Goodbye Beer Highs

It all started more than a year ago.  I woke up in the middle of the night and saw someone near my bed.  A man in his 50s with a weird face.  He stared at me quizzically, silently while I laid there.  He started to approach me.  My mind was racing.  Was I awake? Was this a dream?  How'd he get in my room?  I was awake!  Help!

I sat up in full panic with a jolt and turned on my bedside lamp with my sweaty, shaky hands.  Gone.  He left.  Thank God, I thought, as my heart throttled back into my chest.  And, dear GOD, my head.  The circus wagon full of merciless monkeys was back.  Pounding their drums, shaking their tamborines. Trampling my alcohol-ridden body.

 

After having had this happen more than a handful of times, it finally clicked as to why.  The last time I hallucinated there was a strange old dude in my bedroom, I had gone to bed after a night of drinking.  That's when I swore I'd never let it happen again. 

I know, I know.  How many times have you heard people suffering the aftermath of boozing say "I'll never drink again"  only to bounce back into the saddle mere days later?  Well, not me...not this time.

Ever since I was little, my body has reacted strongly to substances.  Eating too many carrots as a toddler turned the palms of my hands and soles of my feet bright orange.  Consuming one caffeinated soda would keep me wired throughout the day and unable to sleep at night.  Pain killers made me feel wasted and dizzy.  Besides not having an interest in drugs, I never tried them simply because I was terrified of what the experience would be like.

Shocking that my body has never tolerated alcohol that well. I'd have day-long hangovers, upset stomach, heart burn for a week, the works.   Since my post-kickball playing days where post-game consumption would rival fraternity initiation nights, I've toned down significantly.  I actually appreciate the taste of wine, beer and liquor as the perfect compliment to a meal rather than craving it for it's magical effect.

Yet, even with such minimal consumption, two glasses of beer or wine in one sitting give me a biting hangover the next day.  It's inescapable.  And, most recently, the few times that I have even just a few more drinks than usual in one night, the hallucinations appear, followed by fever and night sweats, a massive headache, feeling light-headed and woozy.  These hangovers are the ones where you wake up feeling fine but then gradually as the day grows longer, the hangover symptoms would appear and worsen.

Maybe I should go see a doctor? Or maybe I should just give up excessive alcohol consumption at the wee age of 28.  Done.

Many have seen how alcohol can destroy a person and families from alcoholism to drunk driving, and it's no joke.  And, many are in denial about how frequent alcohol consumption can damage their bodies.  Not everyone is made the same. And just because John Booze can slam down 30 beers in one night doesn't mean James Binge can do the same.  I recall hearing from a friend how his cousin was in the hospital at the young age of 24 due to severe liver damage from alcoholism.  24!  He was unable to finish college or hold a job, and now had severe medical limitations.  A life lost.

Well, I've had my wake-up call.  Who knows what's going on inside my head and body to cause these hallucinations. What I do know is that I'm not interested in having a visit from Crazy Peeping Tom anymore.  If only I had hallucinated Sawyer from Lost...

Now, the hallucinations are just one of the compelling reasons why I've decided not to get drunk anymore.  The other has to do with vertigo.  No, not the U2 song.  I can tolerate that. 

For those of you unfamiliar with vertigo, it's a disruption of equilibrium attributed to fluid in the ears, displaced crystals that maintain balance or other more serious items.  The result is constant dizziness, wooziness and light-headedness, which can be severe enough to make one vomit or unable to walk or sit up without the room spinning rapidly.  It sucks.  And, after having it for two months this past winter for reasons unknown, I hope it never comes back.

After my vertigo passed, I'd start to feel light-headed, woozy and dizzy any time I drank beyond a couple drinks.  The same horrible feeling I was viciously tried to get rid of.  Why would I do that to myself willingly?  The feeling of getting buzzed is just not fun anymore. 

Does that mean I'm no fun anymore? Um, no.  Does that mean I won't ever go out again? The jury's still out on that one.