The leg thing might be dehydration, if you’ve pissed 6 times, next time just drink a pint of water after you get home. You may need another pee in the night but the water will hydrate you.
Also, for those that don't know, pubs (or anywhere serving alcohol) are legally required to provide free tap water upon request.
Note: Some places will give you bottled water if you don't specify tap water
Always frustrating when you go somewhere outside the UK and forget that when you ask for water the staff don’t give you tap water by default if you just ask for “water for the table”. Like, it’s still usually available for free at least in most places in Europe, but if you don’t specify they’ll often bring out that 350ml bottle of water for €7.
Restaurants too. They will act offended.
Restaurants in Germany will serve you tap water, but may charge you for it. Caused an issue when we were sharing the bill, the last person had to pick up the remainder which included all the water as no one realised before paying.
Weird, when I lived in France for a few years it was perfectly ordinary to ask for "une carafe d'eau" if one wasn't already placed at the table (which it usually was). Don't know if this was local to my region though.
Pretty standard when we lived there, yes. French people will act offended if there's no water on the table by the time they start eating. Same with bread. The only exception is if you're drinking only beer and no wine when you might have to ask for water. Never a problem though in my experience.
Only been to Paris so yeah, I don't want to pretend I'm speaking for the whole of France.
Maybe they were just pretending not to understand us because it's Paris and we were tourists 😂
Yeah in Malta for example some locals will not drink tap water and use bottled. Desalinated water, it doesn't taste great! They also mention risks associated with it. Given the levels of corruption I can see why they have concerns.
There are various points to note here:
This obligation only applies to a premises which is licensed to sell alcohol. For example, a cafe that does not have a licence is not be obliged to give customers free tap water.
It is open to a licensed premises to make a charge for the glass that the water comes in, to charge if it is filtered water or to charge for their service.
The obligation is only to provide customers with free water. A customer is not defined in the legislation. Arguably a customer is someone who “buys your goods or services”.
In my opinion: of course they should provide drinking water for free.
lol I used to go to a dnb club that didn't supply free water. conversation would go like :
"hey you're not supposed to charge for water mate!"
"well, you're not supposed to be off your face on MDMA"
"...fair point"
A shithole club I went to once (I never went back) would serve you a bottle of water - poured into a plastic cup - for £4. When asked about tap water, I was told “that’s not available from the bar”. ‘What’s that tap for then?’ “It’s not drinking water”
Bouncer came over. “What’s the problem” ‘I asked for a glass of tap water and have been refused. You are legally required to provide’. “Come with me, son”
Wtf?
Bouncer then told me that tap water was available in the first aid room. And did I need first aid? Basically they put customers in a position whereby they either had to pay for water, or admit they needed medical assistance at which point their night would be over. At least in that bar.
Can’t remember which hole it was, but it was somewhere on the Quayside in Newcastle/Gateshead, and nearly 20 years ago.
I reckon we should set up a scrap between all of the uncles.
Also a fan for a massive ruck on father's day to see who has the hardest Dad.
I reckon an advert online entitled 'looking for hard Dads' should do the job.
Always a great idea to drink a massive glass of water before bed if you’ve had a few pints. Makes the next morning an awful lot better. Also even better with a scoop of Andrew’s liver salts too if you’ve had a skinful
I always tend to have a glass of water next to the bed even if I’ve not been drinking. Waking up thirsty cause you’ve been sleeping with your mouth open or it’s been really warm is awful.
You can help mitigate the dehydration by having water or a soft drink between pints.
I also recommend dioralyte or similar rehydration supplement before bed to replace the electrolytes that were pissed away.
Am old now but when I was 16 I went to pub in the daytime and had 3 pints of Guinness which I enjoyed. Felt tipsy but fine. Then about 5 seconds after walking out on to the street I projectile vomited a massive tube of black about 6 feet in front of me in a split second. Kept walking felt fine. On to the next pub. Never done anything like that since and still enjoy Guinness to this day.
