- Dad Mark reeked of alcohol and felt tipsy without touching a drop
- His wife thought he was binge drinking, and he got into trouble at work
- Only after he was breathalysed by the police did he learn the truth
Here, Mark, 43, tells his story in his own words…
Walking into my boss’ office, I took a seat in front of his desk.
Aged 24, it was 2006 and I was working as a physical education teacher and assistant basketball coach at a local high school, which I loved.
But when I was called in to speak with the athletic director, I was nervous.
‘Mark, we’ve had some complaints of you smelling like alcohol,’ he said.
I was frozen with shock.
But that’s impossible, I thought.
Like most guys my age, I enjoyed a tipple with mates on the weekend, but there was no way I’d drink on the job.
Thankfully, I was let off with a warning. But as time went on, the complaints kept coming.
And it wasn’t just at work that I’d hear of my boozy breath or how the stench of grog oozed from my pores.
‘Did you go out for drinks tonight?’ my girlfriend Gina, then 25, quizzed as I stumbled through the front door after work one night.
‘No!’ I vowed.
But inexplicably I’d noticed my speech was slurred and I was dizzy.
And Gina had a hard time believing that I wasn’t secretly an alcoholic.
I had gaps in my memory as if I’d been black-out drunk
The next morning I felt hungover, even though I hadn’t had any booze.
I also had gaps in my memory, as if I’d been black-out drunk.
While I usually came home right after work, sometimes I had a couple of social beers with mates.
But two beers would feel like I’d had double the amount. It was such a scary feeling not remembering where I’d been or what I’d done.
What if I get fired? What if Gina leaves me? I’d panic.
She was convinced I was secretly binge drinking.
Even her parents were disappointed when I wobbled during Sunday roast dinners at their place, after just a glass or two of wine or beer!
‘Take a seat, Mark,’ they’d say, unimpressed.
Despite my increasingly embarrassing behaviour, Gina stood by me.
‘We’ll get through this,’ she assured me.
And thankfully there were days where I was totally normal.
Proposing in February 2007, I was over the moon when Gina said yes.
We tied the knot in June 2009, and it was the happiest day of my life.
Luckily on our big day, I didn’t have any ‘drunken’ mishaps.
By then I’d been promoted to head baseball coach and my future was looking up.
Now and then, though, there would be complaints from students or staff about my boozy odour, or me stumbling and slurring.
To try and quash the rumours, I cut back on alcohol, and did my best to get a good night’s sleep to take the edge off the exhaustion I’d feel each morning.
When Gina gave birth to our daughter, Giavanna, in August 2013, and our son, Marco, in December 2016, I wanted to be the best father possible for them.
But the symptoms still persisted.
Pulled over by police
Then in August 2018, my world came crashing down when I was pulled over by police. Taking the breathalyser, I was shocked when my blood alcohol concentration level came back at 0.18.
‘I swear I haven’t had anything to drink,’ I told the officers, but I was charged with driving under the influence.
When the same thing happened eight months later after I was again pulled over for a random breath test, my driver’s licence was revoked.
And when my boss found out, I had no choice but to resign.
I was devastated.
With me having no job, Gina and I had to sell our house and move in with her parents.
Thankfully, Gina was working as a restaurant manager, so we at least had her income.
Unable to get work due to the charges, I felt like I’d hit rock bottom.
‘I can’t even support my family,’ I cried.
Frustrated, my mum, Victoria, researched my symptoms. Coming across a condition called auto brewery syndrome (ABS), she shared it with me.
The rare condition is caused by an overgrowth of yeast in the gut that converts carbohydrates and sugars into alcohol.
What is auto-brewery syndrome?
Also known as called gut fermentation syndrome, it is a rare condition in which your gut produces alcohol spontaneously.
I realised every time I ate starchy foods like pizza and pasta, or sugary treats such as ice cream, I began acting intoxicated.
Being Italian, those foods were half my diet. Suddenly, everything made sense.
This is what I have! I realised.
Showing Gina, she agreed it sounded possible.
I saw a gastroenterologist in May 2019 and was formally diagnosed with ABS after a sugary drink caused my blood alcohol concentration to spike.
‘Thank you for getting to the bottom of it,’ I cried.
‘I finally have an answer,’ I teared up to Gina.
To manage my symptoms I cut out alcohol and all carbs and sugar from my diet, swapping spaghetti for zucchini noodles.
There is no cure
While there’s no cure for ABS, by managing my gut health and making diet changes, I’m able to keep my symptoms at bay.
Since ditching carbs, I’m now the healthiest I’ve ever been.
My driving under the influence charges were dropped in June 2022, and I’m now safely back behind the wheel.
I take a voluntary breathalyser to check I’m at zero before I start the car – just in case.
I’ve also since found a job in retail and I’m loving it.
Best of all, I’m making incredible memories with Giavanna, now 11, and Marco, eight, that I can remember the next morning.
Life has never been so intoxicating!
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