A man who quit drinking in 2018 is still getting pulled over for DWI.
Mark Mongiardo suffers from auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), a rare condition which 'causes symptoms of intoxication in people who haven’t consumed any alcohol', according to Cleveland Clinic.
When yeasts that normally live in your gut become overgrown, they feed on the sugars you eat and produce alcohol through fermentation.
The medical centre says 'there are fewer than a hundred documented cases of auto-brewery syndrome, but most researchers suspect it’s more common than we know'.
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“Over the years before the diagnosis, I thought that I was fatigued from long days of teaching and coaching,” the 43-year-old from Florida told the New York Post.
“[I] wasn’t aware that I may have been acting or showing signs and symptoms of someone intoxicated.”
Mark's symptoms include 'slurred speech, loss of coordination, confusion and even dangerously high blood alcohol levels'.
The former high school athletic director said it got to a stage where colleagues would start commenting on his symptoms.
“There had been many instances where individuals complained that they smelled alcohol on me when I had not been drinking,” he said.
Mark said his symptoms worsened after eating certain foods 'high in carbohydrates or sugar'.
“There were also times when it wasn’t just obvious ‘sugary’ foods. Even meals that seemed relatively normal could trigger symptoms,” the dad said, adding that poor sleep and stress contribute to the issues.
Things got so bad that Mark lost his job and was issued two DWI charges in six months in New York. One of the charges came a year after he gave up drinking.
He only learned of the condition after getting a glucose challenge test at Richmond University Medical Center.
“Within 30 minutes, my BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) was 0.09 and elevated to 0.14 during the test,” Mark explained.
“The best management of the symptoms is to rest or sleep as much as I can until my BAC is back to zero.
“It’s very difficult to be awake or eat anything with the extreme feelings of nausea, so generally I’m bedridden.”
His condition is better controlled with the combination of a Ketogenic (low carb) diet and avoidance of sugar, processed foods and, of course, alcohol.
Common ABS symptoms include:
- Brain fog
- Fatigue
- Delayed reaction time
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Slurred speech
- Loss of coordination
- Confusion
Triggers include:
- Foods high in carbohydrates or sugar
- Stress
- Lack of sleep
- Large or poorly timed meals
Anish Vij