Valium and/or vicodin. Seriously. They give valium to those people who are severely addicted to alcohol during withdrawal. It knocks the hangover right out. After 3 hour flight + 12 hours drinkng midstrength beer at a music festival I was BEAT. Shakes and cold sweats and all. After a valium I was golden. If controlled substances aren't in your reach, coconut water helps. When I'm hungover it's usually just power through it or have another beer.
Valium, eh? I'll have to look into this. I'm far from chemist or pharmacologist, but I wouldn't mind apprenticing myself to an apothecary. Do you know, are valium and vicodin in the same family? I ask because an acquaintance recently touted the marriage of oxycodone and alcohol as something of an elixir. I have no experience of such "cocktails," and by no means am I in position to recommend them, but the question is an intriguing one. Valium seems to be a different kind of -codone. Perhaps they have similarly complemetary effects? Thanks for the tip!
They are not the same family. Valium is Diazepam which is for anxiety, etc. From wikipedia: Diazepam is mainly used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and symptoms of acute alcohol withdrawal. It is also used as a premedication for inducing sedation, anxiolysis or amnesia before certain medical procedures It is known also as a "benzo" which is short for benzodiazepines (also in this class are things like xanax, etc. Vicodins (or norcos, lorabs, same class as percocets and oxycotin) aare hydrocodone and don't really fix the hangover as much as cover it up with the typical euphoric feeling painkillers deliver. They are typically easier to get on the street, or from pretty much any urgent care that has an on-site pharmacy and likes cash, and less likely to make you sleepy which is why I occasionally use them for work hangover days. However, as the vicodin wears off, the hangover can come back to life. oxycodone (percocets) and alcohol are a bad combo in my book, like vicodin and alcohol, mostly because it makes you drunker. Typically hydrocodone is a tad harsh on the stomach (not unbearably so, but slight nausea for some.) The only time I started drinking within a few hours of taken a norco, I threw it all up about 5 minutes later. Pretty bummer. I don't know many who prefer that exilir, but I know a lot of people who like the xanax alcohol combo or adderall alcohol. Don't know why for the prior, just seems like a lot of blacked out numbness to me.
Wow, thank you. That's a very thorough breakdown, and gives me a good starting context for a bunch of substances I've never consumed before. Though I deeply value the knowledge of such things as can transform my view of the world by altering my chemical state, I've steered clear of most lab-confabulated products, and have a corresponding ignorance. As for the acquaintance who mentioned percocet/drink as a magic mix, I think spaciness may well have been the goal -- though surely not ooginess. That sounds simply awful, by the way. On the subject of keeping things as herbal as possible, I have noted that Kave root has been compared to benzo in its effects. Any idea if it offers the same magical hangover-vanquishing properties? If not, I'll let you know if I find out. Either way, plants are nifty. Thanks for enlightening me!
I haven't tried Kave root but I recently got some Kratom capsules from the head shop close to me. They offered a slight euphoric feeling with a giddyness similar to weed and a antsy/super focused similar to amphetamines. However, I only got these results taking it on an empty stomach and walking around. My boyfriend and some friends didn't feel much at all. I am tiny so I have a nice low tolerance to such things. It didn't cure my hangover though when I tried it, but made my work day slightly more bearable.
Intriguing. I assume kratom is some sort of kava extracted/isolated substance? The kava teas I've tried have only induced a rather deep state of calm in me, not anything like antsyness. However, I know these things vary widely from one system to another. Let the great experiment continue!
Vicodin can work--I used to use Norcos for this purpose--but you want to be careful since opiates will also exacerbate your nausea. Also, try to pick a hydrocodone preparation that has as little acetaminophen as possible; alcohol already exerts a pretty negative effect on your liver, and following it with acetaminophen is like a one-two punch.
I think I have a comment in one of the hangover threads about norcos / vicodin and their wondrous effects on hangovers. That and fried rice with eggs and hot sauce on top. I always do a cold water extraction on them though because acetaminophen and alcohol is really, really terrible for your liver. In Australia, everyone used Valium for the hangovers and it worked really well as well. Apparently, they use valium and other benzos for people suffering from really bad alcohol withdrawals. Back here it just seems to make me incredibly sleepy. I don't know why it was different over there. It may be because I only take pills to cure my hangover at work - weekends I force myself to power through it because that's what I get for drinking too much. Perhaps Valium work = sleep while valium hanging out with friends is less likely to lead to sleepiness?