Chest tightness after beer

[Stephernovas]

I was out for dinner because it was my nephews birthday today. I chose to order a beer with my meal. I was casually enjoying my meal but noticed I suddenly started getting distressed. Overall I comfortable, shortness of breath and chest tightness.

In the restraunt I sat beside my younger nephew (5) and found myself being bothered that he kept bumping into me. Normally this does not phase me at all as I understand children don’t often sit still and are all over the place. I wasn’t even upset with him over it, but it was starting to make me feel ill and symptomatic. I tried to be polite during dinner and carey on light conversations with others at the table. I found trying to answer questions and focus on eating also made me feel ill. I tried to calm myself through but everything kept continuing (nobody knew anything was wrong), and I found myself becoming more and more distressed. Then I really became aware of my body aches and pains, then began putting my head in my hands and exhaling deeply (a huge red flag for me that if I don’t leave, a panic is imminent). So, I got up and used the washroom. I figured one less body symptom might help me ease back into having a good night. It didn’t help, but luckily we were on our way out the door at this point. I drove myself home (I’m working on my own form of exposure), and was still pretty distressed. I ended up tearing up a little, but kind of just felt sad and distressed. After a while, being alone helped and I headed home to sit in the bath with some Epsom salts.

Has anyone else had one beer prompt a trigger like that? I’m not saying it’s 100% the beer, but it didn’t seem to help which I find odd as alcohol is a depressant. I’m being sent for an neurology assessment, so I’m hoping all my body aches/pain triggers can be resolved with that. As well, if my congnitions have been impaired by this accident (given I have a hard time in conversations/studying/and have episodes of being unable to think/speak due to over exerting myself), I hope they can diagnose it so we can appropriately treat this mess I’m living in.

I this time around thought I do think the “buzz” from the beer (I rarely drink) played a role in the rapid development of my symptoms.

Ideas?

 

[EveHarrington]

Yes, a beer can trigger full on panic for me.

 

[Stephernovas]

Yes, a beer can trigger full on panic for me.

My question is though, was beer or alcohol an element of your trauma? There was absolutely nothing related to beer or alcohol with mine, so it makes me wonder if any alcohol will be tolerable, or if I should simply remove it from my life

 

[EveHarrington]

Yes, alcohol was a part of one of my traumas. I wasn't the one drinking though.

 

[Stephernovas]

Yes, alcohol was a part of one of my traumas. I wasn't the one drinking though.

Ugh I hate this stuff. Realistically I could go back and think of a lot of crappy things that happened with alcohol around, but how do I know if it’s the trauma impacting my symptoms now. I mean, yes my crash busted out the PTSD, but does that mean it broke down the flood gates and now everything trauma related in my life could cause panic? Uggggh.

 

[Friday]

Alcohol relaxes inhibitions. Emotions tend to get bigger. So it makes sense that if you drank just enough to relax your self control, in a stressful environment, that you reacted stronger to the stress than you usually do.

I’m very much a lightweight, these days. If i’m drinking to be able to enjoy a stressful social outing? A) I usually have to build up my tolerance a bit, first, so that my margin of error has a bit of wiggle room & B) I drink rather a lot, comparatively, and rather steadily. Not enough to get drunk, but enough to move me past everything feels stage into blunted/ comfortably numb. These days that’s usually 1-2 beers in, and then maintenance to keep my BAC fairly steady. I can have a beer by myself, or in a relaxed atmosphere, and be just fine. But in a charged atmosphere, it’s a different story. I have to be pretty careful about when and where and under what circumstance I decide to relax my self control.

Back when I was drinking like a fish that could have been 3 or 4 double shots to even begin to move into that zone. And then the same levels, throughout the course of the night. It was a shit ton of alcohol :wtf: And one of the dangers of using it as a tool. Anything below that, things were too spikey.