pdavisfacs

Im 27 and have been a heavy drinker for 2 years. Just recently I started having terrible hangovers....

More background: I've been a causal drinker since college, but for the last two years have drank more often - 5-6 days a week. Usually it is a few glasses of wine (1/2-3/4 bottle) on evenings when hanging out, or some mixed drinks (like 5-6 shots I guess) when watching sports. This would give me a good buzz and I might have a slight headache once in a while the next day if I drank more than that, but it never became a problem in terms of not feeling good the next day. Anyway, about a month ago I had the same amount of alcohol I've always had one evening (1/2 bottle of wine), but woke the next day with a terrible hangover (vomiting, shivers, dizzy, etc). I almost never have that happen unless I spend a whole day getting plastered, so I was totally confused how I could be so sick one morning out of the blue after my normal amount of drinks.

So I took a week off drinking, then had 5 beers with friends at a baseball game. I was buzzed, sobered up, and went home no longer drunk or buzzed. But the next morning I was near vomiting again, with another bad hangover.

I thought that was weird again, and stopped drinking for 2 weeks. Two nights ago I had some screwdrivers at a basketball game with a friend, maybe a quarter of a pint, not enough to even get "drunk". And today I've got a splitting headache and feel like I can barely stay awake.

So the last three times I've drank, its been terrible the next day. I'm confused because I am not drinking any more booze than I used to, I am drinking the same kind of beer/liquor/wine in the same amounts as I have been for two years, so its not like I'm drinking new alcohol or mixing it up.

Has anyone else ever had anything like this happen or heard of this happening? I am worried there is something wrong (medically), but have not found anything online of people with a similar experience, or all of a sudden having this happen without changing their pattern of drinking.

I'm obviously going to stop drinking now, not only because those kind of hangovers aren't worth it, but because this bad hangover thing seems like it could be a sign of a health problem since I've not been drinking more than usual, and in these last three cases, have probably had less than usual.

I guess I am just really curious if anyone has heard of this, because this doesn't seem like a normal progression of things. I don't think my body is alcohol dependent, because for the last month I've not had anything to drink (aside from those 3 times) and have not gone through any withdrawl symptoms and have never craved any alcohol. My understanding is most people get those symptoms when stopping drinking. The symptoms only occurred after I drank, and only the last three times.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Pete