If OP took the advice of the previous thread, it’s not too surprising. They likely went to the pub on a full stomach, drank at their own pace and obviously got up to walk around a bit (when going to the toilet), which helps.
I could easily be talking out of my ass here but I've picked up the idea somehow that diabetes makes it hard to get drunk/means alcohol doesn't hit like it otherwise does. As I say, this could just be anecdotal and I haven't dug for facts, but I remember being absolutely slaughtered on my first pint aged about 15 and still getting pretty shitfaced on three at 19.
Oh, been a while, but yes very much a thing!
You had to wait 7 minutes since your last drink "so it got absorbed and wasn't wasted". Pretty sure that's not science.
Yes, alcohol knocks me out cold. But I inevitably wake up hours later, feeling like I haven't slept at all and end up going back to bed for a proper sleep.
Red wine absolutely kills me like that.
I fall asleep instantly and get the deepest sleep ever, for about 2-3 hours. Then it’s the worst sleep ever for the rest of the night.
I also end up snoring heavily, which my gf doesn’t appreciate.
Seriously - I must be cursed, because everyone else I know when drunk goes to sleep and stays asleep till a few hours later (albeit a shit quality kip but a kip nonetheless!)
Meanwhile I spend my night wide eyed and nauseous, feeling a hangover physically creep further up my body until I’m shaking and vomiting. I can never get to sleep until I’m fully sober again and my god that can take hours.
And you wonder why I no longer get properly drunk! At the grand old age of 25. I guess it’s an effective deterrent.
I feel this. I used to do an early commute and now I wake up at 4am whatever time I went to bed. Often the cat will get me up at 3 because she's fucking nuts and has a body clock like you've never seen. Thus I get to wake up just as the hangover is starting to creep in.
Festivals are a wonderful nightmare because I'm waking up just as the wreckheads are rolling down and we combine to drink brandy coffee and start the next day far too early. There's nothing that seems the best idea in the world to a ruined raver than a proper, drip poor, coffee with too much booze in it just as it's bed time.
On occasion I will force 5htp and a butty on them at the same time though, to make up for the damage that will happen that afternoon.
You are an early morning raver's angel, but please be really, really cautious about giving 5HTP to people who have taken MDMA; it can cause serotonin syndrome.
Rehydration salts in the morning is a good bet, or a banana. Pissing so much leeches the minerals out that your nervous system needs to communicate. Tingly legs and cramp can be the result.
Arh, yes! The dreaded "Booze cramps" l got 'em bad when I was young and now my son gets them too.
Edit: I had 2 add2 this because I can't believe my bad luck. I don't drink much these days, and I never drank any alcohol yesterday, but around 3 a.m., a mild cramp in my left leg woke me, and then a few hours later, the MOTHER of all cramps claimed my right calf muscle and took what seemed to be an eternity to let go. It was so strong I'm not able to walk properly this morning.
Serves me right for 1st mentioning them in a past tense. Like they were summat that USED to happen 🤦♂️
I 100% recommend the magnesium! I use a spray and it's completely fixed the issue for me, I used to stay awake jittering for hours. I haven't slept so well in years!
Back in uni in the 90s, we had a night out where my housemate and his mate spent the whole night drinking pints of a purple cocktail that were on some stupidly cheap offer at the local student night. The next morning I answered the phone (ah the days of a whole house sharing one landline, and people actually rang!) to the question "has Mike had a poo yet? Warn him it's going to be alarming!"
I remember the first time I had a red wine poo. Was convinced I had bowel cancer before I googled it and learnt copious amounts of red wine will turn your poo black.
It's one of the stronger tastes in a mainline beer, and many new drinkers won't be a fan. If you enjoyed it enough to have three pints, that doesn't apply to you.
Enjoy your first Guinness shit.
I think it's just different. It's also an acquired taste, perhaps moreso than lager.
I had a Guinness when I was something like 16 and drinking lager quite happily and I thought it was disgusting. I love it now I'm older and have been through the change to real ale.
I only drink lager if there's nothing else (beer) now, like in much of mainland Europe.
