What''s your go-to hangover remedy?

[musey]

Since I am sitting in my overheated apartment with the shades drawn and nursing a bottle of water (and a bottle of Advil) on this lovely southern California saturday, I thought I'd ask...

What's your go-to hangover remedy?



Please... for my sake, if no one else's.

 

[bookworm21]

I read a lot. What I''ve read is that taking Advil or Tylenol (I don''t remember which for now) is not good if you''re hungover. The reason why you''ve got that pounding headache is because your brain membrane has shrunk a bit from your skull because of dehydration. Drink lots and lots of water, but better yet, drink Gatorade or something that will replenish your body''s sugars and salts. Shower and get out of the house. You''ll get over your hangover a lot faster if you try to sweat out the residual alcohol in your body, even if you feel like crap doing it. If you have carrot juice, drink that. It''s non-acidic and will help replace the sugars in your body lost through drinking alcohol. There are a few other tips, let me think about them and get back to you.

Hangovers are no fun. You poor thing. Oh, and another tip: to avoid hangovers, drink a bottle of water between drinks, if you can do so. If not, well, drink as much water as you can while you''re downing those shots of liquor.

 

[Ellen]

lol

Pain killers (whatever), LOTS of water, something greasy.

Sleep.


Last resort, hair of the dog.

Hope you feel better!

 

[bookworm21]

Here''s more info from a science article:

With a hangover, you''re most likely suffering from dehydration and a deficiency of important minerals like magnesium and potassium. Symptoms of dehydration include headache, cottonmouth, lightheadedness, and thirst. Drinking water and sports drinks will help you replenish your fluids, according to the NIAAA.

Do not take acetaminophen, a common alternative to aspirin found in Tylenol and other painkillers , Twombly warned. The drug is toxic to the liver when it interacts with alcohol.

But first, it may help to understand the science behind that throbbing, queasy, mouth-full-of-cotton malaise. According to Dr. Christine Lay, a neurologist at The Headache Institute at St. Luke''s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City and co-author of an upcoming article on hangovers in the journal Headache, the culprits are:

Dilation of blood vessels. This may contribute to the throbbing headache.
Low blood sugar. Alcohol can interfere with the liver''s ability to produce glucose, which leaves you feeling weak and tired, clouds your thinking and makes you moody.
Poor sleep. While alcohol is sedating and promotes sleep initially, the sleep is often of poor quality with frequent awakenings due to factors such as decreased rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
The accumulation of toxins. The main byproduct of metabolized alcohol, acetaldehyde, is a toxin that can make your heart race and lead to headache, sweatiness, flushed skin, nausea and vomiting.
Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Alcohol promotes urination by inhibiting the release of the brain hormone that normally protects against dehydration. When dehydration is accompanied by sweating, vomiting or diarrhea, there is additional fluid and mineral loss leading to electrolyte imbalances The result? Excessive thirst, lethargy, dizziness and light-headedness.

Try to eat because food will reduce the irritation to your stomach lining. Soups are good for replacing salt and potassium depleted by alcohol, and fruits and vegetables can help replenish lost nutrients.
You can take pain relief medications such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium to reduce your headache and muscle aches as long as your stomach isn''t upset and you have no history of ulcers or bleeding problems. Antacids can help ease nausea and gastritis.
Drink a glass of water in between drinks containing alcohol. This will help you drink less alcohol, and will also decrease the dehydration associated with drinking alcohol.

Courtesy of Livescience.com

 

[Skippy123]

warm tea and aspirin. Also eating light.

 

[WTNLVR]

toast and loads of apple juice. I keep the juice boxes in my fridge just in case. Hope you feel better soon. Showering also helps for some reason.

 

[starryeyed]

Sweat it out! My drug of choice is Excedrin, although it does have acetaminophen in it. Rehydrate!

Dark sunglasses with a blue tint to the lens help with sunlight.

