clevermanka | It's early in 2007 and I have already learned something!

It was a lovely New Year's Eve, and wonderful to see so many friends. It was not so wonderful when, around 1:30 a.m. or so, I realized I was sick. Sick? Sick? I was sweating with chills, dizzy, felt a monster headache coming on, and my stomach told me those nachos and flan were definitely not staying down.

This is so unfair, I thought, as I threw up from alcohol for only the second time in my life.

I spent New Year's Day in a haze of migraine pain and stomach cramping. In between multi-hour naps, I tried to figure out just what caused me to be so damn sick on so little alcohol. One glass of white wine, two glasses of red (one glass of that was half water), and two glasses of champagne over six hours (Yes, I know I posed for the photo drinking from the champagne bottle, but I didn't really swallow more than a sip of it). I know my alcohol tolerance has lowered since the good old days, but come on. I was only pleasantly buzzed the entire evening until it hit me wham that I was, most certainly, going to be sick.

Late in the afternoon of New Year's Day, I realized: Allergies.

I've been allergic to red wine for years--it always caused my sinuses to swell, and gave me a bit of a headache, after just one glass. But I kept drinking it anyway, because I loved it. Red wine--my favorite! I think, however, repeated exposure to an allergen caused my body to finally rebel. And now I gotta cross all grape-based alcohols off my list. I don't think it's the sulfides. I ingest sulfides in other things and never have a problem. I think I'm allergic to the wine grapes themselves--or more accurately, perhaps, the mold (or "mist") that forms on most wine grapes. I realize the skins are removed in the winemaking process, but that's the only thing I can think of.

Regardless of the why, it appears I'm going to have to cross wine off my list of indulgences. This makes me very sad. I guess that's one resolution I get to make whether I like it or not: No more wine for me.

Hello, Guinness!

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At least I'm not alone, and I'm in good company! It's also reassuring to hear that others have this problem--it's not just me being unable to hold my liquor. =D

Oh my god, I can't believe I managed to avoid the hives. Usually I break out in hives at the drop of a hat.

Oh, that sounds absolutely horrible! Not a good way to start the year. I have a similar problem with bananas--they are the only food I have found will trigger a migraine and they are my favorite fruit.

Oh, poor thing! What does life have against us? Unfair, I say. Unfair!!!

In red wine, the skins are left in the mixture until the very last stage of the winemaking process, so you're probably right that it's the skin you're allergic to. If that's the case, you might be okay with small quantities of white wine, since those skins are removed before fermentation begins. It's not as good, I know, but some wine might be better than none. :)

Good luck--I'm allergic to onions, so I know just what it's like to battle food allergies.

And misery loves company. =)

I think I shall stop whining--an onion allergy would be a far, far worse curse for me.

I found your story horrifying.

Hope you are well more often in the new year. ;)

I can imagine this would be a particularly terrifying scenario for you.

Thanks! I hope so, too.

Whoof.
That stinks muchly.
-
Does it still happen when you cook with red?

I have no idea.

oh yuck, that's awful! Maybe it IS just the red/skins thing. In which case, perhaps white merlot might agree with you. Either way, it's not fun to try just to see if you'll not get sick.

OTOH, it could be something entirely different that the wine exacerbated:
http://www.jrussellshealth.com/alcall.html

Most of the wine allergies seem to trigger breathing and skin reactions, but not the vomiting. Something a bit off might have done it, and it could well have been red wine, or it could be a reaction to a food item. Poor darling, may be you were simply getting sick and that set it off? There's a lot of gunk going around right now.

Well, remind me if I go offering the usual libation at my house. Although I do have more of that very fine cream liquor still. er.. but I hope cognac doesn't give you the same reaction.

secret_malady seems to have similar reactions as I do to wine, so it can't be all that unusual.

I don't think it was the yuck going around, though. You know how your body just knows "Oh it was X that did it"? That's kinda how I feel.

I'm wondering if just white wine alone is ok...guess there's only one way to find out!

yah, that's true...and those gut (no pun intended) feelings are usually pretty accurate. I guess I'm just trying to deny that it's the red for ya. ;)

Well, I've got a bottle of chardonney handy if you wanna try it.
I'm sure I can open it for such a *cough* worthy cause.

Awesome icon.

Wine allergies are as tragic as chocolate allergies.

I'm curious, is it possible that wine has been generally at the root of the digestive problems you've been having off and on?

D.

Mine is not as severe, but red grapes make me cramp up horribly, as does a noticeable amount of anything made with red grapes: grape jelly, grape juice, red wine, etc. So I feel ya.

Nope. And I'm never nauseated when I have stomach pain episode. I was definitely nauseated with the wine.

That really sucks.

However, Guinness is brilliant. Mmmmm Guinness.

Davenport makes fruit wines (watermellon, pear, rubarb) that are quite yummy - we usually have a bottle if you want to try some

Holy moly, that sucks. I feel for you; not being able to indulge in one of your favorite things.

It's early in 2007 and I have already learned something!

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