First of all, this isn't a medical thread - I'm not asking for medical advice.
Over the past few months, she's been getting headaches while drinking. No, before you say, it's not to do with tolerance of alcohol, or being hungover, or anything like that. The situation's gradually gotten worse, and it's now got to the point where even a few sips of any alcoholic drink will lead to a massive migraine 10-15 minutes later. I suggested trying different drinks to see if it was something she was allergic to, reactions to sulphites and whatnot, but as it is, she's experienced these headaches with all sorts of drinks ranging from wine, ciders, organic ciders, amaretto, vodka and other spirits with mixers, and so on. All have had the same effect.
So after this going on and getting worse over a period of a few months (at first she could 'drink through' it), I finally managed to convince her to go and see a doctor about it. She did so last week, had a liver function test, a blood test, and did a wee in a pot jobby to go and be analysed. Results came back this morning, and everything's completely inconclusive, meaning she's left in the same situation of not being able to drink, but without any solution, or any idea as to why.
We're both 20, and we're about to finish our exams in second year of uni. Obviously, drinking is somewhat of a big part of the post-exam plans for students, so naturally, she's rather upset about this, and it is very much a life changing thing.
Now, she's not a binge drinker, and never has been. The main issues for her are her shyness; she reckons alcohol makes it easier for her to socialise (which, hey, a lot of people do), and more so, she said she's gonna miss having a glass of wine or amaretto or whatever after a hard week, or with a meal, etc - actually enjoying alcohol responsibly!
She's absolutely down in the dumps about all this, and doesn't know what to do with herself. Another thing ****ing her off is her friends inability to believe her - they're see it as a choice. She's not had a drink in over 2 months now, but her friends are still repeatedly messaging her and saying stuff along the lines of 'wine times on Monday!' (when she finishes her exams), which is only serving to **** her off even more.
I've been trying to cheer her up about it, the prospect of living a life without alcohol. I know it may seem a very minor thing to some, but to a 20 y/o girl in the prime of her life, it's certainly out of the ordinary to not be able to drink at all. Yes, some people make that choice, but she didn't want to, and it's been forced upon her.
I've mentioned things along the lines of how it won't be as bad as you think, all the money she'll save, even as far as the calories she'll save (she's a size 10 but is nontheless obsessed with her weight as most girls are...), and then I'm sort of drawing a blank.
Yeah, I've resolved to support her in any way I can, even if it means going out for a meal and opting for a coke instead of a pint or a bottle of wine, not drinking around her, doing things together that don't involve alcohol (cinema, going for walks, etc)... But yeah, that's about all I can think of. I'm not completely cutting booze out of my life for her sake, that's just daft, but I'll be as supportive as I can be.
Anyway, with all that considered, does anyone have any (sensible!) ideas as to how I can cheer her up? She's really down in the dumps at the moment (not just about the booze, there's a lot of other stuff going on that I won't go into), and I'm sorta stumped here as to what I can do to cheer her up! I was really banking on the doctors being able to sort something out! With all the **** she's got going on at the moment, frankly, she could use a stiff drink :/
Once again, this isn't a medical thread, I'm just looking for a bit of advice on how to help her out.
Cheers!
TL;DR: 20 y/o girlfriend can't drink anymore, she's upset about this, what can I do to help?
