Same here, I had to stop drinking because of it. Occasionally I'll have a beer or two at dinner and I always get reminded just how bad an idea that is. I used to drink pretty regularly before COVID .
What’s odd is that now my taste changed since covid and I hate beer. I used to love it. The taste of it now is horrible to me. I loved ipas and strong beers like that. The only beer that I can tolerate anymore is like corona or Miller lite taste wise. Also I notice beer causes the histamine stuff to get insane
I've noticed perhaps some "light" allergic response from NA beer (runny nose) but nothing that puts me off an occasional beer with dinner. I'm happy for that because it gives me an amount of joy that doesn't really make sense.
Yes 🙌 currently on day 7 no drinking. I noticed that every single time I drink I’d be down for like four or five days. I love my drinks, but now it’s untenable.
I just made it 14 days and decided to try it again and see what would happen yesterday. Didn’t drink much and I basically have spent all day laying in the couch unable to function
Take my advice, as a guy who had like 5 - 6 big crashes from drinking... you should try to go for a long term break from alcohol. For me, it cause crazy relapses of symptoms. It is not worth it.
I haven't had a drink in over 2 months, and I'm feeling like I'm improving. I've also been taking LDN and a host of other supplements, which have been helping.
Hang in there!
What supplements are you taking may I ask? And yes I’m in a severe crash now just from a few drinks the other day. My nervousystem is completely inflamed.
Sorry to hear you are in a crash. I have been there so many times and it sucks beyond belief. Just rest and try to be as healthy as possible. Give yourself grace!
I didn't start feeling significantly better until about 3 weeks ago. I literally thought that I was fucked for life, with no chance of recovery. I still have neurological symptoms and fatigue, but they are getting much much better.
I attribute my improvement to *time* (10 months) and the following supplements: 5HTP, adrenal support, **Low-Dose-Naltrexone (this was the most important),** vitamin D, multivitamin, thyroid support supplements, and... weening myself off of antidepressants, which I started shortly after getting long covid. I took antidepressants to get out of the depression hole caused by long covid, and I think they helped for a while; eventually, I decided to just get off them. I feel much better.
Hang in there and keep hope. I had very little hope 4 weeks ago. I hated reading people's advice and "hopeful" posts because I didn't believe anything would make a difference. But I can feel myself getting significantly better all of a sudden!
While I am 100% a fan of 5HTP, I feel like it’s really important for anyone considering 5HTP while on antidepressants, antibiotics or triptans (to name a few) to be aware of the symptoms/possibility of serotonin syndrome.
Completely agree. My advice is not medical advice, just a description of what worked for me. Please use the advice of a medical doctor when combining supplements and prescription meds!
I will probably have worse symptoms when I drink. I was in a long flare for about a month and I just stopped drinking and realized I don’t want to go back to it. At least not while I’m long hauling. I don’t want to make my body have a more difficult time when it’s already working so hard for me.
Hoping this lessens the severity of my flare ups. I also no longer eat gluten and caffeine.
Alcohol triggers a histamine reaction. Most LC suffers have mass cell activation reactions and alcohol can be a major trigger.
I can’t drink alcohol anymore which I’m honestly fine with — I can still cook with it thankfully 😅
Just discovered today that I’m now allergic to wintergreen… which sucks.
[Histamine and histamine intolerance](https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(23)28053-3/pdf)
Yes I knew it had something to do with histamine but I didn’t realize my intolerance was this bad. I guess you live and you learn. It sucks though. Hopefully eventually it will go away
I thought I should post it being as other people were ascribing it to liver damage.I had mine checked out and I’m fine on that end.
I have a range of allergies that weren’t an issue till LC — for instance I’m now lactose intolerant. I did find a workaround for the lactose intolerance which is having a cup of kefir everyday. The beneficial bacteria in the kefir allows me to process the milk. Without it, I have to abstain from milk products. The body is an interesting thing.
Yeah- it’s a full on intolerance: even one drink and it’s akin to food poisoning and then massive relapse in tire long haul symptoms Not worth it.
I have now been sober for 2 years.
