Hangovers

Inspired by yesterday’s hangover after two days of boozing I am going to try and describe a typical hangover in my experience.

For me hangover’s typically start pretty early. It doesn’t really matter what time I go to bed, but at about 7am it all gets started with waking up to a dry mouth. And not just a little dry. Sometimes my tongue actually feels like it might crack. The immediate needs is water. On some occasions, when I don’t have water at my bed side, I may fall back a sleep a couple of times and dream about water. (one time I fell asleep while holding a glass of water on my chest, it ending up spilling right in my face – not cool)

Shortly after finally getting some fluids back into my mouth the headache makes it self known. For me this is typically the worst thing about my hangover’s. It is blinding pain that seems to focus in my eyes and/or the back of my head just above my neck. I get some drugs in me, whatever I can find, but it typically offers little solace as the Hangover Headache out battles any headache medication known to man. This pounding in my head prevents me from sleeping anymore, so I spend the next several hours laying there, beginning to realize how nauseous I am. I roll from side to side, but I can’t lay on my sides or else I can feel the puke coming. Like most people, I hate throwing up, so I fight for as long as possible. Then there is the moaning… for some reason part of fighting back the puke is letting a moan out every few minutes. I will lay there wishing to hell that there is something that may make me feel better, and promising myself I wil neer drink again. Eventually when I have grown tires of the rolling around, or the mrs has kicked me out of bed, I will move to the couch. But going vertical only intensifies to headache. I try to drink some water, as I need re-hydration to ease the headache, but my stomach won’t allow it. I take sips, but the water just doesn’t taste good. My stomach feels like it is going to pop.

Eventually the puke comes. Some days I fight it longer than others, but eventually it comes. It comes with a ferocity that one rarely see’s in their lifetime. I yell at the toilet, scaring the cats and waking the other people in the house, until it is all out. When that’s over my head feels so close to exploding I hold it to offer extra support. All the skin around my eyes is filled with popped blood vessels that won’t go away for a couple days. I look like hell, but on the upside, my stomach feels better.

The next few hours bring more laying around, but no sleep. Maybe a little food, but not much. The headache wont’ let up, but usually the stomach starts to quiet down.

Eventually, at about 1 or 2pm I finally am able to have a nap. The nap lasts for 1 or 2 hours, and when I wake up a feel ok, but the headache is even worse. But at least I can eat at this point. And I don’t just eat a little. I devour anything within sight. Typically I crave grease, soup, and caffeine.

Once I have food, caffeine, and more water the headache eventually subsides. This might happen by 5pm or so. The rest of the evening I try and do something productive, but it never really goes well, and I end up just sitting on the couch, hoping the next day I will be back to normal.

When bed times come I enter into the last stage of the hangover…the shakes. While trying to fall asleep I will these sudden jolts when my whole body shakes like I got shocked by a deliberator. I wake up a couple times soaking wet as my body seems to try and sweat out the remaining booze in my system. I tell my self on last time that I will never drink again.