What's wrong with kung fu wifey? (alcohol related)

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

So kung fu wifey, AKA Upside_Down_Amber, went out drinking last night. She had three and a half Smirnoff Ice on an empty stomach.
Now she is one very sick little lesbian. She’s been throwing up for about five hours, and now all that’s coming out of her is bile. It’s pretty gross.

I looked up “alcohol poisoning” on the web, but she doesn’t have any of the symptoms: her breathing rate is normal, she isn’t cold or clammy (if anything, she’s warm), and she wakes up to ralph instead of doing it in her sleep (good wifey). She’s not even “drunk”; she has good motor control, her speech is normal, and she doesn’t feel dizzy.

Is it safe to give her something for her nausea? If so, what should I give her? At the moment, even water is making her puke. Should I just let her “sleep it off”? She’s miserable, which means that I am too. Help us!

#2

Shower + big drink of tomato juice + egg poached in flat beer.

Then wait for the last and final ‘big heave’.

Go to bed and sleep for hours, untroubled and clear of conscience.

#3

If Amber is disinclined to try Sisyphus’ Stone’s approach, then maybe some Sprite/7-Up and a few soda crackers when she’s up to it. I was that sick after a drinking binge once, and it put me off of drinking for years.

#4

That sick over 3.5 drinks? I’ve never seen it before.

Maybe she was allergic to something in the drinks… has she had them before? My guess is allergic reaction or food poisoning.

#5

That sounds like a food reaction to me- did she eat at all while she was out? Probably worth a quick trip to a walk-in clinic to see what’s what. Poor lady!

#6

I’m not a doctor, and I’ve never played one on television or anywhere else, but three and a half drinks shouldn’t give anyone alcohol poisoning, or even a five-hour puking binge. Unless, maybe, KFW (Kung Fu Wifey) has never had alcohol before in her life. Maybe that’s the case. But if not, I’d be looking into anything she may have eaten during the evening. I’d also try to find out if any of her drinking companions are having the same symptoms, and then you could narrow down the possible causes.

#7

When this would happen to me, I’d generally just take a big glass of water with me into the bathroom and sit on the floor. Have a few big gulps, puke it out. Take some more water, puke it out. Kind of cleans out the stomach. Eventually, she’ll stop vomiting it all up. She’s likely dehydrated so getting some liquid in her is important. Gatorade is also good, but wait until she’s keeping it down.

For food, I think greasy or salty things are best. Bacon is good, maybe beef jerky, or chips even, stuff like that.

Of course, if she’s not ready to eat or drink, sleeping is the only thing to do.

#8

Sounds like me the last couple of times I had food poisoning (once from bad hotdogs, once from bad Chinese food…). I’m guessing the drinks are a red herring and you guys should look at what she had to eat that evening - probably about 12 hours before the puking started. It could even be her lunch yesterday. Of course at this point the bad stuff is probably all out of her system anyway, you just have to wait for the heaving to stop.

A trip to see your doctor won’t hurt (and he/she may be able to fit you in on a walk-in basis) - he may be able to give her something to stop the nausea and any other unfortunate evacuation routes her stomach contents may be taking. A trip to the emergency room would be a miserable waste of time, however - she’ll just wind up puking in their bathroom instead of yours, and they’ll keep her waiting because she’ll be low priority.

Bread might help, once she feels brave enough to attempt to eat. Crackers are good, too. And clear liquids - Gatorade or some other sports drink if she can stand the flavor, or Sprite, or apple juice. Let me tell you, after the hell your sweetheart is going through, a small glass of apple juice is the Nectar Of The Gods, and keeping a sip down is one of life’s great victories.

Best of luck to her.

#9

I dunno. It seems like alchohol can just hit you differently on different days. Normally, I can drink about a six pack without getting sick. The last time I had margaritas, I drank two (usually I’d drink three) and was so sick I had to call into work the next day since I was still puking that morning. I wonder if a woman’s monthly cycle has any affect on how she metabolizes alchohol. I’m gonna go google…

As far as getting over it, I would just take small, small sips of water but don’t force water down. Sometimes Tums will help as well. I find the chalky taste soothing. Eventually you stop feeling like you want to die…

#10

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, just a schmuck who drinks a lot and has had food poisoning several times.