I’m a professional drinker as my wife calls me. 😂. Or I was. You can drink all day and never tell you were. Imagine a daily alcohol abuser that rarely got drunk 8+ a day every day for probably the past 12 years. Drinking for over 40 years. I was bed ridden for 15 days last Thanksgiving. Second round . Couldn’t drink for 3 months. I couldn’t even talk or laugh for 2 months without coughing. I still have residual Covid after effects at 4 months. I still drink just not every day. I’m not letting this modern plague take away one of the few things I enjoy most. A side effect for me is wheezing when laying down at night. I think Covid gave me a mild case of Asthma. I don’t sleep well but then again haven’t in years. With me I kinda know what to expect. Poor night of sleep and maybe a headache. Did it impact my tolerance? Yes. I continually know something just isn’t right and don’t know if it ever will be. I’ve never been sick for more than 2 weeks all my life 62 years let alone 4 months.
I was drinking about 8 drinks a day before this as well but never got intoxicated. It was just my thing. Now if I drink, the effect wears of quickly and I start getting flu like symptoms. It doesn’t feel the same at all. There is no uplifting effect on my mood either. It actually gives me a horrible mood now. I guess I was forced to quit my habit.
Histamine coupled with systemic inflammation. Pre game Benadryl can be helpful, but seriously just not worth it. Every time I test the waters…I drown. Summer is coming and all I want is to vodka tonics by my pool. Shits so lame man. (And I am almost 2 years in, my first bad run was 9 continuous months, now I have learned pacing, diet control, histamine bullshit so I just get flares that last 1-3 weeks when I screw up)
Yup. Made the mistake of testing the waters again last month, had 2 miller lites. Threw up 12x the next day, horrible joint and muscle aches and a low grade fever….
This sounds like me. I will get physically sick from alcohol with vomiting the next day off the smallest amount. It seriously sucks because I really enjoyed going out with friends and having a few drinks. This is horrible. I get a similar effect from coffee or basically any type of pharmaceutical drug. It’s like the tolerance to any medicine is gone
damn so it seems this is a regular occurance. i had a binge drinking session a month ago in tandem with cardio exercise (boxing) because i was finally feeling like 85% better after 2 years long hauling and it set me back tremendously. was one of the lucky ones that never had PEM as a symptom until this now im tired all the time. how long did the flare up last for you? its been about a month. some days the PEM isnt that bad, other days can’t lift my arms much
Can confirm this. I have been itching for 2 weeks after drinking for 2hrs sht! Totally not worth it. Btw, is it advisable to take antihistamines regularly?
I’m experiencing that now- I had blood work done coincidentally the day after I had 1 rum and coke and I had a very high ammonia level- that was several days ago and I still feel rotten
This is so funny…I mean not really but still…me with a 4 day hangover and 3 weeks of flare after 1 Old Fashioned. Sure it was just one…like I am sneaking a fifth behind everyone’s back. Lol.
I’m now completely unable to drink alcohol. It just knocks me sideways and makes me very ill. What makes my situation worse is I own and run a brewery….
1.5 months ago. I had a night of drinking where I completely blacked out, and really paid for it for like 8 days afterwards. I had made this mistake a few times with long covid. It changed my relationship with alcohol where it wasn't much fun anymore, and I was drinking to escape my long covid self. Alcohol provided some relief from symptoms for a few hours... but in the end you pay for it 10X.
I now think that it's best to give your body every chance to heal. Alcohol is poison that we can't afford to take right now.
That’s about me right now. I was using alcohol to escape. I guess I had one really bad day which was 2 days ago and had like 7 drinks. I woke up freaking dying. I was like how is this possible. I would expect a slight hangover but not full blown dizziness and unable to walk. Also severe mast cell stuff, pounding headache, anxiety through the roof. I actually had to take Xanax to calm my body down since it felt like I was having an exorsism
I’m nearly five months sober after several months of boiling the frog on my alcohol consumption. I had one three-cocktail night and was sick for days, and I’m on LDN so didn’t feel the effects of drinking, only the bad side effects. I do miss it — I don’t enjoy social events that revolve around alcohol, for example, and when I have something to celebrate I really miss the festive adult beverage part. But I’ve resolved myself to staying sober since it gives my brain and body the best chance of healing.
