Hangover cure

[derosa]

Just remember to hold the tylenol till morning to deal with the symptoms, taking it well drunk can enhance the effects of the alcohol on the liver and kidneys from what I have read. Just drink lots of water the night of and eat while you drink which will deaden the hangover effect. As for the morning after, I found that a couple of quick tokes didn't cure the ailment but I also didn't care.

[Tiny]

I've only had a hangover once. knock on wood.

nearly a 5th of tequila in under an hour will have that effect. That was the night I really should have gone to the ER.

Any other time I've drank I've always included a pizza and soda after or a few slices of bread with water if I spent the pizza money on beer. Also aside from my one hangover night I never drink on an empty stomach.

Preparation prior means less headache after.

[ohiopiper]

I've found that drinking several glasses of cold water before I cash in for the night helps with the hangover. I've also found that I get far less hung over on whiskey (drink of choice) than on beer (Conways Irish Ale from Great Lakes Brewing Company). Wine (drunk on it once) makes me want to go drown myself to end the misery.

[Heming]

Since I'm a smart-a**, I'll chip in:

I agree that alcohol is a poison, albeit my poison of choice. And I know that the liver metabolises it into more poison. So I try these tricks while drinking:

- one glass of water per drink of alcohol
- no more than one drink an hour
- say no to the fifth drink

The last point is of course the most difficult to adhere to, as I will already be drunk and searching for my marbles.

The morning after, if having found too many marbles the night before, will usually consist of two double espressos, two pints of cold water and a stout breakfast. Which is only a pint of water and a double espresso away from my normal Sunday ritual anyway... And I suppose that my best tip for a hangover cure is TIME.

Someone once said to me that aspirins the night before will have stopped working when you wake up anyway, so I don't do that (reading the pill box I see that they work up to 8 hours). Actually I tend to think that my liver will be busy enough without the aspirin, and since I do not dole out pity for self-inflicted misery, I also try to be low on self-pity when hung over.

[Mr. MacDougall]

Here's the thing about asprin:

It is an anti-inflamation drug. Even though it will have stopped working before morning, during the night, it's working to stop the inflamation that causes the pain in the first place. However, I would be cautious about its use in this way, because I have heard that it may be hepatotoxic (damaging to your liver). I would want to do a fair amount of research on the question before actually using it in this fashion.

However, a litre of water or orange juice will certainly help dehydration issues.

And Ron is quite right... alcohol is intoxicating because it's toxic.

Nurse moment over; we now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion.

[Lachlan09]

For me, when I was a young chap learning the drinker’s art, hangovers the morning after were 3 types:-

a) the dull groggy headache usually associated with beer and wine which tended to dissipate over time and rest,
b) the sharp stinging headache which I usually got through strong cider, whisky and Pernod (the Pernod headache was in a league of its own) which needed Paracetamol or Codeine and
c) the third and worst category – that cold clammy feeling which developed into nausea and vomiting, then a sickly headache (brought on by mixing strong drinks too much). In such a case, I found that anything I ate or drank to relieve the hangover ended up in the toilet bowl. Until that wonderful day I tried Heinz Cream of Tomato soup. Normally I hated its sickly flavour and the coagulated blobs formed when it formed a skin and you stirred the soup. But when I had the pukes, a mug of hot HC of T and a piece of unbuttered Scottish plain or pan loaf bread saved my life every time ! I never brought it up and I could lay down and rest till I felt better. I was thinking of writing to Heinz with a slogan for their HC of T soup “Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup goes down well --- and stays down !”

Mind you, when I started drinking vodka and mixers on my nights out, next day I never suffered any sort of hangover at all. It became my drink of choice, good for being “on the ball” at Edinburgh's discos/night clubs* I used to go to every weekend to socialize, jig the night away and chercher les femmes !

* such as Buster Brown’s (my second home), Valentino’s (my third home), Pipers (which was naff compared to others), Annabel’s (too many Libyans and Scottish girls looking for Libyans - not interested in Scotsmen !), Clouds (completely naff), Charlie Parker’s, Tiffany’s (good for a laugh and trouve une femme at Christmas), the one upstairs in the Royal Mile/High Street (forgot its name but it was quite good and they did a great Halloween).

[auld argonian]

Oddly enough, I haven't really had one of those epic hangovers for quite some time. I'm crediting it partially to the fact that I'm usually drinking either Bellhavens or Guinness rather than the light beer that I used to drink. I'm also staying rather well hydrated (water) most of the time and eating a bit while in the midst of partying. I have had a couple of wee twinges but the last one was because I had a couple of glasses of some "two buck chuck" type red wine that a guest brought along for Christmas Eve dinner.

I do see that Alka-Seltzer is trying to make a comeback as a "morning after" solution. I had been wondering what had happened to them...it was always an old standby.

Best

AA

[Lachlan09]

Hmmm - just reminiscing about Annabels - I remember after being in Annabels in 1981 being invited to a party at a flat rented by a group of Libyan maritime trainees attending Leith Nautical College. I had met the only girl in Annabel’s wanting to meet a Scotsman, not a Libyan, but her pal was making up to a Libyan guy and he and his pals obviously had plans for her at the flat, with which she was in agreement (the shameless hussy !). Meanwhile I was joking with a couple of drunk Libyans. I remember making a comment about the news reporting US jets bombing Libya and saying something like “So you’re fae Libya ? Oh aye, I know Libya - President Reagan’s just bombed there eh ? Ha ha ha !!” Funny enough, they didn’t get angry ! Too sozzled !!

[ForresterModern]

Doctor hat off!

Ron's facts are just that, facts, which explain a lot of why we (you, not me anymore) feel so crappy the next morning. Another fact which is additive is that ethanol shuts down the body's maufacture of a key hormone which normally allows the kidneys to hold onto water when you start to get dehydrated, hence the reason we tend to pee a lot more after drinking, which only makes you more dehydrated. Water balance is key so maintain hydration---one glass of water for every drink, as Heming says, is a grand idea. It also helps flush out the toxins building up faster. Also, aspirin is NOT toxic to the liver when you are only taking a couple at a time---Tylenol is EXTREMELY toxic to the liver alone and in combination with the alcohol--a multiplicative effect--so stay off the tylenol at all costs. Acetaldehyde IS a byproduct of alternative pathway metabolism for alcohol---acetaldehyde sounds kind of like formaldehyde because it is and acts chemically similar, only an extra carbon and a couple hydrogens, so as it builds up you are essentially embalming your self alive.

Sorry but I see no soap box in Ron's comments, only facts, to which I have hopefully added.

jeff

[Lachlan09]

Milk before you go out to put a lining in your stomach and plenty water after you get home to ward off dehydration. That was my winning formula (plus sticking to beer and vodka or Southern Comfort and American Dry - plus dancing and not drinking too much)