Saturday Sobfest: Curing The Hangover

You have a good idea about hangover. When I have hangover, I love to eat plenty of vegetable soup...with leafy vegetables in it....Whoah!!!It really wakes me up...

My pharmacist husband says that acetaminophen is mostly broken down in your liver, and if you've had too much to drink, your liver is already working overtime. So it's better to take ibuprofen or aspirin.

To avoid a hangover altogether I like to pace myself by alternating one alcoholic drink and one glass of water. Usually this will give me a pleasant buzz but not a nasty drunk and no hangover.

That being said, hair of the dog really does work. You don't have to drink enough to get drunk again, just one generously-mixed mimosa will do the trick, in my experience.

A bacon sandwich cures many of life's ailments. ;)

The reason ibuprofen taken before bed works is that it is a powerful anti-inflammatory. Much of the headache pain in a hangover comes from swelling in the sinuses, and if it was a really major drunk, swelling of the dura mater, the tissue between the skull and the brain. Yes, you get brain swelling from getting really drunk.

Many hangovers come not from the alcohol, but from chemical contaminants in the alcohol. Sulfites in wine and fusels in beer are examples of common contaminants that can cause hangover-like symptoms that are actually a symptom of an allergic or poisoning reaction. If you frequently get hung over after not drinking much, there's a good chance you are reacting to a contaminant. A little experimentation should show you what you need to avoid.

I am not a drinker by any stretch of the imagination. But, when I know I will be drinking I try to "Pre Hydrate" by drinking a lot of water the day of. Ditto on the water and ibuprofin before bed. My morning/afternoon after cure? Chicken McNuggets, French Fries, and a diet Coke. Mmmmm.

My best "drunken story". Well, do you remember my class reunion? No? Well, neither do I. Any guesses on when I decided drinking was NOT for me?

Don't drink on an empty stomach.
Don't overindulge. Drink a glass of water between each alcoholic beverage.

Morning- gatorade, water, aspirin and a simple meal like toast and an egg. Take a nap. The world will be better in an hour or two.

Got to drink the Gatorade--

I used to drink in college and a bit after that. However, one major thing that made me stop was the feeling of being hungover--that, and that I just felt like it was wrong. I never found that anything really helped, although I did drink a lot of water and I guess that helped some. The main thing I noticed was that I was super hungry and tired the next day and that it always took one entire day to get over it. It wasn't worth it.

I have to admit that the hair of the dog works for me, usually after I throw up though. I dont drink alot but I sure can be social at parties! After that its buckets of water and breakfast. Ive been lucky, I dont get headaches, just a quezzy tummy. Ive also found that if your partner isnt too hung over that sex can make it all better...hehehe!

The hair of the dog is truly an amazing thing. I always feel so much better with a nice hearty breakfast and a screwdriver. Drink a lot of water with that screwdriver, of course.

As for someone who has never been drunk, let alone high (I have had 1 drink about 4 times in my life, I am 62), I don't understand the need to get blindly drunk. Can some one explain that to me? I don't think I could have fun falling down drunk. I have often wondered why people do this and you all might be able to enlighten me. I really didn't know that people actually started out with that goal, I thought it was from forgetting how much they had had. Tell me.

I was always taught to take a shot of pickle juice in the morning. It may be nasty but it's got vinegar in it that settles the hangover! I'm proof it works! Also, I always take ibuprofen an hour or so before I drink. It works for me!

Your hangover advice (water +ibruprofen before bed) is dead-on. I've done that since college and it always works. A trip to the Waffle House or the Huddle House has done good for me as well.

I second the advice about taking some vitamins, but I find it works better if I take them before I go to bed along with the ibuprofen.

~ Puke before bed... my clue my husband has had his fare share of alcohol.
~ Eat breakfast, bars around here close at 2am and my husband always goes out for breakfast afterwards, he says it helps.
~ drink close enough to home(within 1-2 miles) so you can walk (stumble) there is you need to.
~ Many people swear by the 1:1 ratio of beer:water, I was told if trying to out drink some one this was the way to go

Thats about all I have:)

Definitely good timing for you to post about hangover cures...Had a long night...I think everyone is different, thus the more recommendations the better. I personally take an Advil before I got to bed the night before with a big glass of water. In the morning I do a little eggs and burnt toast. Gotta be burnt!

Ivy, you were witness to MANY of my drunken college nights...so I'll just tell you a hangover cure.... A few years back, I was watching the Discovery channel and they were talking about hangovers....a doctor said that eggs help the liver break down the alcohol....so whenever I can STOMACH it, I TRY to eat some scrambled eggs and toast the next day. It seems to help.

V8 and alka seltzer the next day if your still feeling poorly. At least that works for me. :)

My husband swears by burnt toast and a gatorade (as well as water) before bed. The charcoal on the toast helps soak up the booze still in your stomach, the gatorade replenishes electrolytes, which I guess helps with the next day queasiness or something, and then there's the extra hydration.

I also feel like I'm going to die without something carby and greasy the next day. Mrs. WInner's is my old standby. Mmmmm. Biscuits.

Revive Vitamin Water. It works almost every time. I remember once, a few years ago, going out with nearly all of my coworkers and everyone in the office showed up the next morning wearing dark sunglasses with bottles of Vitamin Water on their desks.