The wonders of
alcohol.
The achilles heel for many people. The 'norm' for some others.
And poison if you have CFS/PVFS/M.E....
I remember when I first got Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome/CFS
back in 1995, I thought that having a drink or two wouldn't
affect me any differently to my PRE-CFS days.
Unfortunately I didn't realize what I was doing to myself. I
didn't know how badly alcohol can affect the severity of CFS...
Nowadays I don't touch alcohol at all, and haven't done so for
a few years now. I'd rather see at least a few hours in the
day instead of being bedridden for weeks on end because of one
alcoholic drink!
Because when you have CFS/M.E., you might as well be pouring
arsenic down your throat...
------SIDE NOTE-------
Okay - so that comparison might be a little 'dramatic', but
you get what I mean right?
------SIDE NOTE-------
You see when you have CFS/M.E., you are likely to develop
**alcohol intolerance**...
The smallest alcoholic drink - even a tiny bit, can send you
into a relapse - as I learnt the hard way many years ago.
Having an alcoholic drink now and again was enough to tip the
severity of my CFS over the edge and put me in bed
indefinitely.
When a **normal** person gets drunk they may feel a bit bad
for a day or so, after which, they're back to 'normal',
bouncing back and raring to go.
But when a person with M.E./CFS gets drunk - or even has just
one drink, they're likely to feel like 'death warmed up' for
what seems like an eternity!!!
Personally, I don't actually like alcohol much so I don't miss
it. But even if I did, I have realised that alcohol no longer
makes me feel the way it used to before I had CFS...
Drinking alcohol now feels like I'm feeding myself poison, and
my body reacts accordingly - i.e. a relapse - and I suffer the
consequences for a long, long time afterwards.
Unfortunately, us CFS sufferers are just not strong enough to
resist the poisons of alcohol. So it's unfortunately a case of
accepting it, or getting much, much worse.
As Dr Shepherd writes in his book 'Living With M.E.':
"Some people who previously enjoyed and tolerated regular
consumption of alcohol without any adverse effects, now find
that even small amounts make them extremely unwell."
-- p214, Dr Shepherd, 'Living With M.E.' --
So if you have M.E./CFS, it is likely that you may have
developed an intolerance to alcohol.
And that's not forgetting that alcohol also affects the
effects of antidepressants (often prescribed to CFS sufferers
to treat their fatigue and to help sufferers sleep)! So if
you're taking antidepressants, it's definitely something to
bear in mind.
Having CFS/FM can be a very lonely and devastating experience
and depression can be a very real and serious symptom for many
CFS/FM sufferers.
So the last thing you need is to take substances that make you
feel worse.
And guess what?
Yep, you've guess it, alcohol is also a depressant. So it's
not a great thing to drink if you're depressed! And according
to Dr Shepherd, many sufferers sadly do turn to alcohol...
But alcohol is no answer.
Apart from probably making you feel depressed, you could also
develop an alcohol dependency!
What's more, if you **are** alcohol intolerant, then it would
make it much harder for yourself to recover from M.E./CFS
(pretty much impossible even), while you keep putting alcohol
in your body.
And here's some more 'food for thought'...
When you think about how badly a CFS sufferer can be affected
by **one** alcoholic drink, then how badly could alcohol be
affecting you if you're drinking more???
So there you go - a whole list of reasons why you might think
twice about drinking anything remotely alcoholic while you
have CFS/M.E.
While you may no longer be alcohol intolerant once you have
recovered from CFS/M.E., it may well be a major culprit for
preventing you from **recovering** from your CFS/M.E while you
still have it.
I didn't know about the possible effects of alcohol when I
first had CFS/M.E...
... and I suffered the consequences. My M.E./CFS got worse. A
lot worse. And I was only having a couple of drinks now and
again!
So I hope this article arms you with enough info for you to
make an educated decision about alcohol either way.
You never know - it may well make the difference...
Disclaimer:
This article in no way should be taken as “medical
advice” on any product, condition or course of action, nor
does it constitute in any way “medical advice” endorsing
any specific product, specific result, nor any possible cure
for any condition or problem. This article is meant as a
source of information upon which you may base your decision as
to whether or not you should begin using any vitamin, mineral
and/or herbal supplement for better health, or begin using a
“greens” product as a dietary supplement.
If in doubt, or if you have questions, you should consult your
physician and, if possible, consult a second physician for a
possible different opinion. The author does not bear any
responsibility for your decisions nor for the outcome of your
actions based upon those decisions.
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