What's your best hangover cure?

ANNA TURNER

Last updated 16:13 25/02/2013

My brain was pounding against my skull, my throat was parched and my stomach was lurching.

Once the jumble of thoughts re-arranged themselves into something coherent in my thumping head , I realised I was hungover.

I over-indulged at the Beer Festival on Saturday and woke up yesterday feeling like I'd been drinking poison instead of alcohol the day before.

It's the first really bad hangover I've had in ages.

Now that I work full-time, I hate spending a day hungover. It seems like such a waste when you only have two days of freedom to spend one hating yourself.

Plus, now that I'm older, hangovers tend to hit me much worse. I can no longer bounce back up and continue drinking like I did in my university days.

I decided to employ my best hangover cure yesterday - a blue Powerade, scrambled eggs and a swim in the pool.

The swim may sound disgusting, but the combination of refreshing cold water and the physical exercise makes you feel fantastic.

Then it's straight back home for a nap.

It's usually a bulletproof method but yesterday even this combo wasn't doing the trick.

While I'd been out, EK - who also came to Beer Fest - had fixed his hangover with his traditional method - a fry up.

Whenever he's hungover, he opens the pantry and tips everything in sight into the fry-pan.

One morning after he tried to create his fry-up but failed to factor in the fact he was still slightly drunk from the night before.

Into the frying pan went bread, frozen hash-browns and half a bottle of tomato sauce ... He wolfed it down anyway.

Grumpy that I was still suffering while EK was feeling fine, I messaged several of my friends and asked for their best hangover cure.

Chocolate milk and cheeseburgers, came the first reply.

Have another beer, said the second.

The third swore by drinking coconut water to cure the hangover horrors.

I really don't give a s#*t Anna my head hurts like hell, came the fourth and final text. (Clearly a fellow sufferer).

My stomach did a flip-flop at the second and I was amused by the last, but one and two sounded worth a go.

I forced myself to put some outside-appropriate clothes on and went in search of food.

I found the chocolate milk and coconut water at the local supermarket and stopped by McDonalds on the way home for two cheeseburgers.

I devoured my purchases as soon as I got home - stuffing the cheeseburgers in and washing them down with slurps of choc milk and coconut.

It was strangely delicious in the way that food only is when you're hungover.

Unfortunately, 10 minutes later, the combo started curdling in my stomach.

I was still hungover but now I'd added a chronic tummy ache to the mix.

I crawled into bed cursing my hangover and my friends' advice.

Perhaps I shouldn't have tried all at once...

What's your best hangover cure? What's the strangest hangover cure you've heard of? Do you get bad hangovers or do you bounce back?

Comment below, email me at anna.turner@press.co.nz or follow me on Twitter.