[Closed] People who don't get hangovers

It sounds like, rather than an immunity to hangovers ( which I don't think is a real thing) your chum just had built up  prodigious tolerance for alcohol due the vast quantities he was regularly imbibing.

All the people with this mutation seem to be sales people. So is it natural selection in that profession or do they just gravitate towards career as functioning alcoholics?

My uncle always said he never got hangovers. Deed by 51. I suspect there was a connection.

Clearly the best of both worlds would be an immunity to hangovers combined with a judicious appreciation of when to stop drinking.

Not sure if this applies to your friend, but most of the people I've known over the years who "don't get hangovers" find that they increasingly do as they get older. Personally, I never used to find hangovers all that bad when I was a youthful chap, but these days even a 330ml can of beer of an evening makes me feel a bit crappy the next morning.

The joys of ageing I suppose 🙂

People who don't get hangovers, are generally functioning alcoholics.

Your friend who regularly injured himself when pissed sounds like a good example.

Sounds like it hasn't done him any favours. There's no getting away from its effect on the liver and other parts of the body.

Aye age plays a massive role, I get drunk on less and the hangovers get worse, indeed when I was young I can't recall suffering particularly unless I'd hit the top shelf. But even then, I wouldn't be able to get up at 7am, and go do a full days work in the office without hitting a very hard wall at some point. I think there is a genetic component to hangovers.

@gobuchal and @davros, yes that's increasingly my thinking, that it is a curse overall.
A former lecturer of mine recently died - admittedly he was in his 70s - and he'd drunk three bottles of wine a day since his 20s, quite amazing he lasted so long. He also said he rarely got hangovers.

Vets don't get hangovers or rather there is some veterinary drug they take which nullifies it (friend is married to a vet).

i'm impressed you can have 3 pints and be ok! one 330ml can and i am of furry mouth the next day

I've knocked the drinking on the head, I've been to the point where I didn't regularly get hangovers, or at least bad hangovers. Resistance to alcohol just creeps up on you and as someone above said even though you cant feel the harm it doesn't mean its not happening. I also have a friend who says he doesn't get hangovers, its a bit worrying!

As above, my experience with people who don't get hangovers is they are 1 of 3 things:
1. Liars. I had a mate who was this, he never got hangovers apparently, just felt a bit heavy headed and had a dicky stomach the day after a session...
2. Heavy drinkers that have basically got to a tolerance level where 3 bottles of wine does the same damage to them as 1 does to you. This often leads them to...
3. Alcoholics. They are constantly drunk/hungover so they'd struggle to identify a hangover. They are also often in denial.

It sounds like, rather than an immunity to hangovers ( which I don’t think is a real thing) your chum just had built up  prodigious tolerance for alcohol due the vast quantities he was regularly imbibing.

Quite, between that and possibly never being completely sober!

Yes it’s a blessing you don’t have to keep drinking and act like an arse just because you don’t suffer hangovers.

@Drac, alcohol has at least given us the gift of Rab C Nesbitt.

one of the reasons is he doesn’t get hangovers, so he can drink to excess and still function the next day at work. He doesn’t put on any weight, can mix a mind-boggling combination of drinks (cider – red wine – vodka and coke and back again), and drink all day. But as he was drinking so heavily he kept on having drunken accidents and ending up in A and E.

so really he was just so pissed all the time he never actually sobered up enough to get a hangover.

everyone gets hangovers, some worse than others obviously but as above those that say they don't are lying or are still too drunk for it to have kicked in, by which time they start drinking again. It's like those who say alcohol doesn't affect me, I don't get drunk, or I can drink myself sober, yeh right...

I stopped drinking because I always got a hangover and just didn’t really enjoy drinking. Last few years it just made me sleepy and then hungover. Don’t even remotely miss it to be honest.

I used to get hangovers if I drank excessively (about 3 pints for me), but don't seem to get them anymore. I'm far from an alcoholic (I think)(I can't afford to be one tbh).
However! I'd had some wine last weekend, then my brother asked me down the pub, whereupon I drank some beer. Oh, lordy did I feel bad the next day. So don't mix em.

everyone gets hangovers, some worse than others obviously but as above those that say they don’t are lying

I very rarely get them if I do they are quite spectacular when I don’t it’s not because I’m still drunk or lying it’s quite possible not to suffer a hangover.

Re the questioning of the "I don't get hangovers" populace, I'm not so sure they are either still drunk or liars. I have met a few people who simply do not get hangovers - at any age; and there is quite a bit of genetics research to support that they do exist, although they are not very common.
But as above, such a condition would seem to be a curse, in the same way that there is a genetic condition in which certain people don't feel any pain, but they die young as they haven't learnt about basic hazards, which we only learn through experiencing pain.

Yes it’s a blessing you don’t have to keep drinking and act like an arse just because you don’t suffer hangovers.

This 100%. I don't get hangovers, not from the 4-6pint consumption range anyway. If I drink a fair bit more than that especially red wine I can get one. But what stops me drinking to my personal excess is not the fear of a hangover, just that I don't want to be a drunken dick.

I'm now at an age where I know if I had a pint the night before, and regret having more than two.

