I'm so glad you started this thread, OP. I thought maybe it was just me, but
I developed a revulsion to alcohol at the age of 45. I'm glad, really.

Nobody needs more than two drinks, anyway--two beers, two glasses of wine, two cocktails. They are calorie bombs and should be treated as desserts. You may have two small desserts at a special occasion--holiday or party--but three? Would you eat three cupcakes in one evening?

OP here again-thanks for the responses-glad to hear there are others out there who can relate. While none of my friends drink like they did back in the 1990's they all seem to be able to tolerate having a few drinks every now and then without a problem (some have a glass of wine daily). I feel better than I did yesterday evening but I still feel hungover in spite of making myself run this morning, having a hearty breakfast and drinking lots of water. Crazy that two and a half a beers (although they were high alcohol content beers) would cause me to feel lousy almost 24 hours later. Oh, well-I need to just learn the lesson and be done with it. It sucks though as I feel like wine in particular is a real bonding thing with women (particularly middle aged women).

Anonymous wrote:Same here. Been happening since my late 30s. Your body's response/ability to metabolize alcohol changes as you age. I am 42 and it's really rare for me to have a full glass of wine these days. Would never go over that. It's kind of nice...I'd much rather save my calories for a few bites of dessert, and I can wake up in the morning and do yoga or go for a run with no hangover.

I will add though, I was never a big drinker. But did enjoy some weekend nights in my 20s that I just can't imagine doing now. This doesn't seem to effect everyone the same way. I still have some friends in their 40s who enjoy some drinks and can do 3-4 glasses of wine.

Same here. Been happening since my late 30s. Your body's response/ability to metabolize alcohol changes as you age. I am 42 and it's really rare for me to have a full glass of wine these days. Would never go over that. It's kind of nice...I'd much rather save my calories for a few bites of dessert, and I can wake up in the morning and do yoga or go for a run with no hangover.

I’m 37 and recently this has been happening to me. So I haven’t been drinking and everyone thinks I’m pregnant. Which is frustrating because I have been trying for over a year!

We should listen to our bodies. I don’t think I can become an alcoholic since 2 is my limit and that is with a lot of food.

Another one here. I’m 53 and it started in my early 40’s. Anything more than a half glass of wine and I sleep terrible and I am not exactly hungover next day but I don’t feel myself, feel depressed and anxious and physically exhausted.
Two or more drinks and I have a full blown hangover lasting more than a day! I also agree that it does seem like a lot of older people drink so much. Can’t imagine keeping up with them.

Interesting, I'm 50 and have had the same problem for several years. I thought it was menopause. I also have been blaming it on my thyroid condition.

Anonymous wrote:My dr says you lose an enzyme to metabolize alcohol as you age. It hit me around 52.

Interesting. I'm 49 and it hit me this year. I used to be a pretty big drinker, but two is my absolute max now, and even that is pushing it some days.

This surprises me, since all the big drinkers I know--my parents, ILs and their respective sets of friends--are all Boomers in their 60s/70s. Those people put it down. My ILs are constantly pressuring my husband and I to drink with them--it's so bizarre.

My dr says you lose an enzyme to metabolize alcohol as you age. It hit me around 52.

Yup, ever since I had my two DDs 19 months apart in my late 30s alcohol isn’t my friend. If I’m at a place that has really good margaritas I will have one, but that’s it. All of our friends know I’m happy to drive when we go out, lol.

Yes, me too. 49 y.o. It’s like I go straight to being hung over. One glass is my new limit.

Just curious if anyone else has had this as they've gotten older. I'm 45 and don't enjoy drinking anymore-not even 1 or 2 drinks. This started a few years ago but seems to have progressed. I had a glass of wine at Thanksgiving and was tired, foggy and had a headache a few hours afterwards. I hadn't had anything else to drink since then until today. I had about 2 and a half beers this afternoon at a festival and feel like crap-hungover and depressed. I had plenty of food to go along with the beer and drank a decent amount of water. I think I'm done with drinking at this point-it's not worth it. It's just odd as I was a binge drinker in college through my early 30's and didn't really have trouble with feeling too hungover in spite of drinking way more than I should have. I cut back on my alcohol intake in my 30's but was able to have a few drinks periodically without trouble. I'm not on any medication-aside from being older I can't identify anything else that has changed. Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.