 

[E B]

When I'm drinking, I always remember to take 2-3 aspirin *before* I go to bed, and I try to drink as many glasses of water as I had drinks. Those big water bottles you can get at Costco (or 7-11) are good, because they don't SEEM like 4+ glasses of water. I can polish off 2 a day, easy.

Also, my fiance swears by vitamin C. We also usually try to mix some Emergen-C in with our water before we go to bed.

When I do the above, I usually feel 90% in the morning. Never 100%, but not in any pain and with little to no nausea.

ETA: I realize this doesn't help now, but it might help next time! If I forget to do the above, eating something greasy and drinking TONS of water usually helps. Feel better!

 

[Minny]

I agree about the apple juice -- for some reason it is the only thing I can stomach when I am hungover. But it has to be watered down a bit and in a glass full of ice! Eating salty, greasy foods also seems to help. And sleep -- I find that if I get a full night''s sleep, it helps tremendously. Hope you feel better soon!

 

[Miranda]

I really have a 2 drink max because it makes me feel so sick, but, on those rare occasions when I drink just a bit too much I always throw up...I don''t make myself, it just happens. So my advice...Go barf. Hope you feel better.

 

[rainbowtrout]

Schweppes citron.

Otherwise, drinking two glasses of water for every serving of alcohol and making sure to take a salt and potassium pill before bed to prevent hangover from dehydration (usually this is what causes it)

 

[larussel03]

When I'm hungover, the only thing I can get myself to drink is milk. Also, if you can get yourself to go for a 20 min walk that usually helps me. Or hanging out in the shower for like 1/2 hour will sometimes help.

Drink tons of water also, if you can get yourself to (I am very adverse to water when hungover)!

The major thing is dehydration, but I also heard it can be a bit of withdrawal from having had alot to none, so if you can stomach a light bloody mary that may help. Tried and true for me, although could be in my head

Feel better!

 

[Girlrocks]

TONS of water that same night before I go to bed (as much as I can drink without throwing up). No Advil/Tylenol/aspirin that night since it could harm your liver. If I get up in the middle of the night to pee (Which I usually do after all that water) I again drink a big glass of water. Then, first thing in the AM, a coke, 2 Advil or aspirin (Tylenol doesn''t seem to do anything) and either Raman noodle soup or something greasy. I figure by the next morning, most of the alcohol is out of my system so the liver damage risk is over. Also, tons of water all day, and a BIG nap. But I don''t think there is anything that works 100%. My brother swears by some "hair of the dog that bit ya", a beer as soon as you wake up. That personally makes me want to throw up now and I haven''t had a drop to drink in a month! Good luck and I''m sure you''ll feel better tomorrow.

 

[ellaila]

Oh god, I need B-A-C-O-N when I am hungover.

 

[poptart]

Tons of water and bread. Bread soaks up the residual alcohol and water rehydrates you. I also agree about getting out and doing something, but if you can''t stand it, just go back to bed!

*M*

 

[bee*]

I always try and have two pints of water before I go to bed. In the morning I love having 2 slices of cheddar cheese if Im hungove rand also a packet of chipsticks (they''re these salt and vinegar corn crisps)-delicious!

 

[musey]

Date: 1/20/2007 7:07:13 PM
Author: ellaila
Oh god, I need B-A-C-O-N when I am hungover.

I was laughing when I read this because that''s EXACTLY what I was craving!

Thanks everyone for your tips! I don''t drink often, and have managed to never get a hangover before now even after a big night. Thankfully this one didn''t include the famous hangover headache, just the nausea

(yummy!). I ended up just spending most of the day in bed with a water bottle. LOTS of sleep. Aaaaand maybe some hashbrowns

(shh, don''t tell my diet!)

 

[ellaila]

Date: 1/20/2007 8:07:37 PM
Author: musey

Date: 1/20/2007 7:07:13 PM
Author: ellaila
Oh god, I need B-A-C-O-N when I am hungover.

I was laughing when I read this because that''s EXACTLY what I was craving!

