I Can't Drink Now Like I Used to a Few Years Ago (26M), is that Normal?

Drinking 10 beer in general is not normal. You got yourself pretty damaged by alcohol and now your body is suffering the wear and tear.

I recommend cutting it down to 1 or 2. Your body will thank you.

Welcome to old.

You're gonna love hitting 30. Good luck staying up till 1am, forget about pulling an all-nighter.

The body is amazing at adaptation. In a high alcohol environment, prolonged over time, like college, you can adapt that situation and build a tolerance.

Now you're a little older, you probably don't drink as much, your physical activity may be different, you're more in tune with how your body should feel, so you're noticing it more.

It's not a bad thing!

I'm a nurse, not a doctor, just gonna chime in here that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a thing:

https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/04/14/fatty-liver-disease-not-caused-by-alcohol-is-common-and-often-missed

In general, any kind of sudden changes to your normal functioning are things you should probably be discussing with a physician, even if you're young and otherwise healthy. The really encouraging news is that, if this is indeed caused by a health problem, you're young enough that it's really likely you can completely reverse it and get back to 100%. And if it's not, then no harm done by seeing a doctor and confirming that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(Also, not to scare you, but no I wouldn't expect to see that dramatic a decrease in alcohol tolerance over the course of just a couple of years at your age. I think it's worth talking to a doctor about this.)

Just wait until the 30s when you start feeling the hangover effects BEFORE you go to bed.

You're getting older. When you reach your 30's, you'll feel tired the next day because you had a couple of beers. You'll feel like crap for a couple of days if you get drunk.

Enjoy it. A night out is now cheaper.

I’m 40, and I maybe have 2 drinks a month. Used to be able to drink a lot more. And I consider this change a good thing. As far as I can tell it’s normal.

Yup. Drinking gets harder as you get older. UNLESS you continue to drink at an unsustainable rate.

I've met plenty of people who continue to drink like they are still in their twenties, but you'd be better off with a few bad hangovers than what THOSE people have going on in their lives.

I'm 5 years down the road and... Well let me tell ya, it gets worse

Your body builds tolerance to alcohol, which means you can drink more and not feel the effects as much.

When you stop drinking or drink less and more infrequently, your body's tolerance lowers, so you'll feel the effects more than when you were drinking heavily.

In my 30s here. I spent my 20s getting shit faced drunk almost every day. I can't drink anymore. The hangovers are just too severe. I would rather be sober and deal with all the boringness that comes with it than get hungover. And that's exactly what I've been doing.

Listen here kid. Wait till you hit your 30s!

I remember, long ago, going to breakfast with a group of people that partied HARD the night before and laughing that "we're paying for last night" as we ate and laughed only to go do it again that night.

Now I drink two whiskeys and need 3 business days, four Xanax's and a metric ton of Pedialyte to even raise my head from the pillow in bed. I'm in my late 30s. It's usually better - for me at least - not to drink at all. Mileage definitely varies.

Is that normal?

Yes

Think of it as a pleasant buff you didn’t ask for. Now you can nurse a drink slowly 😀

It's fairly normal to suddenly find hangovers are a big problem as we get older... it feels like one day you're able to go out, knock back a hideous amount of booze, then bounce back the next day ready to do it all over again... and all of a sudden those two pints of beer create the hangover from hell.

Not sure about tolerance though. What country are you in... is it easy / cost effective to get a liver test done? It might be down to lots of perfectly natural factors... if you lost weight; if you have a different diet (some foods 'soak up' alcohol better than others and cause it to be absorbed more gradually, if you're drinking on a salad instead of say, pasta you'll see a difference); you could be drinnking different beers.

Also, if you've had significant weight gain, this causes your liver to get fatty, which puts a strain on it; I'm not a medical professional but would think that could have an effect too.

It look me til mid, late 30s. Had drank so heavily for so long, was getting sicker and sicker. Realized was heading straight into Leaving Las Vegas territory, had to quit.

So yes this is normal, and it will get worse, but if you stay fit you'll still be able to drink and stay up late, as long as you drink a lot of water.

It is not only rare but a red flag if you can drink like a 21 year old in your 30s and 40s. If you can drink like that in your 50s you probably have ascites.

Some minor/hard-to-notice health-related things can dramatically reduce alcohol tolerance and/or give "hangovers" shortly after starting a session.

For me, inflammation is a big cause. I have (barely noticeable) cat allergies, and (obvious but hard to avoid) food intolerances & gut issues. If I don't stay on top of avoiding triggers, my alcohol tolerance goes from multiple G&Ts giving a nice buzz, to 1-2 sips of G&T giving dizziness and headaches. Electrolyte imbalance can also cause it. I've found I have to add magnesium and potassium salt to my diet, or else I generally feel tired more, and my alcohol tolerance plummets. Once you start controlling these factors, you'll start getting clear feedback from your body when you have too much or too little salt, in the form of water and food tasting different and general feelings of tension or tiredness.

My advice: try antihistamines, easily-digestible meals, and/or sports drinks for a few days before you drink. If those help your tolerance, you probably have some health stuff going on - figure it out and you'll probably find a way to generally feel better.

It catches up with all of us eventually. One day you find you just have to start cutting back.

People fuck themselves up with the drink. No one should be drinking 4-5 in a day.

As well as the medical effects, there’s also the realisation (age varies when this happens) that going out in order to get drunk is not a good time.

What is "one beer"? 330ml? 500? A pint?

Tolerance would be my first guess. When you drink regularly, the liver (and/or whatever) upregulates enzymes that break down ethanol and the assorted byproducts. If you consume less for a while, there's no reason to keep producing them in such amounts.

Also, don't underestimate the effects of stomach contents etc. - alcohol hits much harder (and sometimes subjectively differently) on an empty stomach.

Go see doctor. Changes in how your body reacts to alcohol can be serious. There was a dude who posted on reddit a few years ago that beer started giving him a big rash. It was lupus or something. You could have fatty liver or something that means you're starting to do damage. At 26 it probably isn't permanent yet, but either way, doctor. Get blood draw. Have liver levels check.

Mid-50s chiming in. In grad school I'd have 4-5 pints at the grad pub and then go downtown to go drinking lol. Those days are long gone.

I have a 2 drink limit now and will switch to water or soda. Otherwise I can't function the next day. Hangovers are exponentially worse than they used to be.

It could be that you're drinking 6-10 natty lights and now you're an adult so you don't buy piss water any more.

I remember the days in college where I’d drink the night and then have kegs and eggs in the morning. Or drinking and then taking a bus to Philly that night and drinking for St Pattys day. It’s been a decade since and now way in hell could I do that again.

There’s some ways to counteract it. Make sure you drink a ton of water. I usually always have vodka sodas now so I’m more hydrated. Also carry liquid ivs around which helps.

Wait til you hit your mid-30s and a single hoppy IPA keeps you up at night with heartburn, and an imperial means a headache in the morning.

Welcome to real life

Yes, I have the same thing.

Having read your post, I'm thinking of giving up alcohol. I've just consumed my tenth drink and yet, surprisingly, feel no effects.

Why would you be concerned about your body's decreased ability to tolerate high levels of self poisoning? I have some vague idea why, but I'd like to hear someone formulate it into words.

normal... but you can practice drinking and get better at it. a couple years ago after I'd stopped drinking I tried to pick it up again and noticed that I couldnt handle my liquor at all. but through practice and perseverance I was eventually able to enjoy various rums and whiskeys without passing out after 5 or 6 ounces. eventually got tired of it again so now I just enjoy a beer every few weeks.