When I was young , hangovers were something to be proud of and brag about like a medal of honor. For the last 5 or 10 years of my glorious 43 year drinking career I was either hungover or falling down drunk. No middle ground. |
Originally Posted by MelindaFlowers
(Post 6295708)
Pounding heart Heart palpitations Stabbing headache Diarrhea Acid reflux Drink 4 liters of water before urinating Too tired to move Too agitated to sit still Depression Regret Shame Remorse Regret Shaky hands Unable to sleep Unbearable to stay awake Wondering how much longer I could do this to myself and not die Pains in the liver area Bloodshot watery eyes Texts from friends asking "what are you up to today?" Answering like you're not sick as a dog and having a normal day Fast food binge Go through mcdonalds drive thru in pajamas See people exercising, working, walking dogs, riding bicycles Think "Wow. They aren't hungover. They aren't alcoholics." Can't remember the last day you weren't hungover Husband works weekends Start cleaning up hangover evidence at 4:50. (blankets off couch) Shower and dress at 4:56pm He gets home at 5 Meet him at the door Pretend you're feeling fine Lie about what you did that day. Drink again that night Number one reason I quit? Hangovers. |
I typically didn't get hangovers, unless it was a night out and I didn't come home until 2 hours before having to be at work. I'd catnap and get up and go and feel like complete crap all day....until evening when I'd do it all over again....I actually got pulled over and almost got a DUI when it had been 8 hours since I drank - fortunately I only got a warning because I didn't blow the legal limit. |
I drank everyday for 27 years so I was either drunk or hungover all the time. So basically when I was not drinking, being hungover was the state I was in and it was all bad. |
Originally Posted by lillyknitting
(Post 6295664)
What was or were your worst hangovers. What I do clearly remember is by the time I reached 30 I could no longer bounce back. It took me at least a full day to recover. (I stopped drinking at the age of 35.) Heavy drinking really does a number on your body especially as you grow older. I can't imagine how painful coming off a bender might feel when you're pushing 60. |
Originally Posted by Doug39
(Post 6668991)
I drank everyday for 27 years so I was either drunk or hungover all the time. So basically when I was not drinking, being hungover was the state I was in and it was all bad. I can't remember any specific hangovers, but i will never forget how absolutely fried my central nervous system was at all times. When alcohol quit working, my central nervous system seemed torched even when i drank. The headaches, being constantly parched, driving to work everyday drunk from the night before, the shakes, etc. were all bad, but the constant state of nervous exhaustion was the worst part. And living a constant lie didn't help any. |
Originally Posted by SoberCAH
(Post 6669151)
When alcohol quit working, my central nervous system seemed torched even when i drank. The headaches, being constantly parched, driving to work everyday drunk from the night before, the shakes, etc. were all bad, but the constant state of nervous exhaustion was the worst part. And living a constant lie didn't help any. Those drives to work in the morning were awful - half drunk and sick - sometimes if it was dark outside I was so spaced out I didn't know if I was going to work or coming home. I would walk into work completely exhausted and I do not know how I made it through all those decades of doing it every single day. On top of the alcoholism I had untreated sleep apnea for many years. I swear I was on autopilot. Today, thinking back, many of those years are just a blur. |
So many that I don't think I could pick one. I just remember the shame, terrible anxiety and paranoia, diarrhea and awful stomach cramps, lung pain from all the smoking, still being in bed when my partner got home from a full day at work... I never ever want to feel that way again. Nothing is worth that and especially not alcohol. |
My worst hangover was the one I had just before I got sober for good. I had drank for two days and woke up feeling horrible and hating myself so much that I wished I were dead. :( Thank God I'm sober now and never have to feel like that again. |
