be extra cautious about withdrawal and this neurologist may be able to help you safely without further damage to yourself.  Either way, find a doctor you trust to help you.  A change in diet will certainly make everything more comfortable for you.  I am sure you have depleted vitamin b, potassium and niacin levels which can effect all sorts of things especially muscular tremors.  Keep me posted on your progress.  Good Luck

[working dog]

well i drove head on into someone and never even thought it could have anything to do with alcohol..lucky for me i was the only one hurt(i wasn't driving drunk)it was about 4 days after i stopped a few years ago.back then i knew nothing about alcohol and liver problems..... your dizziness could be from drinking or stopping drinking ..and you might have to stop for 4 to 6 months to find out...i wonder what you eat???could you be hypoglycemic??? i know a lot of tests can mean nothing..and you must have been tested for hep c....anyway my dizziness and almost fainting was awfull...i had real trouble with it...so...i would stop drinking...smoking..watch what your breathing in...like indoor polution(rugs..or cleaning stuff used...)think about if you changed anything like soap all that...or moved to a new house or office at work..but it's likely that if you eat right and completly stop drinking in 4 to 6 months you might see a difference that is hard to find in medical tests..it's tough to stop drinking...i think lots of folks stop for a little while and think they have control of the alcohol but it's still got you and then it just gets worse...i also think that if you cut down a year ago but still continued drinking you really didn't do that much...if your having dizziness and the docs can't find anything i would stop drinking right away...don't be afraid of getting help...something bad could happen if you don't ......good luck..billy

[ibizan]

if u really want to know for sure,find a good licensed substance abuse counselor and get an evaluation.they should take a thorough drinking/drug use history,some diagnostic ?'nairres,and u be completely honest with them!Agree to have ur wife in as part of evalution to enable her perspective.Keep us posted!