Hangovers (fatigue, irritability, lethargy) after 1 or 2 drinks

[JTKenobi]

I am a 37 yr old mail. When I was younger (18-30 ) I would drink alcohol almost every weekend and each time I would typically consume perhaps 4-8 drinks -usually beer. There was a lot of 'binge drinking'.  As I got older (late 20s/early 30s), hangovers got worse and worse.

Now, I drink much less (in terms of volume) and much less frequently. However, sometimes 2-3 drinks can cause bad hangovers. Symptoms include: fatigue, irritability & lethargy. I do NOT get stomach aches or headaches. I have even experienced these hangovers even after 1 pint of beer. If I have 2-3 drinks, these hangover symptoms can last up to 3 days.

  What causes this and is there anything I can do about it? I don't want to indulge in binge drinking, but I would enjoy being able to have 2-3 drinks over the course of an evening without these consequences.

[JTKenobi]

No solution other than to not drink. I can handle about 2 drinks during the day without consequences (as long as it's during the day or late afternoon). I also find that the later I consume alcohol, the more prone I am to be affected. Basically I am trying to drink non-alcohol beer if it's at night and drink no more than 2 drinks when I do drink.

[kevingarywilkes]

I am a 26 year old male, and I have been experiencing the same problems. This began when I was on SSRI's for a six months (I have been off of them for two years), but still continues. Have you found any solutions to this problem? I found that if I drink before bed the hangovers are far worse than if I drink in the daytime.

[JTKenobi]

Thanks for the reply, but does anyone know why this actually happens physiologically? I don't know anyone else who has this type of sensitivity, regardless of their age or if they were (or were not) big drinkers previously.

[Londres70]

Well, that's a part of aging; things you did when you were younger that WEREN'T healthy in the first place you just CAN'T do now.  

Sounds like you just need to give up drinking alcohol.