Covid and alcohol

So this is completely strange and hoping for some clarity. If all you have to say is “don’t drink” then please refrain. I’ve been a functioning alcoholic all my life. I’ve usually got some level of control, like I don’t get fucked up the night before work, I can go out and have two beers and be fine, but I will get stoned and drunk as hell if I have extended days off. Ive also always been active and it’s never stopped me from going out. (I hiked and backpacked a lot, always been an outdoors guy). But if I can be a complete drunk if I have the time, won’t hide from it at all.

Ok so the issue. In Dec of ‘23 I stopped drinking the near every day thing. I only drank some beer on the 15/16th but nothing for three weeks. Just before Christmas my dad went to the ER, I went to see him and got Covid. While I was quarantined I did drink some beer for the first few days, high gravity, but didn’t go crazy. My only problem from Covid was breathing issues. Just a heavier breathing with a harder time to inhale. Then by Jan 1 Covid was over, I was breathing fine, and didn’t drink until the second week of Feb. On that weekend I drank like my normal self with an extended weekend off. Started Friday night, then Sat morning I made a big breakfast, had shots and eventually smoked a bowl, drinking again in the evening. Fun weekend, did a fire, read my book, etc. Tapered off Sunday so Monday would be the hangover day. Woke up Monday morning and could barely breathe. Very heavy in lungs just for normal breathing. Went to my doc and he said it was acid reflux attack. Eventually it calmed down but scary as fuck. This breathing issue has haunted me since. Ok so for the next 10 months I still continued to randomly drink, but at times the same issue would come up with the breathing. The interesting thing is the trouble breathing would come when I felt (after binge drinking) my body detoxing. I had a lot of issues that year but finally discovered if I had breathing problems, I could drink a little and it would help me breathe much more easily that evening. I told my doc that this helped and he said he didn’t know and had no clue. That this only happened after I got Covid is my point. I lived in the eastern mountains of Tenn at the time. Since then I moved to South Florida. The crazy thing is that in South Florida I can drink like my old self. I forgot what a hangover was like bc I was too scared to drink that much. So 3 months ago I went back to the mountains for a lake trip and on day 3 I had the breathing problems back. A little alcohol helped ease it but still kinda pissed me off. Seriously is it Covid? What does the elevation have to do with it?? So apparently I can drink in low sea level but not in elevation? Is this due to Covid? It’s just a very weird thing. Does anyone have any opinions about all this? I’ve told my doc all of this and he has no clue why, just says it’s acid reflux and don’t drink. Again if you’re going to say don’t drink I do appreciate it but that’s not why I posted this. It’s just all confusing. No switch flipped. Just looking for people’s opinion of why. I admit my alcoholism, but everything changed w Covid. Thank you all for listening.