Hungover? Fuzzy? Head aching?

[snowangel]

BIG glass of water before bed.  Unfortunately that usually requires being sober enough to remember to drink it. 

Enormous mugs of strong coffee and very disgustingly fatty food for breakfast (i.e. Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast) will usually take the edge off the next day.  The theory that the greasy food somehow "sucks up" the excess alcohol in one's system is like any rationalization.  Sounds good and makes you feel better.  But it gives you an excuse to eat something you know you shouldn't.  Just like that fourth and fifth cocktail that got you to this point. 

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Bingo! And, hope it's on a day when you can put the kids on the bus and lay on the couch with the remote control. And, what JAZ said. Now that we are older and wiser, we've learned to alternate spirits with water.

[the queneau]

Queneau's solution (warning: this may not be applicable to many others):

Initial Home remedy (preparatory only):

Hot shower

Cold Shower

Hot Shower

Eye drops

Mouthwash

3 heavy-mg paracetemol

Stagger to pub:

Bacon Sandwich

Pint of Guinness

Sunday papers

6 cigarettes

An argument

Sorted.

[fatdeko]

For whatever reasons, perhaps because his insights have the ring of truth and experience, or perhaps his Prose is as good as the hangover inducer itself, I just can't get enough of Kingsley Amis on the subject.

Medically, physiologically etc, there's little doubt in my mind that his theories don't hold water--but they nevertheless have returned a Drinking Man to his feet, or at least to work.

But drink what he spills. Dehydration is a fact.

(In fact, drink water whenever you can, even when you're not drinking the good stuff. There's lots of good reasons. You'll thank me some day.)

But I'm trying to stay on point:

Antacids: This way Danger lies.

Beware the seduction of Alkaseltzer and the other de-acidizing agents.

On this, Amis makes a bit of counter-intuitive sense: You're stomach is full of acid and is desperately trying to muster the resources to neutralize it.

Alkalinizing the stomach will cause it to respond by Re-acidification. Now you're worse than when you started. Amis suggests a light breakfast of un-sweetened grapefruit or fruit juice to induce and inspire the Rear-guard of the stomach's alkaline resources.

"If you find this unconvincing, take heed of what happened one morning when, with a kingly hangover, I took bicarbonate with a vodka chaser. My companion said 'Let's see what's happening in your stomach,' and poured the remnant of the vodka into the remnant of the bicarbonate solution. The mixture turned black and gave off smoke."

Amis also--even primarily--suggests a bit of.....exercise. But even this is loaded down with caveat. I'll let him tell it, it's priceless:

"If your wife or partner is beside you, and (of course) is willing, perform the sexual act as vigorously as you can. The exercise will do you good and--on the assumption that you enjoy sex--you will feel toned up emotionally, thus delivering a hit-and-run raid on your metaphysical hangover before you formally declare war on it.

Warnings: If you are in bed with somebody you should not be in bed with, and have in the least degree a bad conscience about this, abstain. Guilt and shame are prominent constituents of the Metaphysical Hangover and will certainly be sharpened by indulgence on such an occasion.

For the same generic reason, do not take the matter into your own hands if you awake by yourself."

Myers

Edited January 7, 2005 by fatdeko (log)

[NeroW]

In this order (if you tamper with this order I can not be held responsible for what might happen):

1 glass water.

4 Ibuprofen. Lacking Ibuprofen, you may substitute Motrin 800, Xanax, or any other favorite pain-smoother (may I recommend the Xanax).

2 cups blazing-strong coffee.

2 Bloody Marys. It doesn't matter what kind of vodka. Just get it in there. If there is no tomato juice to be had, substitute 2 screwdrivers (although the social implications seem to be different if you drink vodka and orange juice in the morning instead of vodka and tomato juice. I do not know why).

1 gyro with steak fries and tzatziki, or failing that, 1 gyro omelet. If there is no gyro meat, substitute any other red meat: bacon cheeseburgers are my second favorite.

Another cup of coffee.

Another glass of water.

Either more painkillers or a nice joint, whichever your poison. Me, I will take the joint. Then I drink more water, take a nap, wake up, play some video games, and eat some more red meat, washed down with vodka, if my roommates haven't drank it all while I sleep.

Unless of course it's a work day, in which case I put the checks on and suck it up.

[johnnyd]

and besides, was'nt it one of the three wise men who said

'i feel sorry for people who don't drink........when they wake up in the morning thats as good as there going to feel all day'

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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So....

those three would be Martin, Davis jr. and ol' blue eyes?

[viaChgo]

chug a bottle of Pedialyte & eat some greasy food. If you have the foresight, have the Pedialyte chilled.

