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wine headache remedy?

BigOlBug

Bluelighter
Joined
May 4, 2008
Messages
38
I've had a trawl through past threads but can't find quite this question. I've recently started getting headaches from drinking wine - not hangovers, but headaches that start about 10 minutes after I start drinking, after maybe half a glass. I usually stop drinking when I can feel it coming. It very gradually gets more intense till I try taking some codeine for it, but that doesn't usually work, although it dulls it a bit.

My mother also gets headaches from wine, but she's had them since she started drinking it. I have been drinking wine (not bingeing, just the occasional drink with dinner or party) for about 4 years and this has only just started happening. It doesn't seem to correlate to whether I am dehydrated or not (I've tried drinking lots of water before and during drinking wine and it makes no difference). It also happens with both red and white wine, but not with other alcohol. I think it's a little worse with red wine though.

Anyone have a similar problem and have any remedy for it? I like wine and wine drunkenness and don't want to have to ditch drinking it !

Thanks
 
a lot of people who are prone to migraines start getting them after drinking alcohol, and usually the first ones can show up later in life brought on by stress. As for a remedy? well if codeine isn't working i'm not sure there's much else out there besides an actual migraine headache medicine, although i'm not well versed in holistics. Have you tried drinking white instead of red?
 
Try changing the grapes and the countries the wine is made in. The new world wines especially use lots of additives to alter the taste it may be thats your problem.
Keep changing until you find a grape/country that good for you.

I can't drink pino grigio it just kills my head after a glass. I have found that white are not good for me in general.

It may be a liver problem or the reaction with the foods you are eating. When ever I have a good Port and cheese session I get the worst ever hangovers.

I don't think hydration would be the cause in the time scales you are talking about.

I wish you the best of luck.
 
Yeah, this happened to me when I was 13 staying in Cannes, France. Throughout the course of the drinking binge, I felt more or less fine, but I began having those headaches about 12 days in. You're not 13 and drinking an excess of red wine, are you?
 
Google tannins. I have two friends who can no longer drink red wine because of the tannins in the reds give them a headache. My friends have been drinking wine for years and both of them were hit by the tannin headaches well after they'd started drinking.

Naturally, red wines contain higher amounts of tannins, but they're present in some varieties of whites as well. Tea also contains tannins.
 
ive found weed and valium to work really well. Or a big shot of heroin if youre into that sort of thing..

But it could very well be from the sulfites added to the wine to help preserve it. Some ppl are sensitive to them and they can cause migraines and make you feel shitty. I have to watch my wine intake because the sulfites do give me headaches. Some ppl are just more sensitive to them than others. Thats my guess.
 
Do wines have tyramine in them? I know some cheeses do. If you take an MAOI drug, you can't have certain foods and alcoholic drinks because of the tyramine content, which causes your BP to rise, thus causing strokes when the two are mixed. Maybe you are sensitive to that?
 


Ditto, beat me to it. Sounds like Red wine headache to me. My mom gets these a lot and hates them because she loves red wine. I know you said it happens with white, but to a lesser degree. If your really sensitive to this problem i wouldn't be surprised that white could cause you the same problem but with less intensity.

Most interesting is that cause is un-know for the most part and is probably a mix of things. read that article and learn to love some good quality delicious beer.
 
The wikipedia article mentions that other tannin containing products (soy, chocolate, etc) do not seem to cause headaches. What it doesn't mention is that in wine the tannins have been fermented. In my wine making research I've read that high-tannin wines (especially fruit wines like apple) are the worst headache causers because the fiber is in the fermentation vessel and is also being worked on by yeasties, resulting in methanol-- wood alcohol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_fault

Find wine from a less fiberous fruit, or that has been aged longer. You'll be amazed. I thought I was done for the first time I experienced that cheap cab headache.
 
Sounds like sulfites to me , buy a good wine not chateau migraine
 
^ have to agree with that one, cheap plonk=definate headache
 
I've read that high-tannin wines (especially fruit wines like apple) are the worst headache causers because the fiber is in the fermentation vessel and is also being worked on by yeasties, resulting in methanol-- wood alcohol.
Methanol would be a congener issue which applies to many spirits not just red wine. Ill effects specific to red wine are very likely to be tyramine, tannins, or sulfites.
 
thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'll try shopping around with different types of wine and occasional expensive wine (nice!). Meanwhile, at least I've started appreciating beer recently.
 
Withdrawal Headaches

I usually drink 2 glasses of moderately expensive California Chardonnays, $15 – 20, a night with dinner and only get headaches a day or so after I quit drinking. Usually on the second day of abstinence I start getting a tightening feeling around my head like a vice. Advil helps, but if I drink only one glass of wine the headache will go away on the second gulp. After four days of not drinking, the headaches, which are usually only at night, are gone. Any remedies for the withdrawal headaches would be appreciated (other than continue drinking :\).
 
Space it out, and drink water in between drinks, even when you are drinking the wine, after every few sips, have a few sipsof water, and keep going like this!
It works fine with most people! You can also change the drink of choice, have a different/milder wine and see whether your body reacts differently.
 
Migraines can often be triggered by different foods, and caffeine, chocolate, and alcohol are some of the more common ones. Most people who get them from these foods find they just have to avoid them to avoid the migraines. And they can start later in life, as yours did (my brother now gets migraines from chocolate when he didn't used to). For those times when you do get one, there's a pretty good remedy I've found called Migra-Eeze. It has butterbur as the main ingredient, and works to reduce smooth muscle spasms and blood vessel constriction. So you can try that, but you may find it easier to avoid red wine in the future.
 
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