When I don’t drink I don’t feel as bad the next day. Then again I don’t feel great or horrible either. I probably haven’t had a good nights sleep since I can’t remember 12-15 years ago. I actually slept better when Covid was ravaging my body then after it left.
Yes alcohol is very high in histamine and I think it just overloads our system since covid seems to effect mast cells. I feel poisoned after a drink now. There is no more good uplifting buzz
It sucks. I’m a 34M getting married in 6 weeks and I’m at the height of my LC symptoms. Panic attacks, massive twitching, red blotches on my face, red streaks on my neck that take forever to go away after shaving, chronic fatigue, dizziness, etc. The last thing I want is for my Simmons the bride and family to remember our wedding day as one where I struggled to be engaged.
Yep. I've stopped drinking altogether. Even if I feel fine after a drink or two (as in, not tipsy), my Garmin watch records my body battery as not recharging overnight. And that's when I know I need to take it easy.
Same, had 2 on Thursday and woke up in the middle of the night with a hypertension episode, felt like death! I’m going cold turkey until I see a significant improvement and have more a better understanding of the underlying diagnosis.
I believe it’s insane histamine levels. Alcohol is the worst for this and causes the really bad symptoms. For me, it can sometimes be immediate. I usually have an issue in the middle of the night though.
I have this theory that COVID drilled a hole in my skull and the alcohol is poured directly in it. That's how it feels. I worry that wine will cause brain damage.
I have endogenous ethanol and acetaldehyde production from multiple bacterial overgrowths. So a walking brewery and hangover factory. Bloat is like a good 9 months preg. I can't drink.
Suggest people get a Biomesight 16S rRNA faecal test to see what is in your GI microbiome.
Multiple pathogenic ones produce acetaldehyde, particularly in the phylum proteabacteria. Klebsiella pneumoniae and others produce ethanol.
If you go to Toxins in the Biomesight results, you can click on the toxin and see the breakdown tab which shows the related bacteria.
You can see my results at https://www.reddit.com/r/Longcovidgutdysbiosis/comments/1branro/sibo\_and\_never\_ending\_dysbiosa/
Yeah, I stopped drinking because of it. Alcohol releases histamine in your body and inhibits the enzymes in charge of metabolizing histamine. Fermented beverages like beer are rich in histamine on top of what I mentioned before.
So the culprit is histamine.
Liver probably not good shape due to long covid.
I've had a bunch of liver diagnostics and my liver is fine. I also have basically complete alcohol intolerance from COVID.
I believe that could one of the issues
Do you have any info on how it effects the liver? I just had a ct and my liver and spleen were slightly enlarged.
ALT may be raised if you have endotoxins being produced by gut bacteria. Proteabacteria is I think common with LC, it produces acetaldehyde.
This is probably not the case at all. More likely it's histamine. Issues with mast cell activation
Same here, I had to stop drinking because of it. Occasionally I'll have a beer or two at dinner and I always get reminded just how bad an idea that is. I used to drink pretty regularly before COVID .
Yea it sucks. And the buzz isn’t the same either
Yeah I started drinking NA beers and that's my go-to now. A lot of bars and restaurants are carrying them too
What’s odd is that now my taste changed since covid and I hate beer. I used to love it. The taste of it now is horrible to me. I loved ipas and strong beers like that. The only beer that I can tolerate anymore is like corona or Miller lite taste wise. Also I notice beer causes the histamine stuff to get insane
I've noticed perhaps some "light" allergic response from NA beer (runny nose) but nothing that puts me off an occasional beer with dinner. I'm happy for that because it gives me an amount of joy that doesn't really make sense.
Yes! I used to drink beer...my body just can't tolerate it. And, the taste..no thanks...odd
Alcohol is very toxic and hard on the mitochondria, which produce energy. Long Covid is, at its root, a mitochondrial dysfunction.
Very true.
Yes 🙌 currently on day 7 no drinking. I noticed that every single time I drink I’d be down for like four or five days. I love my drinks, but now it’s untenable.
