Hangovers and ADHD meds. | ADHD Information
Does anyone else feel like ADHD medication causes you to experience a
different and more brutal form of a hangover?
I used to rebound in the morning from hangovers no problem from the
age of 15-19, both with medication and without.
Nowadays, I almost like to avoid drinking entirely because of the nasty
aftermath in the morning. Occasionaly, I am forced by my girlfriend to
come out with her and attempt to keep my social life alive. Unfortunately,
most of my friends think drinking from 11-3 in the morning is the only
way to have any fun.
No matter what I try, drinking excessive water, chaser pills, b-vitamins,
extra sleep... nothing seems to significantly detract from the hangover.
The first 6 months to maybe even a year, my body was still adjusting to
the adderall and I would feel better than if I hadn't drank at all. Now
when I take it, it almost makes things worse... it detracts from the
pulsing headache slightly and at least gets me out of bed... but it feels
like I'm running on chemicals and nothing more. I can feel my body
aching and my head still hurts, but I'm unable to take a nap and sleep it
off like most people. The only thing that really seems to take it away is
either more alcohol (which never sounds like a good idea),
benzodiazepines or some other kind of downer (which I don't have), or
sleep which isn't an option.
So, do any of you think that adderall and other stimulants have something
to do with the hangover effect? Anyone have a miracle solution to this
problem? Anything?I have not noticed the problems you describe. Your body might not be reacting the same way it used to to alcohol. As people age your recovery time for anything becomes longer.
[QUOTE=Court] My ADHD worsens a decent amount when I have hangovers though >.> <.< [/QUOTE]
Here Here!
I think Age is more a factor. I never used to get hangovers, now my last hangover was bad bad bad! headache lasted for 3 days. Owch!
Whats the deal with drinking and Concerta? My doctor says I shouldn't, others say its ok after the 12 hours are up (I generally stick to that rule!)
Oh yeah, sorry men, I hijacked your page!!
Lol I happen to drink frequently myself and take adderall. I happen to think that adderal helps my hangovers. It lessens the headache and wakes me up and seems to dim or numb any other affects. My ADHD worsens a decent amount when I have hangovers though >.> <.< I personally drink more often than I should... Here are a few things that will help, well they help me haha.
-Vitalyte: its a powder designed for athletes specifically for rehydration. It'll boost your electrolyte concentration and help put water back into your body. There are other products like this, they all are basically identical so it doesn't matter which one you chose.
-work-out. I find when I go through periods of my life when I am working out hard, my hangovers aren't as bad. I think this is because one's metabolism becomes much faster, and therefore your body will clean its self out much quicker. Also, if you exercise very intensely, preferably cardio, it will be a mildly traumatic 45 minutes of working out, but afterwards you'll feel great. I swim a lot and 45 minutes of intense swimming has worked off mornings when I'm still sobering up from the night before and I won't have a hangover at all.
-pedialyte: yes i know its not designed for adults, and I've personally never tried it, but I hear it works wonders.
-I know its more expensive, but when you drink higher quality beers and other alcoholic beverages, they are made from better quality ingredients. They won't put as many crappy things into your body so your hangover will be there still, but not as severely. I'm poor so I can only go cheap, which sucks for me haha.
-Eat at least one very healthy, clean meal wit fruits and complex carbohydrates before sleeping and first thing in the morning.
The absolute sure-proven way to cure a hangover in the morning, and the quickest way is (I don't know if I should tell anyone to do this for obvious reasons) have an other drink or two. You'll get drunk very quickly and the first few sips are very difficult, but it works. Hopefully you don't have any obligations on this particular day. Goodluck. Let me know if you have any questions about anything.And it is natural for hangovers to seem worse the older you get, which I am not looking forward to.Well, it may be everyone is different.
I don't really suffer from hangovers.
I don't take Adderall, either. RitLA and Provigil is my cocktail.
I had worse hangovers from other meds (and I wasn't drinking).
Doc warned me about them.
I ended up not needing those.
Addrall is a quick in/out, so maybe lay off your dose 31 hours before you imbibe. Should be outa your system by then. Probably sooner...
Kuman - at what I assume from your profile is age 21 have you not learned the lesson? Drinking to excess (and if you have a hangover that is excess) is a fool's game.
Yes taking ADHD meds and alcohol together is what I'd consider a dangerous combination. It dehydrates and puts a heavier load on the liver. Any med typically gets filtered out by the liver and that can damage it somewhat or at least make it work harder. Thankfully the liver is the one organ that can regenerate if you don't abuse it too badly.
What worries me for you friend is your "remedies" of either more alcohol or what I'd assume would be for you illegal drugs - have you not considered what this means? Usually when one consumes more alcohol or masks hangovers with drugs this signals a potential abuse situation. It rarely ends well.