[Gifted Gourmet]

the Mother of all Hang Over cures

A shot of olive oil should be included with the shots of vodka or rum you slam down on New Year's Eve.  That's according to Lidia Bastianich, host of the PBS cooking show "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen." The grandmother of five claims olive oil is one of the best remedies around to prevent a nasty hangover.

Bastianich -- who was born in Italy and moved to the U.S. more than 45 years ago -- says the oily hangover cure has been used "forever" by those in her homeland. It's key to take the olive oil before you start drinking, so it will coat the stomach and help prevent alcohol from being absorbed into the bloodstream -- the normal cause for "morning-after" headaches.

[Marlene]

I always take aspirn before I go to bed if Ive been drinking. For some reason when I do, I never have a headache in the morning.

[kguetzow]

Two aspirin, two tylenol, huge glass of water before bed. Then as Katie decribed, salty, greasy, spicy, filling food. Coffee of course, but I always have to add FRESH AIR into the cure. The air really helps.

A sandwich that I sort of invented at greasy spoon diner, became a favorite with all my hungover coworkers, Gyros, egg, swiiss cheese, on a pita with lots of hot sauce. It wasn't on the menu and the owner started wondering why this odd order kept coming up every day. We informed him that it was for medicinal purposes and he added it to the menu. He named it the Equilizer.

[Dani Mc]

water and two extra strength advil before bed.

water and gatorade (for the electrolytes) upon waking, and then a very large vanilla espresso milkshake. Works better than a glass of coke (my second line of defense). Something about the cold/sweet/caffeine combo knocks the hangover right out of me.

[Della]

I try to remember the advil/water thing before bed. I don't always though. My favorite remedy is Alka Seltzer. I think that stuff is the best!

After that - maybe some diet pepsi or diet coke. I need the caffiene and I seem to like the carbonation.

Lastly - something greasy. Potato chips work great. (mmmm - salty too!)

[Jake]

Vanquish before bed -- I swear by this stuff and Gatorade and food upon waking. This morning, lots and lots of Gatorade!

[peppyre]

Lots of water while drinking. I find if I can maintain this, then I usually don't have much of a hangover. Now, if I'm unable to drink as much water as I would like, or I've been consuming my dad's grappa infused cherries (basically cherries that have absorbed an ounce of grappa) like I did on Christmas eve, (I had 3), I was basically to drunk to remember to drink water. When I stumbled in the door, I sat down at my computer and drank about 4 or 5 glasses of water and took 2 gravol and a couple of Advil. Woke up nice and early Christmas morning with only a mild hangover. Went to my mothers and was offered champagne and coffee, followed by a greasy fried breakfast. After an hour long nap, I was feeling fine.

Water is the key!! Lot's of water!

[JPW]

Gatorade and more Gatorade.

Followed by the most sweat inducing aerobic activity around - since my knees have told me I can no longer run - I find a hard 20-30 mile bike ride works wonders to sweat out all the poisons.

[JAZ]

For whatever reasons, perhaps because  his insights have the ring of truth and experience, or perhaps his Prose is as good as the  hangover inducer itself, I just  can't get enough of Kingsley Amis on the subject.

Myers

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Your post reminded me that the best description I've ever read of a hangover was written by Kingsley Amis, in Lucky Jim:

Dixon was alive again. Consciousness was upon him before he could get out of the way; not for him the slow, gracious wandering from the halls of sleep, but a summary, forcible ejection. He lay sprawled, to wicked to move, spewed up like a broken spider-crab on the tarry shingle of the morning. The light did him harm, but not as much as looking at things did; he resolved, having done it once, never to move his eyeballs again. A dusty thudding in his head made the scene before him beat like a pulse. His mouth had been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleaum. During the night, too, he'd somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by secret police. He felt bad.

You just know he'd had his share of hangovers.

[sco-v]

lots of water before bed and some strong cold infused yerba mate' with peppermint in the morning works for me.

Of course as every one has said - it's really about preventive medicine but yerba mate' is really amazing for helping with the hangover or just taking that sober edge off the morning.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Enjoy yourselves heartily tonight on New Year's Eve but be careful ...

which brings us to tomorrow morning's hangover ... bumping up this thread so that you can go out today and buy something to help you feel better in the cold light of dawn ...

Coffee . A cup of java can cut headache, but watch out -- it's another diuretic, so don't refill that mug too often.

Analgesics . Again, moderation is the key. "They're good to use for headache, but Tylenol [acetaminophen] is toxic to the liver, like alcohol, while aspirin is toxic to the stomach -- again, like alcohol," Siegel said. A regular Tylenol or two is fine, but any more than that might be hazardous.

Exercise . A workout can be great for your circulation and might perk the body up, but it dehydrates, so be sensible about it.

