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M.E. can make your body and brain more sensitive to all types of substances that you would normally not have a problem with - for example, certain chemicals and prescription drugs. The same can be true of alcohol, recreational drugs and solvents.
Alcohol
Before you became ill, you may have drunk too much alcohol and experienced the usual hangover side effects, such as headaches, nausea and dehydration. You may now find that drinking even small amounts of alcohol leaves you feeling utterly exhausted and extremely unwell. This is not unusual for people with M.E., indeed some doctors think it is a characteristic feature. It can bring on a setback or have an exaggerated effect. Many people find that they become completely intolerant of alcohol.
On top of this, if you are taking prescribed medication (such as antidepressants) to help manage any M.E. symptoms, mixing them with alcohol may cause more side effects and can be dangerous.
Alcohol slows down the way you respond to all kinds of things, and impairs your judgement, though it can make you feel more confident at the time. Drinking too much and too often can cause lots of problems - and even more so if you are dealing with a health problem like M.E.
While some people find that alcohol may reduce some symptoms and the upset of illness in the short term, this is usually at the expense of feeling much worse the day(s) after. So that's not a smart approach!
Official guidelines recommend no more than 3-4 units a day for adult men and 2-3 units for adult women, with alcohol-free days. Binge drinking is also a hazard. One unit is half a pint of medium strength beer, lager or cider; one small glass of table wine or a 25ml measure of spirits.
If you want to carry on drinking some alcohol, you could try diluting the drink e.g. tonic water in your white wine or lemonade in your beer. If this sounds even worse than not drinking at all, then try alternating your alcohol with a non-alcoholic drink.
You may feel isolated from your group of friends if you don't drink when you go out. You could discuss how alcohol affects your M.E. with them, or you could ask one of your friends to stay off the alcohol that night. Don't forget that going out may be an extra drain on energy anyway - taking alcohol may make it too much for your M.E. If you don't drink alcohol, the chances are you will recover more quickly from your night out. There are plenty of cool non-alcoholic drinks to have when you are out!
If you are worried about the effects of alcohol on your illness discuss your concerns with your doctor or contact one of the organisations in our useful links.
To let you know what the current law on alcohol says:
Recreational drugs
When it comes to illegal drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamines, LSD and solvents, you may already know a lot about the risks and dangers they can pose to your health and life. The best approach is: "Don't go there!" To find out more about these risks go to our useful links section.
We don't know much about the possible extra risks that people with M.E. face when using recreational drugs and solvents. However, your body and brain will already be struggling with the effects of the illness and could really do without any other problems. Feedback indicates that people with M.E. are more sensitive to these things, like they are to alcohol, and they are more likely to have bad experiences. They may have exaggerated or different effects, or trigger setbacks in M.E. While some people report that cannabis has helped some symptoms, others say it didn't mix well with their M.E.
It's impossible to predict the effect of a drug or solvent even on a healthy person, particularly if you are unsure of its source and especially if you mix it with other drugs or alcohol. As people with M.E. experience different symptoms with different degrees of severity at different stages of their illness, it is even harder to predict the effects of taking any drug.
Peer pressure
You may feel pressurised by others into drinking alcohol or trying drugs. If this is an issue for you, it is a good idea to talk this through with someone you trust, such as a friend, relative or teacher.
Play safe - Don't mess with M.E!
There are several organisations that you can turn to, to ask for information or help and you can find their details in our useful links. Don't think you have to cope with these issues on your own and don't be afraid to get help if you have worries or concerns.
Information produced January 2004
