Unusual Case of Alcohol Poisoning

Question

Are there a list of possible conditions which symptoms include extreme sensitivity to alcohol? 

Recently had a 200lb male friend enjoy a single Gin & Tonic with a hearty lunch. The only alcoholic beverage he consumed was the 1 mixed drink. 1 hour after consumption, he was unable to speak or walk. i feared a stroke based on the immediate onset of symptoms but he seemed extremely "black-out" drunk. When i took him to the hospital, they said his BAC was 3 times the legal limit and moved him to the back of the ER to wait-out his condition for 8hrs before releasing him without doing further tests. He was unable to remember the time from his first stumble until 1 hour after being in the hospital but was semi-conscious the whole time.

My friend has never had a history of issues or sensitivity to alcohol and because we were traveling together, i know it was the only alcoholic beverage he had consumed in 36 hrs. what could have possibly caused this?

ibizan · Answer

is he diabetic?if so not taking meds?not compliant with his diet?

Go_rocks · Answer

May be an allergy to the quinine in the gin. Rare but deadly. Get it checked out.

Kresaera · Answer

That is very strange indeed. Maybe instead of an er doctor, he could make an appointment with a different doctor who will listen to the entire story and you should go with him as a witness to him only having the one drink. I'm not sure how long rohypnol stays in your system, I do hope you find the answers you need.

rpooo · Answer

I just spent some time trying to research the idea that something else may have caused the elevated BAC level. I found nothing since the BAC level was high and the symptoms all point to the same thing, Your friend was drunk. 

You can argue that it was a bad interaction with any medication (prescribed or not) but the BAC test can only slightly vary depending on things such as mouthwash and OTC medication but not enough to increase his level to .24

Your friend was undoubtedly intoxicated and I assume that for whatever his reasoning was (possibly anxiety) he drank a lot in a very short time to making him go from seemingly sober to drunk so quickly not anticipating correctly how badly the amount ingested so quickly and harshly would affect him. 

This being the case I would refuse to go to a doctor too.. wouldn't you? I wouldn't worry much about his health other than he might have a drinking problem. Over the years I have taken a drink to calm down before many activities or events. Bad idea for me since alcoholism has led to cirrhosis in my case. This group could possibly largely benefit your friend but as in most cases it takes the individual to seek help for themselves or possibly your friend isn’t at all an alcoholic and this one time occurance was just a really dumb mistake. Lol ooopsy! Anyways take care and best wishes.

Randy

snurfer28 · Answer

The reason i'm writing is because after the bad experience at the hospital of being told he is a bad drunk, needs to sober up and stop drinking so much without doing a thorough diagnosis or listening to us explain the situation, he does not want to go back to a doctor unless the symptoms could suggest something serious. one friend hinted at Lymes Disease as a possible cause but usually that causes nausea, not 1 hour of normal behavior then insta-black-out drunk and loss of memory. We definitely worried it could be rohypnol but who does that at a bar & grill at LUNCH?! and how on earth would you test for that? does it linger in the bloodstream?

rpooo · Answer

I wonder if dehydration could have been the cause. Water is very critical for survival. Maybe perhaps someone put something in his drink

snurfer28 · Answer

He does not. in all other respects, he is a healthy 26 year-old male with no other medications or chronic issues. he is not overweight and he does not seem to suffer from any other symptoms. 

24hrs after the incident he is very thirsty for just water, still feeling groggy, chills and headache much like a hangover might cause but otherwise fine.