I noticed the other day when I had my usual whiskey manhattan or black russian, I took a little extra care to drink it slowly and over a longer time. Didn't help - I still felt it more than I like. It seems to me that I can feel a change in my body instantly after a single swallow of wine or other alcoholic drink. That is fine. However, I don't like being dizzy or woozy. I certainly don't want my judgment or balance or driving to be impaired.
About 4 to 6 weeks ago, the doctor advised Lynn to cut down on or free herself from caffeine. She experienced a very rapid heartbeat when all she was doing at the time was reading a newspaper. It happened a couple of times and she told the doctor about it. Oximeters are quite inexpensive and they can check one's heartbeat and blood oxygen level quickly and objectively. We keep one around.
I guess it is fairly common for physicians to hear such things from older people, which might be anyone over the age of 65. I make the coffee for us and I haven't had any new sensitivity show up but I don't think it will hurt me to cut down on caffeine or alcohol. Just as I don't like being woozy or sleepy from alcohol, I definitely don't like to have any jitters or stomach upset from too much caffeine. I don't overdo either one but I am interested in starting the day with coffee and marking the beginning of evening with a drink. We may get to the point where we have very small amounts, small enough that they would have seemed ridiculous at one time.
I did a little googling and found that lower muscle mass means less water in the body which leaves the drink to be stronger and less diluted. Older people have slower metabolism so the drink stay in me as such longer. The Betty Ford website also mentions that older people may handle a mixture of alcohol and other drugs and prescribed medicines differently from when they were younger and so might be sensitive and reactive differently.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
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