It sounds like food poisoning to me as well. WebMD has an article on when to go to the doctor:

After drinking absurd amounts of alcohol (like St. Patrick’s day), I will sometimes puke the next day. But that will be once, maybe twice, just to get the bile out, and then I feel a lot better. But one time I went out to a brewpub, ate a salad, had four beers, then went home around midnight. I woke up at 4am, ran into the bathroom, and started puking. I was still puking off and on that evening.

Force fluids on her, since she’s definately going to get dehydrated. Keep an eye on her temperature. Food poisoning is rarely fatal, as long as the person keeps hydrated and nothing worse happens. If it gets worrisome, hie thee to a clinic. They could probably do tests to see what’s going on, and can rule out appendicitis and other things.

Here’s another page detailing various types of food poisoning:

http://www.vdacs.state.va.us/foodsafety/poisoning.html

#11

Another vote for “maybe she’s just sick.” I went out with a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago, and we both woke up sick as dogs in the morning. It would have made perfect sense for him, but since I hadn’t been drinking we were forced to conclude that we were genuinely sick. Does she have a fever?

Small sips of water, and the occasional cracker and a nap. (And a doctor, if she doesn’t get better.)

#12

OK, just found out that:

source page

And I meant to add earlier that while food poisoning’s possible, I’d bet against it. I’ve had salmonella a couple of times before and the sick you get from too much alcohol is different from the food poisoning. It’s entirely possible to get that sick off of alcohol alone.

#13

I dunno, but once I had an uncle who had the same thing and 50 years later he died! :eek:

Tell her to be careful! :smiley:

#14

Here’s what bartender told me to do,
Get some toast and burn it black.
It’s pretty gross but make her eat it.
It will settle her stomach in minutes.
After it’s settled take 2 asprins with a full glass of orange juice.
It works, I’ve done it and was never left with a hangover

#15

Try ginger for the nausea. Any form is okay.

#16

Try giving her some crushed ice. I had food poisoning like this once, and that was the only thing I could keep down. Coke, ginger ale, or Sprite (with sugar- not diet) might be easier to keep down than water, too. Hope she feels better soon!

#17

I get hangovers exactly like what you described, except accompanied by a monster headache. Believe me, people, it is all too possible to have three drinks and puke for six hours straight the next day. Usually it takes at least six, but sometimes…
Ginger Ale is a good idea, but if she’s really dehydrated then Gatorade is good too. (The lemon-lime one is pretty good on an upset stomach.) Sleep is also a good cure, in fact the only one that really works for me. And if she thinks she can hold it down - a piece of bacon. For whatever reason, the salt/grease really help. They help me, anyway. And I know it’s illegal in the United states, but a little marijuana takes the edge off a hangover in a big way. :slight_smile:

#18

It’s not likely to be food poisoning. Amber hardly had anything to eat yesterday other than spinach dip (although that might have been the culprit, but it’s only been open for two days and the expiry date is August 28th). The day before that, she had butter chicken and rice that I made for supper, but I ate it too and I’ve felt fine (I even had the leftovers yesterday, and I’m still feelin’ fine).

I think the alcohol just hit her too hard because her stomach was empty and compared to how we usually drink, 3.5 is considered a “binge”. We only drink on special occasions. Other posters made very good points about alcohol hitting women different than men.

#19

Thanks for all the help everyone. I am alive, feeling like death warmed over but alive. I still have no clue what happened to me. I have drank Smirnof many times before and I’ve drank way more then I did last night but I have never been as sick as I was. I have a theory that it was food poisoning but I am not fully sure. I ate a few crackers and managed to get some food in my system. I have no desire to drink ever again but I doubt that will last.
Thanks for all the advise.

#20

This is probably it right here. The only time I ever got puking sick after drinking was when I had three or four drinks over a period of six hours, with a couple of glasses of water in there too. The problem? The only thing I’d eaten all day was a sundae. Empty stomach + alcohol = badness. And I have an iron stomach - seriously, I’ve been to some giant alcohol-laden Dopefests but that’s the one time I got really ill after drinking.