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Original poster

Why does it get harder to drink the older you get?!

31 replies

Rainydays55 · 04/12/2021 19:55

I’m only mid - late ish 30s but I find I just can’t drink anymore! Am I the only one?! Such a lightweight, get horrible hangovers and more like to choice a hot chocolate or cup of tea over a glass of Prosecco now… what’s happened to me?! When did I become so boring lol!

OP posts:
TheBlessedCheesemaker · 04/12/2021 19:59

It’s a bitch. When I got to about 45 I started getting 2-day hangovers whenever I drank a 3rd glass…
It doesn’t get any better (but you do get very good at working out when you’ve hit your 300ml of wine level).
.

2reefsin30knots · 04/12/2021 20:00

I guess your liver gets feeble. I'm 42 and I've had to stop. It's not worth it anymore.

SickAndTiredAgain · 04/12/2021 20:02

I’m only late twenties and gave up drinking this summer as even small amounts started to made me feel like shit.

ronniz · 04/12/2021 20:05

I'm pretty much tee total & I used to hardly get actually drunk & never really had hangovers. Now 2 glasses of wine I feel shit

ronniz · 04/12/2021 20:05

Same with a late night tbh.

Alfixn · 04/12/2021 20:08

Heard an expert on the radio years ago say that it was cumulative damage to, and ageing of, the liver over time. Which is a bit disconcerting!

Nomoreusernames1244 · 04/12/2021 20:15

I think it’s tolerance with me as well.

I was never a heavy drinker but would go out once or twice a week from my late teens to early 30’s. Single and no kids so could sleep off a hangover the next day.

Post kids there’s not that recovery time. Getting up at 5.30 with a baby/toddler a mild hangover or even just a late night makes it not worth it. So I gradually stopped drinking.

Kids are grown now but I still don’t drink as now one glass of wine and I feel it, two and I’m definitely pissed. I had one cocktail on holiday and could barely get home, i used to be able to drink three or four and just be a bit drunk.

Can’t be arsed to build up a tolerance again so just don’t drink…

isthismylifenow · 04/12/2021 20:19

You are not alone OP.

I do think tolerance has a lot to do with it though. I stopped drinking any alcohol while going through my divorce. A year later I had a couple of glasses and had all these ridiculous side affects. Numb gums, swollen face, couldn't sleep, felt like crap the next day. So not worth it for me.

ronniz · 04/12/2021 20:28

I've also done it for vanity reasons

whatagloriousthingtobe · 04/12/2021 20:36

I'm 32 and I barely drink, haven't for a couple of years now, we're talking once or twice a year I might have a drink and I used to have a bottle of Prosecco a night and barely feel it (bad I know)
I started to actually feel the hangover whilst I was still drinking ! Headache, tired, feeling sick... I was just getting nothing out of it anymore other than feeling like shit

whatagloriousthingtobe · 04/12/2021 20:36

Also, I lost a couple of stone when I stopped drinking, added bonus 👍🏻

Octopus37 · 04/12/2021 21:15

Its depressing, I've turned into a two drinks at the most person like my Mother. I'm nearly 47 and I've turned into my Mother. One pint is enough for me these days. Even a few years ago I used to go on the odd night out with friends where we drunk a lot and I was a bit hungover the next day but not that bad. Bloody perimenopause, not fair.

Nomoreusernames1244 · 04/12/2021 21:22

Its depressing, I've turned into a two drinks at the most person like my Mother. I'm nearly 47 and I've turned into my Mother

Why is it depressing? I don’t find it so. I’m much happier not drinking, and feel much better for it.

The only slight annoyance is when other people pressure you to drink.

Taswama · 04/12/2021 21:25

Yes, same here. I can't cope with a third glass of wine and deliberately seek out wine that is less than 12%.

Discwriter · 04/12/2021 21:28

I get very weird reactions to alcohol as I get older. I'd stop drinking at say 11pm, around 2am, I get the shakes and hot flushes, feels like my heart is beating incredibly fast. Wirh this and the whole hangover thing the next 2 days, it's just not worth it.

Faircastle · 04/12/2021 21:31

Your liver has aged at the same rate as the rest of you. These days (late 40s) if I have more than a couple of glasses of wine, I wake up at 3am and can't get back to sleep.

SpookyScarySkeletons · 04/12/2021 21:31

I'm similar age, mid to late thirties.

I like a low alcohol wine (the 12-13% stuff makes me feel queasy) and the occasional G&T. Can't drink pints like I used to and JFC if someone put something like a tequila or sambuca in front of me I would vomit on sight 😂

Hell when did we get so OLD?!?!

OhDear2200 · 04/12/2021 21:34

Yep, makes me feel like shit. A couple of weekends ago I had 2 glasses of wine was up till 2 in the morning with the most odd feeling, headache and jittery.

I am not a big drinker anyway but I do like a nice wine. Maximum of 1 glass for me now.

GoodnightGrandma · 04/12/2021 21:38

Two glasses of Prosecco and I am drunk now. I would never drive after even half a drink.
I also have a bad nights sleep after drinking, so I don’t know why I bother anymore.

BeardyButton · 04/12/2021 21:39

Ditto. Actually started to happen to me in late 20s. I used to get blotto. Now I max out at two glasses of wine. I had a third recently. Spent the next day vomiting. Not. Worth. It.

DrManhattan · 04/12/2021 23:55

@Discwriter
That sounds like an allergic reaction. Maybe you have an allergy to alcohol.

VeniVidiWeeWee · 05/12/2021 00:09

No. 61, drink far too much, never a hangover.

One has to die of something.

BashfulClam · 05/12/2021 00:51

I’ve never had a hangover. Even when I’ve been in a right state I’m fresh as a daisy. Yesterday I went out with a friend, 3 double gins and 6 cocktails and I feel fresh as a daisy.

Aquamarine1029 · 05/12/2021 00:57

I'm 48, and just one glass of mine makes my heart race for hours. It's just not even remotely worth it. I hadn't had a drink in 8 months, but last weekend we went out for dinner and I decided to have a glass of wine. Huge mistake. I was up half the night feeling like I was running a marathon. It's fucking ridiculous.

EightWheelGirl · 05/12/2021 00:59

I can drink a lot more spirits than when I was younger, although I generally don’t. I’ve often wondered if it’s because I have a lot more muscle due to lifting weights.