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Alcohol related chest pain - is this an allergy?

Recently i've discovered certain alcoholic beverages trigger severe heart pain. It feels like extreme fatigue in the heart and arm muscles.  Most alcohols don't bother me. The only drinks i know of that do are smirnoff fruit twists, or seagrams fruit coolers. However not all fruit drinks react in this way. The amount i drink doesnt seem to be a factor. This has happened to me three times and the least severe were the two times i had downed about two bottles. The worst of it began after i had taken only a sip. It was so bad I thought I was having a heart attack.

  I know the best solution would be to stop drinking. And seeing as I know that is my cure, i'm more curious than concerned. Is this even an allergy?
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Avatar universal
When I was around 14 or so, I had my gallbladder removed. This was around the same time I began experimenting with alcohol. I thought at the time the pain I was experiencing when I would drink was a result of my having gallstones, but nearly twenty years later, I still can't drink alcohol. When I do, it feels as though I'm having a gallstone attack all over again and believe me, I've gone to doctors and the ER to make sure there aren't any stones hiding in the clamped off ducts as well as having my heart checked countless times.  I've been told it's GERD and esophageal spasms caused by the acidity in alcohol; nothing else I consume leads to such distress. Another crappy factor in not having a gallbladder is the susceptibility to pancreatic attacks when I consume large portions of fried or fatty foods which sometimes lands me in the hospital for pancreatitis which is just as painful as those phantom heart attack pains incurred by GERD and the esophageal spasms. I've found, oddly enough, that morphine sulphate actually not only helps the daily pain but gives me an appetite I wouldn't normally have. Though most see this as a controversial treatment method because of the dependence issue that comes along with opioids, in my opinion the reward outweighs any risk associated because in the end I am able to get out of bed, eat like a human being without vomiting bile or having diarrhea after every meal and exist peacefully with limited amounts of pain. I realized the correlation between the morphine sulphate and my stomach issues dwindling by chance, really; I was prescribed the medication because my knees are quite literally deteriorating from years of bmx racing and noticed how much my life improved all around from that medication. These days, you couldn't pay me to drink liquor because after about two sips, I'm rolling on the floor in extreme pain. I'm also not advocating morphine to everyone with this illness, just sharing what has been working for me and my own journey to living a life somewhat free of the agony associated with extreme gastrointestinal issues.
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Avatar universal
Wow didn't know what this was...had it for years... Smirnoff vodka Bacardi  or fruity drink...I just had a drink called jolly ranchers... And it made my chest hurt in the middle of my chest .. Like I'm about to die...had to put the fan on....I became hot fatigue.... I started rubbing my chest then after about an half hour I'm good...like wtf!!!!
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Avatar universal
Omg... for the last week I've been having serious chest pain. I literally thought something was wrong with my heart. I went in and got tests and everything but I ended up being okay. I really had no idea what was wrong. Over the last week I was on vacation drinking mixed drinks. It's a little after my vacation and my chest has been feeling fine. I thought I would drink a lime a Rita because I had them on my trip and they are better then beer. Instant heart pain. It caused me to look it up and this! The sugary preservative drinks is what causes this chest pain. I'm currently experiencing it now. It feels like I'm having a heart attack, it's seriously bad. I'm so glad I came across this post
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Avatar universal
I have had these symptoms with one particular brand of alcoholic root beer. Heart racing, chest and arm pain, weakness in limbs, shaky, sweaty, light headed. I had my finger on the call button for 911, and luckily it passed in about 20 mins. I am having food allergy testing done today. I have asked the manufacturer for a list of their 'natural ingredients', hopefully this will help me find out if this is caused by a reaction to the ingredients, the sugar or by heartburn like others have suggested. I will let you all know what I find out!
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The brewing company sent a list of the 'natural ingredients' to me. Unfortunately, I was not able to be tested for all of them, but did find a significant allergy to nutmeg. I am also allergic to ginger, which could explain the reaction i had to the hard ginger ale made by the same brewery. The doctor said that if I am allergic to the ingredients in an alcoholic drink, my reaction would be more intense and rapid because the alcohol would dilate the blood vessels in my digestive system. So...nothing definitive, but there is definitely the chance that I am allergic to one/some of the ingredients which caused the serious reaction. Maybe try to keep note of the drinks that cause a reaction and see if there are common ingredients. My doctor mentioned corn syrup as a common allergen, although not in my case
Avatar universal
Lomrie

I honestly thought I was the only person on earth with this issue!  