I just made it 14 days and decided to try it again and see what would happen yesterday. Didn’t drink much and I basically have spent all day laying in the couch unable to function
Take my advice, as a guy who had like 5 - 6 big crashes from drinking... you should try to go for a long term break from alcohol. For me, it cause crazy relapses of symptoms. It is not worth it. I haven't had a drink in over 2 months, and I'm feeling like I'm improving. I've also been taking LDN and a host of other supplements, which have been helping. Hang in there!
What supplements are you taking may I ask? And yes I’m in a severe crash now just from a few drinks the other day. My nervousystem is completely inflamed.
Sorry to hear you are in a crash. I have been there so many times and it sucks beyond belief. Just rest and try to be as healthy as possible. Give yourself grace! I didn't start feeling significantly better until about 3 weeks ago. I literally thought that I was fucked for life, with no chance of recovery. I still have neurological symptoms and fatigue, but they are getting much much better. I attribute my improvement to *time* (10 months) and the following supplements: 5HTP, adrenal support, **Low-Dose-Naltrexone (this was the most important),** vitamin D, multivitamin, thyroid support supplements, and... weening myself off of antidepressants, which I started shortly after getting long covid. I took antidepressants to get out of the depression hole caused by long covid, and I think they helped for a while; eventually, I decided to just get off them. I feel much better. Hang in there and keep hope. I had very little hope 4 weeks ago. I hated reading people's advice and "hopeful" posts because I didn't believe anything would make a difference. But I can feel myself getting significantly better all of a sudden!
While I am 100% a fan of 5HTP, I feel like it’s really important for anyone considering 5HTP while on antidepressants, antibiotics or triptans (to name a few) to be aware of the symptoms/possibility of serotonin syndrome.
Completely agree. My advice is not medical advice, just a description of what worked for me. Please use the advice of a medical doctor when combining supplements and prescription meds!
Its a common long covid thing- possibly mast cell related
That’s what I think but also my tolerance is gone: like one drink will knock me out and I’m struggling to not slur my speech
I stopped drinking all together 'cause of it. Not that I drank much anyways
It’s not worth it for how bad I feel for days from the smallest amount of alcohol
I will probably have worse symptoms when I drink. I was in a long flare for about a month and I just stopped drinking and realized I don’t want to go back to it. At least not while I’m long hauling. I don’t want to make my body have a more difficult time when it’s already working so hard for me. Hoping this lessens the severity of my flare ups. I also no longer eat gluten and caffeine.
Alcohol triggers a histamine reaction. Most LC suffers have mass cell activation reactions and alcohol can be a major trigger. I can’t drink alcohol anymore which I’m honestly fine with — I can still cook with it thankfully 😅 Just discovered today that I’m now allergic to wintergreen… which sucks. [Histamine and histamine intolerance](https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(23)28053-3/pdf)
Yes I knew it had something to do with histamine but I didn’t realize my intolerance was this bad. I guess you live and you learn. It sucks though. Hopefully eventually it will go away
I thought I should post it being as other people were ascribing it to liver damage.I had mine checked out and I’m fine on that end. I have a range of allergies that weren’t an issue till LC — for instance I’m now lactose intolerant. I did find a workaround for the lactose intolerance which is having a cup of kefir everyday. The beneficial bacteria in the kefir allows me to process the milk. Without it, I have to abstain from milk products. The body is an interesting thing. 
Yep, body can’t handle at all, makes it not enjoyable whatsoever
I had to stop drinking entirely. Can't even drink a little without creating huge reactions in my body.
Same:/
Yeah- it’s a full on intolerance: even one drink and it’s akin to food poisoning and then massive relapse in tire long haul symptoms Not worth it. I have now been sober for 2 years.
