Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth: No More Hangovers?

[xtobal]

Recently I have noticed that the older I get the more I really appreciate alcohol and the good times it brings. I am learning more and more how to use it properly as a social tool and not a means of self-medication (I have other chemicals for that! :D ).

This week I have been drinking almost every night because I just moved in with an old friend and we haven't hung out for a while, so we are having a week long party for the fuck of it. I don't get trashed every night but there have been a couple of nights where I have trouble walking straight and end up wanting to go to huddle house or denny's at 3 am (thats always a sign).

But NOT ONCE have I had a hangover this week! In fact this is something I've noticed for a few months now: I can't get hangovers anymore. I am usually pretty good about having one or two glasses of ice water before I pass out, but even on the nights where I don't stay hydrated, I wake up the next day completely hangover free! I have googled the reasons why, but all of the answers are about people who have NEVER had a hangover and everyone says "Just wait til you get older." For me it is the opposite. I used to get the worst hangovers, which is why I stopped drinking for a while. Now I am getting older (25) and the hangovers should be getting worse according to the theories floating around. I guess what I'm really trying to ask is, WTF?

Not complaining, just curious.

In other words, I'm asking people to share their own experiences and theories with the effects of alcohol and how they evolve over the years for each individual.

 

[verso]

EDIT: Thanks for clearing things up, xtobal. I'm going to reopen this thread and move it to BDD.

 

[wooger]

I have no clue as to why this is happening to you....

as for hangovers getting worse as you get older... it may be a hint of the rapid withdrawl of alcohol after drinking... each subsequent exposure to alcohol leads to a more severe withdrawal due to changes in your GABA receptors which occur with chronic use of alcohol... I'm guessing there may be an element of this in the hangovers getting worse thing...

You might be unlucky and feel awful a couple of days after stopping drinking but I hope not! .

 

[ChainsawWilliams]

Just effects some people differently I guess. Also depends a lot on what you're drinking. I know people who cant go out for 3 or 4 pints without waking up sick the next day. I almost never get hangovers, probably because I very rarely stop drinking. When I do get em its always my stomach that acts up, never get headaches or anything like that. Just be careful man, in my opinion its the most dangerous drug you can do.

 

[cj]

I have found gatorade and xanax to be the best hangover cure money can buy.

 

[sekio]

Hangovers are usually mediated by 1. acetaldehyde and 2. hydration, so if you have a strong liver and lots of water you should "bridge" right over your hangover so to speak.

 

[treezy z]

for me there's an evolution in drinking as i got more tolerant/dependent. first, my hangover involved being tired as hell and sleeping all day, feeling like shit.
then i evolve to no hangovers, as i become tolerant to alcohol. when the alcohol wears off i was wide awake as my body is wanting more to drink, but i was not shaky and panicking.
then i evolved to not sleeping at all while drunk unless i drink a shitload, because as soon as the alcohol wears off i was wired, shaky and panicking.
OP, you are becoming tolerant to alcohol IMO, maybe moving towards alcoholism if you're not careful.

 

[Roger&Me]

Hangovers are usually mediated by 1. acetaldehyde and 2. hydration

Also: acute minor withdrawal. The combination of those three factors is usually what does a person in.