Migraine Hangover Postdrome: Symptoms & Treatment

If you have a hangover, it will take time for the headache to completely go away, but there are certain measures you can take to relieve its severity. But by inhibiting ADH, water is instead urinated out at a faster rate than you’re adding fluids back. Hydration can help to ease a hangover but it does not completely alleviate the symptoms.

Hangover remedies

• And depending on various factors, some symptoms can be worse than others in terms of severity and duration.
• As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content.
• Hangover headaches tend to have symptoms common to many people.
• Ignoring your symptoms and pushing through strenuous activities can prevent your body from recovering from a migraine completely, which may bring on another attack.

Research shows that drinking about 7½ ounces helps lower blood alcohol levels and makes hangovers less intense. The catch is that you need to drink it before you have alcohol. More-serious symptoms from heavy drinking may be a sign of alcohol poisoning — a life-threatening emergency. Alcohol poisoning is a serious and sometimes deadly result of drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. Drinking too much too quickly can affect breathing, heart rate, body temperature and gag reflex. The effects on other body systems are also important in the symptoms of alcohol intoxication.

Medication

There are a number of things that you can do to prevent or at least limit hangovers. Rehydrate with water or an electrolyte-rich sports drink. Drink slowly so you won’t further upset your stomach. Studies show that if you smoke cigarettes while you drink, you may get a worse hangover.

Health

Your body metabolizes a typical serving of alcohol (about 16 fluid ounces) in the course of an hour or so. Your liver is already working overtime to get excess alcohol out of your body. Too much Tylenol — over 4,000 mg in a 24-hour period — while hungover can lead to dangerous liver swelling or liver failure.

Like so many other answers to science questions, “it depends.” Body weight and gender are very important factors. Certain ethnic groups (Japanese, for example) have a genetically reduced ability to break down acetaldehyde, the main byproduct of alcohol, as it is first processed in the liver. This results in more reddening of the skin (““Asian flush”) and hangovers at lower amounts of alcohol. Hangovers tend to occur after heavy alcohol consumption. It consists of several stages, including the prodrome (or pre-migraine phase), an aura, the migraine itself, and then a postdrome (or post-migraine phase).

How much alcohol does it take to get a hangover?

• Some people rehydrate using sports drinks containing electrolytes to ease hangover symptoms.
• A 2017 study found that these aspects of cognitive function were all highly impacted during a period of hangover symptoms.
• A migraine hangover feels similar to a traditional hangover, or the morning after a night of drinking a lot of alcohol.
• Again it depends on how much was consumed, how dehydrated you became, nutritional status, ethnicity, gender, the state of your liver, medications, etc.
• If you experience a migraine with a migraine hangover often, a healthcare provider may suggest medications to reduce the frequency and severity of migraine attacks.
• Taking over-the-counter pain relievers and staying hydrated may help get rid of a hangover headache.
• These stem from physiological responses to the presence of alcohol in your digestive and urinary systems, like your stomach, kidneys, and bloodstream.

Its diuretic or dehydrating effects actually cause most hangover symptoms. Food will help restore your blood sugar and can help you feel better. Eat crackers, toast, or other bland, carb-rich foods that are easy on your stomach. But it can damage your liver if you take it while you have alcohol in your system. Alcohol poisoning is a serious result of drinking too much too quickly.

If you focus on moderation, stay hydrated, how long does a hangover headache last eat a healthy-sized meal, and drink slowly, you should be fine. Down another drink the next morning, and you’ll hold off the glutamate all over again. The truth is, drinking again will just throw your body back into the same destructive cycle without giving it time to heal. That may explain the dizziness and shaking some people get with a hangover. Have a couple of slices of wheat toast or a few whole-grain crackers to bring those blood sugar levels back up to normal. If you’ve ever had a few too many drinks on a night out, you know what the next morning can bring.

Congeners

Congeners are found in larger amounts in dark liquors, such as brandy and bourbon, than in clear liquors, such as vodka and gin. Typically, your symptoms are the worst when your blood alcohol level returns to zero. Some medications interfere with your body’s ability to properly metabolize alcohol. As a result, you’re more likely to throw up and have your hangover linger for a longer period. Mild dehydration can give you a headache, dry mouth, and make you feel dizzy and tired — all common symptoms of a hangover.

ways to cure your hangover

While there are differences in how people experience hangovers, these differences are not understood and are not related to resilience or alcohol tolerance. Consider keeping a migraine diary to document the events and symptoms surrounding each phase of your migraine. Over time you may be able to identify triggers and patterns that can help you manage migraine onset and symptoms. Your provider may use blood tests and imaging tests to rule out conditions with similar symptoms before diagnosing migraines. If you’re feeling queasy, avoid rich, greasy foods and stick to dry, bland foods like toast and crackers.

Some people take pain relievers to prevent hangover symptoms. But ask your healthcare professional if this is safe for you and how much medicine is best for you. These medicines may not work well together with other medicines you take. If you’re prone to migraine attacks, you’re also more likely to have problems with hangovers, particularly hangover headaches, because alcohol is a common migraine attack trigger.