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Suggest Remedy For Loss Of Appetite,aches And Fatigue After Drinking Alcohol

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Posted on Wed, 25 Feb 2015
Question: Hi, I drank too much last night and woke up this morning with one of those achy hangovers. You know the type where your head hurts and you generally just feel like crap. Well here it is almost 4:00 and I still feel like crap and my legs seem to be a tad achy. I don't have a fever but I have that feverish feeling. Is it possible this is something other than a hangover? I have not lost my appetite but I just feel achy and fatigued too. Just a hangover??
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Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
hangover is pretty common.

Detailed Answer:
sure, possible. Cannot give definite answers without actually seeing you. BUT tehre are several known components of a hangover. Alcohol dulls the senses. When it leaves the senses are hyperacute (headache, twitchiness, easy to startle, can even lead to seizures but that is uncommon and very uncommon if you haven't had them before). ALso, if someone vomited a lot there can be dehydration and electrolyte loss .. predominantly potassium also sodium and magnesium. Fruit smoothies and aspirin like drugs would be recommended. Also if vomiting, the vomit can go down the wrong way and give a pneumonia. There would have to be signs of lung irritation. A LOT of signs of lung irritation: cough, breathing trouble, usually fever/chlls/sweats also.
Can be a vitamin deficiency state but not from ONE episode of drinking. Basically you have to be LIVING ON MAINLY ALCOHOL for that to happen.
Then, there can also be other common problems. Currently I have a head cold. I have an achy nose. If I had been drinking the signs of the cold would be magnified and I would be very tired, achy, and more of a cough and more other cold symptoms. So... another MILD problem can interact with the alcohol (but it is STILL a mild condition and does not require ER visits and clears up in a day in basically everyone).
To summarize: in someone with a hangover, the incidence of hangover is 100%. The odds of it being something else entirely is less than 100%. However, the odds of it being something PLUS a hangover is quite possible, but very few of these (none that I can think of) get to be worse/bad/serious if they weren't going to be serious without the hangover. And the odds of a huge coincedence is pretty tiny. Alcohol can lead to serious acute complications (throwing up blood, swallowing vomit and getting pneumonia, seizures, pancreatitis) but, you'd notice them. THere's long term serious consequences of alcohol like cirrhosis, but you don't get them from ONE or FIVE episodes of heavy drinking.
Note: In case of any other concern or query related to prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, or the recovery of persons with the any type of addiction or substance use, follow up with our Addiction Medicine Specialist. Click here to book a consultation now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman

Addiction Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1985

Answered : 4214 Questions

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Suggest Remedy For Loss Of Appetite,aches And Fatigue After Drinking Alcohol

Brief Answer: hangover is pretty common. Detailed Answer: sure, possible. Cannot give definite answers without actually seeing you. BUT tehre are several known components of a hangover. Alcohol dulls the senses. When it leaves the senses are hyperacute (headache, twitchiness, easy to startle, can even lead to seizures but that is uncommon and very uncommon if you haven't had them before). ALso, if someone vomited a lot there can be dehydration and electrolyte loss .. predominantly potassium also sodium and magnesium. Fruit smoothies and aspirin like drugs would be recommended. Also if vomiting, the vomit can go down the wrong way and give a pneumonia. There would have to be signs of lung irritation. A LOT of signs of lung irritation: cough, breathing trouble, usually fever/chlls/sweats also. Can be a vitamin deficiency state but not from ONE episode of drinking. Basically you have to be LIVING ON MAINLY ALCOHOL for that to happen. Then, there can also be other common problems. Currently I have a head cold. I have an achy nose. If I had been drinking the signs of the cold would be magnified and I would be very tired, achy, and more of a cough and more other cold symptoms. So... another MILD problem can interact with the alcohol (but it is STILL a mild condition and does not require ER visits and clears up in a day in basically everyone). To summarize: in someone with a hangover, the incidence of hangover is 100%. The odds of it being something else entirely is less than 100%. However, the odds of it being something PLUS a hangover is quite possible, but very few of these (none that I can think of) get to be worse/bad/serious if they weren't going to be serious without the hangover. And the odds of a huge coincedence is pretty tiny. Alcohol can lead to serious acute complications (throwing up blood, swallowing vomit and getting pneumonia, seizures, pancreatitis) but, you'd notice them. THere's long term serious consequences of alcohol like cirrhosis, but you don't get them from ONE or FIVE episodes of heavy drinking.