Prickly pear cactus flower . "It's a new remedy on the market now, and it seems to soothe the stomach, but it's also another diuretic," Siegel added.

source

[M.X.Hassett]

Fat Guy's Salon article

[dsoneil]

Here's what works best for me:

1. Go out for Taco Bell or some food after drinking (if possible)

2. Two large glasses of water

3. High dose Vitamin B Complex

4. Sleep

5. One more large glasses of water

6. Food & Good Coffee

7. Rest

The one thing I avoid is using Tylenol, Aspirin and Advil before I go to bed, after drinking. This is especially important because mixing these with alcohol can cause severe liver damage and stomach bleeding. Obviously this will take time, but when I was in college, it was normal to drink two or three times per week.

The Vitamin B is a much better "hangover helper." It won't fix the problem, but it will take the edge off.

[MaxH]

Two aspirin, two tylenol, ...

Once again be careful of any advice casually suggesting acetaminophen (tylenol) together with alcohol. The source of such advice (with the best of intentions) has not gotten the word, has not read this thread much (the topic came up earlier), and most likely has not done a Google search for both of the words

acetaminophen alcohol

which would tell them all they need to know about the hazards to your health that make the combination worse than alcohol alone.

And (again) milk thistle seed extract is the active ingredient of the proprietary hangover-cure products. It (and water) reportedly are the clinically proven measures to help you detoxify, "should moderation fail." (Admittedly they are not nearly as colorful as all the other cool stuff that people put forward at these times.)

[mizducky]

Hmmm ... my favorite hangover strategies are mostly repeats of what others have said:

1) Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Before, during, and after. Just plain water is fine by me.

2) Dilute the alcohol with some food. Again, before, during, and after. Foods heavy on the grease and protein, especially typical diner food like burgers or omelettes, work best for me.

3) Choose the booze carefully. Overly sweet mixed drinks, and overly sweet booze, seem to give much nastier hangovers, all other things being equal. Having said that, my favorite booze is bourbon, which is still a little sweet compared to, say, vodka--but I'm used to it and sort of have calibrated how much I can drink before I start to do major damage to myself. I have a perhaps superstitious fear of tequila in heavy-drinking situations--just have heard too many anecdotes from friends who got especially vicious hangovers from the stuff. I absolutely don't get those of my friends who drink Jagermeister--not only does its flavor remind me of cough syrup, but the sugar content strikes me as instant-hangover-in-a-bottle.

4) Afterwards: healing beverages not already part of the hydration routine. Cola and ginger-ale. Both the cola syrup and the ginger help to sooth my poor over-abused stomach lining. Hot tea can also be soothing--preferably herbal, but black tea will do in a pinch.

5) Modest amounts of over-the-counter drugs. As MaxH has pointed out, acetaminophen is especially bad juju--messes with the liver, which is already feeling the strain of filtering all that booze, so I avoid it. Ibuprofen and naproxen, alas, don't do so well for me either (I am especially sensitive to their stomach irritating properties), so I only do the recommended dose at most. Mylanta helps; Tums will do in a pinch.

6) Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Sometimes there's nothing for it but to just crawl back into bed and have someone wake you when it's all over.

[moosnsqrl]

the Mother of all Hang Over cures

A shot of olive oil should be included with the shots of vodka or rum you slam down on New Year's Eve.  That's according to Lidia Bastianich, host of the PBS cooking show "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen." The grandmother of five claims olive oil is one of the best remedies around to prevent a nasty hangover.

Bastianich -- who was born in Italy and moved to the U.S. more than 45 years ago -- says the oily hangover cure has been used "forever" by those in her homeland. It's key to take the olive oil before you start drinking, so it will coat the stomach and help prevent alcohol from being absorbed into the bloodstream -- the normal cause for "morning-after" headaches.

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Amen...old French men would always drink olive oil before they went out for a night on the town, and they could put anyone I know to shame.

[moosnsqrl]

My personal favorite is a tiny packet of powder, made by the wonderful people at Alacer, called Emergen-C. Available at most health food stores and some drug stores, you mix it with water (tepid works better, if you can handle it) and sip it. That's right -- S - I - P. Don't glug, it won't metabolise/absorb as well. It's full of vitamins and electrolytes, etc, and has some fizz (like Alka Seltzer), is all natural so no danger (assuming you're healthy apart from the self-inflicted wounds) and it really, really helps. Drink that, eat a banana, maybe take your favorite analgesic, go back to bed for 30 minutes (if that's an option) and you will wake up a new person.

Happy New Year -- I'm going to be now. Does that make me old an boring?

[M.X.Hassett]

The best advice may be dont drink to the point of being hungover. Worked for me.

[bacchant036]

what a cop out.

it being new years day and all i thought it the perfect opportunity to test a new idea, and i can only marvel at its success.

hot buttered rum,

followed by a nice bottle californian red and risotto

but the key was the hot buttered rum

happy new year