Wake up to eyes like sandpaper and eyelashes stuck together from not having enough sleep. Rub my face and it is so dry my skin starts to flake off and fall into my hands. Another acne flare has appeared on my cheeks and chin. Even though I only washed my hair the day before it is now a greasy, tangled mess. Run to the toilet to throw up. My legs feel like rubber and my head like it is about to explode. My back hurts due to dehydrated kidneys. Even though I have been drinking in my own bedroom a few fresh bruises have appeared on my legs or arms. How did they get there? I will never know. Even when my stomach is empty I still dry retch for the rest of the day. A glass of cold water helps the sore throat, but comes straight back up all over my front. I try again with a can of ice-cold coke - chugging it because I am so thirsty. Spend the next ten minutes battling the retching so it stays in me. The acid reflux burns my chest and throat. I don't dare check my tablet or phone in case I went on another Facebook rampage. I ended up having to put a page lock on it during the night hours because the embarrassment and shame got too much. A sense of despair and shame that I gave in again to the bottle makes me weep, but crying hurts my battered body too much. All I want is another drink but my parents lock away the booze and I don't have the strength to even roll over in bed let alone walk three minutes down the road to the shop. All I can do is sleep and comfort myself that in a few hours I will feel fine again and be pouring myself another delicious, ruby red Merlot. As soon as anything stays down in my belly I am off to the supermarket for more booze. Rinse and repeat. The nights before I had to work I was always very careful, I managed to moderate my drinking so I didn't have a hangover or smell of booze the next day. As I am only part time at the moment that was only three nights a week which I more than made up for the other four nights. In just under three hours I will be three days sober, and a big help has been remembering that horrible hangovers. Never again. |
I graduated to drinking all day/every day so I really didn't even get hangovers anymore. My BAC was likely high enough to keep me from going into withdrawals for the few hours I was sleeping or at work. If for some reason I did not drink by mid day I would start having withdrawals ( racing pulse, palpitations; sweating, panic, etc ). |
Oh yes, and that absolutely god-awful taste in your mouth the next morning - remember that? It improved a little when I started vaping instead of smoking cigarettes but it was still horrendous. I always passed out or completely forgot about brushing my teeth when I was on a drinking roll. The stale beer, wine, gin and nicotine was like sewage. Not to mention the black teeth and lips from the tannin in the red wine. Not classy at all :D |
The hangovers, oh the hangovers. Coming to from a binge, horrible depression and feeling like a total piece of crap as a person and physically. Puking blood... after one binge all day for about 12 hours. Shaking, cold sweats, of course cravings. Cravings being the worst. |
My hangovers graduated to withdrawals as well. At the end I'd wake up in the middle of the night- likely because my BAC was dropping too low- and slam a beer and take a 1/2 xanax and crash again, only to wake up 2 hours later. I'd then have a beer to start the day, and the cycle continued. It was a horrible way to live. |
DTs where I was hallucinating and walking into walls Nausea and vomiting Sweating Shaking Neuropathy Vomiting Blood Nosebleeds Diarrhea Headache Dehydration Yeah, sounds like a good time. |
Showing up to work feeling like I was going to pass out from exhaustion or that my brain was going turn to jelly and leak out my ears, being around colleagues who were perfectly sober (presumably), added to the anxiety, the envy and the guilt. Being snappy at my team members. It was the emotional ramifications that did me in the most. |
Originally Posted by HopeandFaith1
(Post 6296101)
^^this^^ There was a time years ago when I quit drinking for about 30 days and fell in with opiates as a "crutch" during this time, which became a nightmare in and of itself. I quit drinking June 14, 2016 and have decided that I will never ingest opiates again if I can avoid it, they are a nasty habit for someone with an addictive personality. Towards the end I think I had permanent alcohol poisoning because I would be throwing up violently almost every morning, a couple times I had to go to Urgent Care because I was so sick. But the hangover I especially remember, out of thousands, was crying in my bathtub one morning and praying because I knew I was so terribly sick, physically and spiritually. I was at a very low point and was contemplating ending it if I couldn't stop. I guess my prayers were finally answered because I quit not long after that, and haven't suffered any hangovers since. |
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