Thanks everyone for your tips! I don''t drink often, and have managed to never get a hangover before now even after a big night. Thankfully this one didn''t include the famous hangover headache, just the nausea

(yummy!). I ended up just spending most of the day in bed with a water bottle. LOTS of sleep. Aaaaand maybe some hashbrowns

(shh, don''t tell my diet!)

Glad you survived your hangover, musey!

I hardly ever get hungover anymore these days (don''t drink much!), but even if I just drink a little bit, I swear I go to bed thinking about bacon because that was always my drinking/hangover food! So then I wake up craving it. Bacon is crack to me. It is the reason I can never go vegetarian

 

[aquarius_ser]

Sprite, Gatorade, crackers & toast - then about 5 pm, a nice greasy hamburger from Wendys.

I''ve pretty much given up hard drinking since I turned 30.... I just can''t hang like I used to. It isn''t worth to me anymore.

I guess when you''re worried about getting the laundry done and working out instead of a good night of partying, you''re getting old!

 

[Officers girl]

Gatorade and salty food

 

[monarch64]

I have friends who recommend Pedialyte. I''ve never tried it, but they say it helps tremendously.

My remedy is just a nap on the couch and lots of water. Maybe an Aleve if I have a bad headache, but my "getting wasted" days are over for the most part. Also, I try to stay away from red wine, something I read about the tannins in it causing a worse headache.

 

[ephemery1]

Ugh... sorry to hear about your pain, Musey... I empathize! I rarely get hangover headaches (despite having them all the time when I''m NOT hungover

), but I am notorious for feeling nauseous and pukey the whole day long. For some reason I always crave applesauce... interesting that others crave apple juice... I wonder if there''s something about apples?

But unfortunately I don''t have any tried and true remedies... I usually just suffer through and swear I''ll never let it happen again. I''ve gotten a lot better about preventing them, though... make sure I''ve eaten before I start drinking, stick to clear sugar-free drinks like vodka and club soda, drink tons of water before going to bed, etc.

Anyway, glad you''re feeling better!!

 

[jas]

For me, if I''m feeling floopy after one too many (which for me is more than 2 drinks), I crave McDonald''s Egg McMuffins. The grease seems to just absorb the alcohol. It also just puts me in a food coma, so I sleep, which is probably the real remedy.

Hope you''re feeling better.

 

[Aloros]

A nice big omelette replete with cheese seems to do the trick for me plus lots and lots of water. I try to drink a lot of water before going to sleep if I''ve been drinking, and that usually helps me avoid a hangover. I don''t tend to get headaches very often when hungover, just the nausea. Eating greasy food helps stabilize my upset tummy.

 

[hlmr]

Water, water, water and if all else fails - a caesar for lunch (vodka and clamato juice plus lots of salty seasonings).

 

[TravelingGal]

vietnamese pho noodles...

 

[AdaBeta27]

Leaving health and practicality isses aside, sometimes the most effective and fastest-acting one for a really nasty hangover is a small drink of an alcoholic beverage followed by tomato-based vegetable soup, Gatoraide, etc., the remedies that others have suggested. It all depends on how much risk you'll assume and how long you're willing to suffer. For some people, there is only a short hop between a hair of the dog and just drinking all of the time.

Some of my coworkers (male) recommend eating fatty foods before drinking "to get some ballast in your system" LOL. These are some hard living dudes , though.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 1/21/2007 9:17:49 PM
Author: AdaBeta27
Leaving health and practicality isses aside, sometimes the most effective and fastest-acting one for a really nasty hangover is a small drink of an alcoholic beverage followed by tomato-based vegetable soup, Gatoraide, etc., the remedies that others have suggested. It all depends on how much risk you''ll assume and how long you''re willing to suffer. For some people, there is only a short hop between a hair of the dog and just drinking all of the time.

Some of my coworkers (male) recommend eating fatty foods before drinking ''to get some ballast in your system'' LOL. These are some hard living dudes , though.

Yay for bloody mary''s!