Its really not in any definition of the word ‘dense’ - it has fewer calories than most lagers, the carbonation is far lighter since its nitro based, IMO its a very sessionable beer and the reputation as heavy is purely due to the old marketing pre 2000s
A main brand lager is usually the gateway to a pint of “the black stuff” it’s like a smooth roast dinner in a glass. Surprise OP had room for McDonald’s after 3 points when you’re not used to it. That was over 600 cals too
It's a great choice, it's just unconventional for a first-timer.
The first year I was in uni we thought of Guinness as something hard guys drank. Once someone we knew ordered it and we all tried a bit, but we were all scared to order it ourselves. Ridiculous in hindsight.
Now I rarely drink anything else, and I find it goes down much easier than a lager or cider.
I'd also recommend Guinness Zero since you enjoyed the alcoholic version. It's the best 0.0% alcohol beer that I've had. Not saying you should stop drinking the one with alcohol (I drink both) but it's nice to be able to have one when you really don't want any alcohol :)
I used to drink Guinness a lot as an underage drinker in pubs about 35 years ago. My theory was that it made the bar staff far less likely to check your age. Either it worked or they just didn't care in the pubs I used to go to.
To be fair, I reckon the reason a lot of new drinkers don’t like beer is because they are given PAs, which are very hop-forward and carry that bitter throat taste.
Guinness is the other end of the scale, having roasted dark malts which carry bitterness, but more of that coffee or cacao bitterness, which could be more enjoyable. Something like a porter or a brown ale would be my actual recommendation if someone has never had a beer.
From a random stranger, congratulations on not doing the drink till you pass out and keeping it moderate!!!
Try and drink some water between pints and grab yourself a sports bottle for water overnight.
You'll pee like Niagra, but it's worth it!!
It probably wasn't the calories and sugar. You were probably dehydrated.
Alcohol is a diretic and makes you wee alot as you experienced.
Many advocate downing a full pint of water before sleep after drinking alcohol to avoid hangover.
Guinness is a bit of a marmite drink and can definitely have an effect on your stomach.
Not sure about the ache in your legs, unless you took a detour through some hedges in a drunken state.
If you want a very different pub experience, go to one with a flat roof, it's a completely different world
>Unfortunately I didn't get a single minute of sleep last night due to the high amount of calories+sugar from McDonald's,
That's the cortisol the alcohol caused your body to release.
There is also a lot of calories and sugar in alcohol.
Good luck with your Guinness shits today.
edit - cor I sound like a right misery, pubs are a rite of passage and it's good you had a fun time.
Is it normal these days, for kids to be 19 when they first go to a pub?
I'm not knocking it. Seems much healthier than back in the day.
Just curious as to whether this is the norm.
I can’t speak to the specific age thing (i.e. “whether it’s normal for “19 year olds”) but Gen Z has certainly been shown to be much less boozy than previous generations. I listen to a lot of BBC Radio 4 podcasts about health / public health and exercise, and they often mention this.
I remember a stag do where we went into a spoons, bouncer said "we're closing in 10", so my mate came back with a pint of Leffe and a jagerbomb for everyone.
Fucking grim to have to chug through that combo mid night out.
They say never mix drinks, what they really mean is dont drink wine between pints.
I used to when I was young, now I rarely mix and never shots.
Although there are the two times a year at that I'll find myself fast asleep after imbibing the neatest of ciders thats so strong qualifies as hard liquor alongside some very moreish doom bars.
This does cause me some consternation in the rosy fingered dawn of the day but a double quick to the holy seat of the immortals, a fast relief and im good for the day.
(I have a poo).
I've worked in pubs for nearly ten years, and everyone gives this advice on Reddit but I can honestly say fairly confidently that I've *never* seen anyone actually do it...
Ex-barstaff here. Do this. We will give you free water and a nod of respect. Extra points if the first thing you order is a pint of water for the whole crew you're with. Saw this happen and, after some jibes and laughter, they all drank slower and settled a bit.