I'm frankly amazed how many of my friends in their 40s and 50s seem to think that getting drunk and then writing off most of the next day at least once a week is a normal and sensible thing to do. I grew out of that once the kids came along and have no intention of going back to it now they are older

I don't really get hangovers in the normal sense, very very rarely in fact

I process alcohol really quickly, so can get a banging headache the same night. I can drink through this and it goes away

I'm also a bit of a lightweight so feel the effects after only a few pints

But I'm usually right as rain the next day. Only two impacts are being tired if I haven't had much sleep (i.e. out late drinking, then normal wake up time) or being dehydrated (if I haven't had some water to balance out the drinking). But I don't wake up feeling like death or with a banging headache etc, can usually just get up and get on with the day

I don't drink that much though, social drinker only and three kids make having a social life tricky 😀

depends on the type of alcohol too

don't even get remotely tipsy drinking old mout cider (claims to be 4%), and no hangover or anything to go with it. may as well just be drinking apple juice, and save the expense.

drink a beer of about 4-5% and can feel the effect.

drink a mutzig (8%ish?) and legs start turning to jelly, but they don't with twice the number of beers of half the strength, or any amount of old mout cider.

don't recall a hangover after that, but drink 5 grolsch, and the hangover will wear off at lunch time the next day. hate to think what must be in it to do that.

The in-laws "don't get hangovers".

They just "feel a bit tired" and quite often "not very hungry" and "a bit headachey".

I get terrible hangovers. Even after a handful of pints. A hair of the dog often vastly improves things. Vodka never caused such awfulness the next day.

I remember watching a tv documentary where the story was that some people do process alcohol slightly differently and become less drunk on the same amount of alcohol, and some will simply clear stuff out the bloodstream quicker and have less aftereffects.

I lost the habit of regularly drinking a glass or three of wine most nights over ten years back, saved me a few Calories, but I can now get a hangover headache coming on after drinking a single glass without having had some food!

I suspect that those who claim they do not get hangovers their liver is so struggling to cope that they are only sobering up very slowly - so the next morning when they claim to be sober without a hangover they are still half pished

the 4-6pint consumption range anyway. If I drink a fair bit more than that especially red wine I can get one.

Yeah, it's usually the 5th pint of wine that gets me... 🙂

I suspect that those who claim they do not get hangovers their liver is so struggling to cope that they are only sobering up very slowly – so the next morning when they claim to be sober without a hangover they are still half pished

Or their liver does it's job well and gets rid of the toxins very quickly so they wake up feeling fine and not drunk.

Yup - could be that as well I guess.

for what its worth I never used to get bad hangovers but now I do . My suspicion is that my liver saying "enough!"

6 of Tj half a dozen of Drac. I never got hangovers till my late 20's.

Not sure if that was a mixture of just being drunk but not driving so not working about it the next day. Or cumulative damage reaching a point where hangovers happen.

I Never bought into the alcohol tolerance argument. They might get used to the feeling of being drunk so that it feels a bit more normal, but you still trip over your feet and talk bollocks after a couple of pints like everyone else.

Never trust the % on the side of the bottle, there's a large allowable margin and some breweries exploit this. Carling for example got taken to court by hmrc for unpaid duty, but could prove that their beer was significantly weaker (therefore lower duty) than the 4% they claimed it to be but within the margin allowed (about 10% less iirc).

If I “want” to have a hangover I skip a pint of water before bedtime. That, or I’m soo drunk that I can’t remember to have one before I pass out.
Usually though two glasses of water before the bed and the same amount before I even open my eyes in the morning and I’m all well and happy. I wouldn’t drive a car still, but I don’t suffer from brickhead and sandmouth.

I do not get hangovers although I rarely drink more than 3 pints of Guiness although I can drink other drinks too. When I was younger I used to get a hangover after 1 pint. I think the meds I have to take help. I rarely drink though due to the extra carlories. I guess if I was drinking 7 pints I may feel abit rough the next day although the most I have recently drunk in a few years is about 4 pints or a 1/3 of a bottle of vodka.Up early the next day with no effects.

I don’t get hangovers. Only drink occasionally these days in terms of a night out. My only routine drink is a few beers down the local on a Friday after work. Don’t touch a drop during the week. I get drunk for sure, but next day don’t really feel the effects other than just being tired as I clearly don’t get good sleep when i’ve Had a skilful. I much prefer the habit of a few beers on a Friday as I enjoy the drink so much more, don’t get drunk, spend the evening with the family and get a good nights sleep that sets me up for the weekend. Having said that I enjoy a good old fashioned night out all the more now when they do happen as it’s only a few times a year.

Based on mates of mine who get terrible hangovers it’s a blessing. Recently had a lads ‘cultural’ tour of Bruges and the morning after they’ll sleep in till mid day, feel sick, have that throbbing headache and generally feel like crap, and disappear to the toilet routinely as their guts seem to have completely given up. Glad i don’t Pay for a night out in that way. I know which way i’d rather have it.

I've ruined far too many rides in the past by being hungover, these days if I'm riding I'll leave the booze as value my time on the bike.
One mate used to get away with hangover but I recently rode llandegla with him and the effects of the alcohol really showed on the ride (him not me).

Probably still pickled in the morning hence no hangover. By the time the hangover arrives it's socially acceptable to have another drink.

Hiya,

I'm one of those that don't get hangovers. I don't have headaches in fact I can't remember ever having one. I don't drink a massive amount either so I'm not an alcoholic. I never did get hangovers at uni and it really used to really annoy mates. Would I class it as a good thing, no! At uni I admit I did get drunk regularly. Nowadays I'm quite happy with a beer or glass of wine. On the odd occasion though when I do drink loads like new years eve parties it's still the same. I'm pretty sure it's a genetic thing because I'm sure my father is the same.

JeZ

I definitely am not in the “I don’t get hangovers” camp. Had a huge one last night and it’s utterly destroyed me today.

i think I’m done with drinking now!

My missus.
Hangover? No Sir-ee Bob!
She only gets “very tired” or “terribly tired”!