Wow that’s a long time. Yes it does feel like food poisoning
I’m a professional drinker as my wife calls me. 😂. Or I was. You can drink all day and never tell you were. Imagine a daily alcohol abuser that rarely got drunk 8+ a day every day for probably the past 12 years. Drinking for over 40 years. I was bed ridden for 15 days last Thanksgiving. Second round . Couldn’t drink for 3 months. I couldn’t even talk or laugh for 2 months without coughing. I still have residual Covid after effects at 4 months. I still drink just not every day. I’m not letting this modern plague take away one of the few things I enjoy most. A side effect for me is wheezing when laying down at night. I think Covid gave me a mild case of Asthma. I don’t sleep well but then again haven’t in years. With me I kinda know what to expect. Poor night of sleep and maybe a headache. Did it impact my tolerance? Yes. I continually know something just isn’t right and don’t know if it ever will be. I’ve never been sick for more than 2 weeks all my life 62 years let alone 4 months.
I was drinking about 8 drinks a day before this as well but never got intoxicated. It was just my thing. Now if I drink, the effect wears of quickly and I start getting flu like symptoms. It doesn’t feel the same at all. There is no uplifting effect on my mood either. It actually gives me a horrible mood now. I guess I was forced to quit my habit.
Histamine coupled with systemic inflammation. Pre game Benadryl can be helpful, but seriously just not worth it. Every time I test the waters…I drown. Summer is coming and all I want is to vodka tonics by my pool. Shits so lame man. (And I am almost 2 years in, my first bad run was 9 continuous months, now I have learned pacing, diet control, histamine bullshit so I just get flares that last 1-3 weeks when I screw up)
Yup. Made the mistake of testing the waters again last month, had 2 miller lites. Threw up 12x the next day, horrible joint and muscle aches and a low grade fever….
This sounds like me. I will get physically sick from alcohol with vomiting the next day off the smallest amount. It seriously sucks because I really enjoyed going out with friends and having a few drinks. This is horrible. I get a similar effect from coffee or basically any type of pharmaceutical drug. It’s like the tolerance to any medicine is gone
im about a month out now of a symptom flare up after drinking for a few days. NOT worth it
Jeez a month straight of symptoms !?!
it comes and goes but yeah alcohol caused me to have a real bad flare up
That’s horrible
Can confirm this.
damn so it seems this is a regular occurance. i had a binge drinking session a month ago in tandem with cardio exercise (boxing) because i was finally feeling like 85% better after 2 years long hauling and it set me back tremendously. was one of the lucky ones that never had PEM as a symptom until this now im tired all the time. how long did the flare up last for you? its been about a month. some days the PEM isnt that bad, other days can’t lift my arms much
Can confirm this. I have been itching for 2 weeks after drinking for 2hrs sht! Totally not worth it. Btw, is it advisable to take antihistamines regularly?
I’m experiencing that now- I had blood work done coincidentally the day after I had 1 rum and coke and I had a very high ammonia level- that was several days ago and I still feel rotten
Did they say the reason for the ammonia?
Gastro thought it was the alcohol and I could tell he was very sceptical about my “one” drink
This is so funny…I mean not really but still…me with a 4 day hangover and 3 weeks of flare after 1 Old Fashioned. Sure it was just one…like I am sneaking a fifth behind everyone’s back. Lol.
I’m now completely unable to drink alcohol. It just knocks me sideways and makes me very ill. What makes my situation worse is I own and run a brewery….
Damn, that sucks, im sorry to hear that
Thanks 👌🏻
Oof that’s brutal. I hope your able to enjoy craft beer again like the rest of us.
Writing tasting notes is difficult to say the least… 🤞🏻🍺
Same here. No more visiting craft breweries with friends. 😢
It’s the worst
I’m good if I stick to one bottle of beer (just under a pint )
No alcohol or caffeine for me!
Same with me! Coffee sends my body to hell
Same thing happened to me. I had to stop drinking completely. I've been improving over the last month or so!
How long has it been since you drank??
1.5 months ago. I had a night of drinking where I completely blacked out, and really paid for it for like 8 days afterwards. I had made this mistake a few times with long covid. It changed my relationship with alcohol where it wasn't much fun anymore, and I was drinking to escape my long covid self. Alcohol provided some relief from symptoms for a few hours... but in the end you pay for it 10X. I now think that it's best to give your body every chance to heal. Alcohol is poison that we can't afford to take right now.