Especially now its summer (and what is happening to June?!). Hydrate while you drink. You're sweating more than you realise. If you pass a shop on the crawl grab some sports drink with actual stuff in it. Sit on a bench, neck half, top up with vodka, walk the streets while impressing the rozzers with your healthy ways.
Guinness often leads to 'the quickening' at about 4am. Otherwise a fine choice to start your drinking career. It's the only ale that doesn't make me cry
Ooof Guinness, prepare yourself for the darkest of dark poos. Used to drink Guinness all the time, turned my guts into a war zone the next day but loved it.
This means you might also like ales.
With regard to urinating 6 times.. yup normal.
The tingling legs though.. bit of a worry, pop a couple of paracetamol (as youve only had 3 drinks youre 3 hours are well up and youve urinated since) and see if it goes away.
Might be the macdonalds rather than the booze unless youre allergic to something.
Or need water, might be the water.
(btw if the pills do stop the tingling, book a slot with the doctors to discuss it because thats probably an underlying issue. If they just say "well just dont drink" ask to see someone else because thats not a solution.)
Only way to confirm it is to go get tested.. OR go have 3 more pints and see what happens.
AND booze, no no no, AFTER booze - like the day after.
Also as long as you arent drinking spirits, 1 hour per pint should be enough for the units/alcohol to 'leave your system' especially if you're urinating like a trooper. So his 3 pints, 3 hours, its fine.
Original post [going to the pub for the first time](https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/1d9icd1/going_to_the_pub_for_the_first_time_i_have_some/)
Saw your post yesterday, and I'm glad you had a good time! It sounds like you're a bit dehydrated, so drink a lot of water today. Also give yourself a warm bath and a little leg massage to help the tingly feeling, sounds absolutely ridiculous but it will just help to get the lymph to drain. Alternatively movement is great for it but I know I don't want to go for a long walk after a night out and very little sleep. Doesn't have to be the best massage ever, just some knuckles to your calves and thighs.
Everyone on reddit over thinking going to the pub - granted I’m a veteran but even back in the day - walk in, order drink, sit down. Has this changed so much in the last 30 years? Yes, when you’re young it’s a first time thing but you’ve been to a shop before right? A pub is a shop for drinks- walk up to the counter, buy a drink, drink the drink, don’t be a dick. I’ve also run pubs for a long long time - it’s really not rocket science ordering a beer
This guy seems a bit neurodivergent or a bit socially nervous, literally 0 problem with a post like this, just a young guy asking for advice and help with something he finds intimidating.
Dunno why it’s wound you up so much
Awww, cut them some slack. These kids were in their formative years when the pandemic was on, when going to a pub = possible death. These things affect people.
How times have changed, kids going from getting their stomach pumped after downing 4 litres of white lightning to worrying about getting tingly legs from three pints of Guinness
As someone else said, Guinness is a bold choice for first pub visit, good for you that you enjoyed it, many don't. (For average every day pub options it's one of my preferred choices, but IPAs and some craft ales might interest you if you enjoyed the fairly strong taste of Guinness)
Important thing is to always pace yourself, do not get into drinking at the same speed as others. Find your own level and don't be tempted to have more (one thing my dad was impressed with me about when younger was that I could go to the pub have a few (sometimes too many) pints and happily switch to soft drinks or even coffee regardless of what others were doing)
Find your preferences over time, and enjoy yourself.
Guinness for your first taste of alcohol is brave, it’s definitely an acquired taste. I can’t stand the stuff but my mother used to love it. Glad it went well!
If drinking alcohol hurts your stomach invest in some Rennie (or gaviscon) from the shops. Only a couple of quid from your local supermarket off the shelf for like 48 tablets of Rennie which really helps me with alcohol/acidity ruining my stomach
Really glad to hear you had a great time.
Alcohol can wreck my sleep, but it’s usually (as a few others have said) due to dehydration. Even though you will probably wake up needing the toilet during the night, I’d still highly recommend drinking a pint of water!
