A sober man discovered he has a 'brewery in his belly' after police arrested him for drink driving.
Danny Giannotto, 49, from Matawan, New Jersey, was pulled over and arrested by police after they noticed he was driving suspiciously and despite not having an alcoholic drink, he was three times over the legal limit.
Baffled by his arrest, Danny - who had been struggling with episodes of feeling drunk - underwent a number of tests in hospital.
One month later he was diagnosed with a rare condition known as Auto-brewery Syndrome, which sees his stomach turn carbohydrates into alcohol.
Just a slice of cake can leave the retail worker four times over the limit, slurring his words, falling over and blacking out. Just one month before his diagnosis, Danny was pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence.
Fortunately the charges were dropped as his medical records were shown in court proving that he had a more serious condition.
He said: "I couldn't believe it when they arrested me. I was in shock and I tried to explain but it fell on deaf ears. I was mad and frustrated because they didn't believe me.
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"We have a breathalyser voluntarily installed in the car now in case I have to drive anywhere or if I have a slice of cake at a party.
"My alcohol levels will rise if I eat a bagel, pizza or anything with carbs. My alcohol levels get up to 0.4 and over but the legal limit is 0.08 so it's four times over. It feels no different than if I'd been out drinking.
"When I was first diagnosed, I couldn't do a full day of work because if I had lunch or breakfast I would end up drunk. It was really frustrating. Even my mother was certain that I was drinking."
Before receiving the diagnosis back in 2016, Danny had to convince doctors, co-workers and even his own mum that he wasn't a 'closet drinker' with only wife, Michelle, 54, believing he was living with something more serious.
Since then, Danny has had to give up his favourite carb-fuelled foods such as pizza, bagels, cake and bread. Danny said: "When it first started happening, after meals I couldn't walk and I was slurring my speech.
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"We brushed it off but it happened after every meal time. Michelle knew something wasn't right. I don't even drink alcohol because I'm diabetic so even if we have guests over they have to bring their own wine because we don't have any in the house."
Now Danny is forced to eat a keto diet consisting mainly of meat, fish and green vegetables and admits that his condition is usually at the centre of jokes made by friends and even strangers.
He said: "People don't usually believe it. They do think it's funny, they say I'm a cheap date and I get a lot of jokes but someone going through it doesn't find it funny at all."
Michelle added: "He falls out of bed, in the bathroom, on the pavement and I have to carry him myself. I'm too scared to go to work in case he falls and hurts himself."
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