Why is your girlfriend forcing you out in alcohol-fueled situations? Have you perhaps offered other ideas - such as dry nights out? I don't know all your situation but it sounds from what little I see that maybe your gf could have problems of her own? Or perhaps you just follow along and give no protest?
I stay sober not because I am an alcoholic. I stay sober not because of any moral or ethical objection. I stay sober because I simply don't have the time to waste destroying my body and mind on childish things like drinking enough alcohol to harm me. It just doesn't hold any temptation at all.
I intentionally made it clear to my wife while dating 2 years ago that I wasn't a drinker and that life with me would be boring for one who wants to drink. I wouldn't get in her way should she wish to go drinking but I would be at home or somewhere else. She is very happy to help spend the extra money we have from not drinking on shopping, dining or any number of things we do. Believe me other than - say - smoking crack or shooting other drugs (at least here in over-taxed Canada and I'd reckon most places) it would be hard to find a more expensive (dollar-wise and on one's life) than getting drunk regularly.
The hangovers are your bodies' way of telling you that there is damage being done. You might want to listen now before it stops warning you. By then it just may be too late.
good luck. Try a movie maybe - it's way more fun.
I was certainly not meaning to sound condescending kuman. Your post did sound to me to be a plea from someone who was needing to find either justification for having severe hangovers often enough to go out of his way to ask for help - or help in preventing them altogether.
But if you aren't finding them that bad - my apologies.
As to your feeling of either being trapped at home or having the feeling your only choices are answering those 10 o'clock phone calls - that's a bit harder. About the only good advice I have there is to take a chance every now and then and look at local groups of people with similar interests.
[QUOTE=GlenW]Kuman - at what I assume from your profile is age 21 have you not learned the lesson? Drinking to excess (and if you have a hangover that is excess) is a fool's game.
I stay sober not because I am an alcoholic. I stay sober not because of any moral or ethical objection. I stay sober because I simply don't have the time to waste destroying my body and mind on childish things like drinking enough alcohol to harm me. It just doesn't hold any temptation at all.
[/QUOTE]
Ok, I really didn't need the condescencion with your reply. I know what a hangover is, and I've tried everything B-Vitamins, chaser pills, Alkaline enriched water and what not. I've found a pretty damn good remedy to it, that is all natural and everything.
But first of all, I'm not an alcoholic and I really am not out destroying my liver all the time. When I wrote this it was summer time, and I was just kind of bummed that everyone just wants to sleep late and go drinking till 3 or 4 in the morning every other night. Now that school has started AND I'm still working my job I don't have time to be out drinking at night. But there are those nights where me and my girlfriend are just sitting around at my house, and she gets unhappy that we're not making a big effort to mix it up with the people who we consider friends and just sit around watching movies (which btw is NOT more fun than having a night out with friends and consuming alcoholic beverages), tv, or playing mario kart.
Usually most of the time I'll be tired from such a long week that going out and drinking just doesn't sound like a good idea on the weekends and will just prefer a quiet night in. And I have to admit that I am always negative on the idea of going out because it usually always requires me driving and then having to drive home intoxicated to some point... which usually doesn't bother me because I'm an ace driver and I never get to a dangerously drunk level, but I did one time get pulled over after a night of drinking because my license plate light was out and barely escaped a DUI partly because I schmoozed the cops and also partly because I only blew a 0.0238 on the breathalyzer.
But My girlfriend doesn't really push me into situations that require me to drink because she's self-destructive herself or anything, just that there's a little over a 2 year age difference and she's still just an 18 year old; when I was 18 I also was incredibly resillient, and as she pointed out if our situations were flip-flopped then I would be the one down in spirits because she seems to want to always have boring nights after she gets off work or woke up real early. Also when she wants to go out and do things she wants and sometimes even needs me there for her to enjoy herself, for if I'm not she will have guys aggressively come on to her when she's just there to enjoy herself, so I kind of have to be there sometimes to make her happy and protect her.
Then of course if I do choose to have a boring weekend, Monday rolls around and I get a little down that I don't really have anything fun to remember the weekend by.
And NO, I don't wake up and drink or do drugs in the morning, but I have a few times just enough to know they work. For instance Combination Analgesic medications like Fiorinal and benzo's like valium can work wonders. And even though it's not a good idea to drink, I think a beer or a margarita at work can take a little bit of the edge off quickly and the most part for good... provided proper nutrition and hydration accompanies it.
I know you preach the sober life, and it can be good yes... I too had a very fun, active life without drugs or alcohol. But how is that possible if you are stuck by yourself all the time... you call your friends during the day and they don't answer because they're working, sleeping, or just being a bitch for whatever reason. I would love to get out and get a fun game of basketball going, but it just doesn't happen... people around me have forgotten the simpler pleasures, and what am I stuck doing? Trotting my ass back and forth to school and work, the library, and playing video games in my free time until my girlfriend can finally come over. Then, around 10 people magically start giving and receiving phone calls... it's like a trap man, and I'm not sure how to really pull myself out of it.