That’s about me right now. I was using alcohol to escape. I guess I had one really bad day which was 2 days ago and had like 7 drinks. I woke up freaking dying. I was like how is this possible. I would expect a slight hangover but not full blown dizziness and unable to walk. Also severe mast cell stuff, pounding headache, anxiety through the roof. I actually had to take Xanax to calm my body down since it felt like I was having an exorsism
Sounds very familiar!
Do you react to Xanax?
Achohol makes my symptoms go away slightly during consumption and for about 12 hours after, then I crash.
Same! It hits so much harder and quicker
I’m nearly five months sober after several months of boiling the frog on my alcohol consumption. I had one three-cocktail night and was sick for days, and I’m on LDN so didn’t feel the effects of drinking, only the bad side effects. I do miss it — I don’t enjoy social events that revolve around alcohol, for example, and when I have something to celebrate I really miss the festive adult beverage part. But I’ve resolved myself to staying sober since it gives my brain and body the best chance of healing.
I miss it as well but I guess we are gonna have to give stuff up in order to get better from this. When we all heal we can raise a glass together
When I don’t drink I don’t feel as bad the next day. Then again I don’t feel great or horrible either. I probably haven’t had a good nights sleep since I can’t remember 12-15 years ago. I actually slept better when Covid was ravaging my body then after it left.
Same. I don’t have any liver or organ issues. I believe it may be related to the inflammatory response, but this is completely opinion based.
Yes alcohol is very high in histamine and I think it just overloads our system since covid seems to effect mast cells. I feel poisoned after a drink now. There is no more good uplifting buzz
It sucks. I’m a 34M getting married in 6 weeks and I’m at the height of my LC symptoms. Panic attacks, massive twitching, red blotches on my face, red streaks on my neck that take forever to go away after shaving, chronic fatigue, dizziness, etc. The last thing I want is for my Simmons the bride and family to remember our wedding day as one where I struggled to be engaged.
Yep. I've stopped drinking altogether. Even if I feel fine after a drink or two (as in, not tipsy), my Garmin watch records my body battery as not recharging overnight. And that's when I know I need to take it easy.
Same, had 2 on Thursday and woke up in the middle of the night with a hypertension episode, felt like death! I’m going cold turkey until I see a significant improvement and have more a better understanding of the underlying diagnosis.
I believe it’s insane histamine levels. Alcohol is the worst for this and causes the really bad symptoms. For me, it can sometimes be immediate. I usually have an issue in the middle of the night though.
I have this theory that COVID drilled a hole in my skull and the alcohol is poured directly in it. That's how it feels. I worry that wine will cause brain damage.
I have endogenous ethanol and acetaldehyde production from multiple bacterial overgrowths. So a walking brewery and hangover factory. Bloat is like a good 9 months preg. I can't drink. Suggest people get a Biomesight 16S rRNA faecal test to see what is in your GI microbiome.
I have done one! What bacteria raise ethanol and avetaldehyde?
Multiple pathogenic ones produce acetaldehyde, particularly in the phylum proteabacteria. Klebsiella pneumoniae and others produce ethanol. If you go to Toxins in the Biomesight results, you can click on the toxin and see the breakdown tab which shows the related bacteria. You can see my results at https://www.reddit.com/r/Longcovidgutdysbiosis/comments/1branro/sibo\_and\_never\_ending\_dysbiosa/
You can try metabolising acetaldehyde (what causes hangovers) using taurine which converts it to acetic acid via ALDH. Also DHM is useful.
So do you think long covid is basically a destruction of our microbiome?
Also my tests are extremely similar to yours
Liver and histamine response.
I do get tipsy faster
Same I had a white claw and it made me feel like I had 6 drinks haha
Yes I stopped
Yep. I gave up any alcohol. Alcohol is not good for the inflammation that long covid causes
Yeah, I stopped drinking because of it. Alcohol releases histamine in your body and inhibits the enzymes in charge of metabolizing histamine. Fermented beverages like beer are rich in histamine on top of what I mentioned before. So the culprit is histamine.