Let me give you some background and my thoughts:

Stats:
I am 34 y/o Male.  I have body mass index that places me in the high over weight column.  I am 6' tall with a weight of 210. I am proportionally carried and I exercise occasionally.  No major health issues, diabetes runs on my fathers side of the family and my grandfather on my mothers side has heart disease.
I drink fairly heavily and know my body well regarding alcohol tolerance.  My regular alcohol consumption on the weekend can be as high as a 1/2 gallon of rum.
I do not care for beer, however, I have always enjoyed drinking (especially as a kid) smirnoff Ice, mikes hard lemonade, and other high sugar malt type drinks.

Experiences:
Like you, when i drink these high sugar malt beverages it often (not every time) cause a ferocious pain that begins in my chest directly IVO my heart.  The pain begins to radiate very rapidly and predictably up to my shoulder and down my right arm.  The pain will then spread down to my back and knees within about 5 minutes.  The onset from 0 or no pain to excruciating pain 100 is approx 10 minutes.  
During the peak of my pain, i begin to experience flashes of heat and sweating (resembling a heart attack).  If I attempt to move to a cooler place or in front of a fan/air conditioner I become extremely cold.  
My pain causes me to want to constantly change positions, typically when I feel the onset of this reaction, I MUST segregate myself from friends and allow the experience to pass.  I have had friends over the years who have DEMANDED they call an ambulance.  During these events I have to argue with them (which is the worst.) that this reaction is normal when I consume those types of beverages.
The experience is very predictable.  5-7 minutes to full pain, Full pain for apron 18-20 minutes, and around 5 minutes to come down.  Ordeal is typically 30 minutes.  

Thoughts:
This has plagued me for YEARS.  I brought it yup to various doctors over the year who look at me like i am crazy and say, "your solution is to not drink those drinks."  This has been frustrating none the less.. I agree I know how to contain the problem but I have always wanted to know if this is an underlying symptom of a larger problem.

Experiments:
I have tried to capture exactly what the issue is for me triggering this. I have purposely attempted to trigger on 100s of occasions to see if i can see what the magic formula is to avoid this reaction.. This is what I have found:

Findings:

This reaction is NOT always triggered by alcohol!  In fact, I have managed to trigger the reaction with multiple foods and times.
All of the foods in my findings are extremely high in sugar.  Pixy sticks and candy (lots of it), Macdonlds (and other fast foods), energy drinks,
What i found triggered my reaction to these items was when I had a very very busy day (strenuous work or exercise), and very low food intake.
During these times, if I consumed a high sugar meal (IE a large MacDonalds quarter pounder with cheese, large fries and soda).  The reaction would present itself.

Like wise, If I had a single mikes hard lemonade after the same amount of work and did not accompany it with food.  The reaction would also be triggered.

Now in other situations, where I would have the EXACT same type of day (work wise) and take a mikes hard lemonade and pour it over heaping ice. Sipping very slowly over 15 minutes.  The reaction did not present.

Closing:
I am not a doctor, I can only deduce based on what my experiences tell me (and in have had 1000's of these experiences).
I believe this reaction has something to do with the rapid absorption of concentrated sugar into your system.  The reactions begin relatively quickly on an empty stomach leading me to this conclusion.  The reaction is deeply magnified by alcohol (even just a little).  

Avoidance:
If you must have one of these malt drinks, do yourself a favor.  Eat something light about 30 minutes prior to drinking, also, pour your beverage into a glass to cut the concentration of sugar/alcohol to approx a 50% level (many of those are great on ice!).
Avoid downing your first drink.  Sip slow until your body has a chance to process the beverage.  These tips have managed to keep me from having this experience in years.  
However, yesterday I wanted to see if the problem still existed.  I grabbed a 6 pack of Jack Dan fruit punch and crushed it in about 10 seconds.
as fully expected I was dropped to the floor within 15 minutes rolling around like a puppy that got sprayed in the face with a skunk.

Would love to discuss this more with anyone that would care to chat.  This is actually the first med based conversation that I have ever read that accurately depicts what I go through.

Feel free to drop a line at ***@**** to discuss!

Good luck fellow fake heart attackers!  

Out!
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Avatar universal
Look up hyperglycemia ... alcohol hits the body like megasugar, and when mixed with sugar ... well yeah.
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