alcohol… hangovers and headaches

It’s reached a sad day. I’m 36 and its got to the point I can no longer drink without getting a 2 day headache. I love alcohol too. I don’t even have to drink much.. sometimes 1 pint will result in a really bad headache and neck ache.. almost like I have huge tension in my upper neck and a headache from my temples across the front of my head. I also feel like I’ve had about 2hrs sleep if I drink. I’ve never been a big drinker.. just a 1 or 2 beers a day habit.. but I guess its my bodies way of telling me its time to stop. not had a drink for 2 weeks now and feel better for it but sadly feel like its no longer worth it. Goodbye booze its been fun.

Give up the beer and try something else (cider?). I developed an allergy to beer which results in a 60-hour migraine.

Save up all the money you would have spent on the beer ( 2 cans a night is about £700/year) and go on a massive heroin bender.

Last 2 day headache was from a bottle of Dunkertons organic cider. Some lagers are worse than others.. carsberg export seems the absolute worst.. heineken probably the least likely to give me a headache. Normally ok from a glass of red. But its just not quite the same as throwing back a few cold ones after a hard days surfing or riding.

Its probably one of the preservatives. Experiment with different beers.

In my case it seems to be a by-product of the malting process. Wheat beers are less problematic.

try ales instead of fizzy chemical juice lager

I generally suffer less from German(etc.) beers brewed under the old Reinheitsgebot or whatever it’s called, which ensures purity and no chemicals. The worst offender for me is Carling. Pure chemical p*ss.

Its probably one of the preservatives. Experiment with different beers.

Umm , probably not as SO2 sulphur dioxide is the only preservative allowed in beer .

The level is fairly low , and it might be a beer with a high level causes the hangover .

Try a real ale ? Or as Zimbo says a Reinsheitgebot German beer .

Are you drinking alcohol to ‘hydrate’ after surfing? That cannot possibly work . Chances are you are de – hydrated already and using alcohol ( poison) is not going to help . So your body nicks fluid form any area , around the brain usually , to flush the alcohol ( poison ) out of the system .

So your brain is not suspended in a fluid but banging into your skull , hence the headache .

Try drinking 2:1 water : alcohol , or neck 2ltr of High5 Zero before cracking open a cold one , then another later on.

NB .- All of the above might not be entirely true , but as a brewer and a windsurfer i have some experience in the area .

Carlsberg export contains SO2 at a higher level than most of your fizzy lagers, pretty close generally to the 10 mg/L labelling level.

In comparison cider will often be many times higher, but I guess that depends on the brand.

Matt

Had a similiar problem. Switching to real ale worked for me.