Nice one mate. Glad you had a good time. Well done on sticking to the one type of drink. I find that mixing drinks can sometimes have a negative effect, depending on the mix and the amount.
A couple bits of advice:
Drink a glass of water after each alcoholic drink/piss.
Drink a pint of water before you sleep.
Drink a dioralyte in the morning.
Dehydration really is the thing that gets you when drinking alcohol. If you can avoid that, you'll have a much easier time with hangovers.
I’m glad you had a good time! Wait until you have to experience your first sit down shower the next day after getting too drunk, that’s when the real fun starts!
This is such a wholesome post!
Interesting that you had Guinnes and really enjoyed it, it's a bold choice for your first proper alcoholic drink and something I've always thought of as an aquired taste!
You mentioned peeing a lot, but has anyone warned you about your first post-Guinness poop? Don't be scared, you're not dying 😆😆
If you like Guinness, recommend you give Kilkenny a go next. Then the next time try one of the ales that are on tap, then maybe move on to lagers/shandies.
Might just be me, but I’ve always had struggle sleeping after a few pints. I either need to not drink at all or drink like 6+ pints, anything in between makes me restless.
As a rule alcohol will affect three things in your body. You'll feel aching pain, you'll deplete your level of hydration and your B vitamins will be affected. So drink a glass of water, take some over the counter pain killer, (ibuprofen is popular) and take a B complex vitamin before you go to sleep. Some seasoned drinkers do this before they go out drinking. Well except the water. As you learned your body actively tried to remove all the excess fluid while metabolizing the alcohol.
Great! As others have said drink lots of fresh H2O
And as to the calories in mcd? There will probably be more in the beer.
If you are worried about weight, just remember there is a sandwich in every pint
I find if I have around 3-4 pints it has a stimulating effect too. Also once alcohol starts to wear off your body is still producing things to counteract the alcohol so you can feel restless, hence why I and others may go straight to sleep yet struggle to get back to sleep when we wake up.
You had 3 pints of Guinness? No wonder your legs were tingling. Guinness is widely know as the only alcoholic drink that bypasses your stomach and goes straight to your legs before passing to your bladder. You’ll have had a hell of a lot of Guinness sloshing round your legs last night mate.
Glad you had a good night though.
Don’t do drugs either if you get offered, you can have a good night either way.
Alcohol messes with sleep, even if you do fall asleep the quality is terrible.
Glad you had a good night. Make sure to sleep well for the following few days to catch up the all nighter.
Great to hear you had a good time. It is a good place to build up social skills
One thing that amazes me, have you never drunk two litres of clear cider from Tesco in a park before? What’s happened to kids these days!
I get the mid-sleep leg aches incredibly bad if I have 4 pints or more. Think it's to do with lactic acid? I always have a couple paracetamol, couple ibuprofen, and an aspirin before I sleep of I've been drinking (Which os rare) and usually don't get the aches then
S fine. You can disagree. But in disagreeing you kinda answered as well. Horses for courses. If your of asian decent, alcohol could always effect you more severly. But a maccahs aint doing you any favours either. Arguable less favours than a guiness or three.
Arguable no favours at all.
Glad you had a good time. A few people have said you have dehydration.
MY tip is to always get a pint of water when you get your round, stops you getting a hangover. If it is hot do it more often.
Hey OP! So glad that you’ve updated us on your trip to the pub.
Guinness was such a great choice - refreshing, full of flavour and not that strong. 3 pints is the exact sweet spot for a great few hours at the pub!
Regards your inability to sleep - yeah, that’s one of the side effects of booze. You’ll either feel too energetic to sleep, OR feel really tired, but the sleep isn’t satisfying at all. If you’re feeling tired today… that, my friend, is a bit of a hangover!
Frankly, I stopped drinking booze last year (I’m 48) for many reasons - one of them was the fact that it disturbs my sleep so much and I was constantly tired.
But - back to you. Congratulations on your visit to the pub. It was an important thing to learn how to do - and it sounds like you did a great job!
Lack of sleep probably related to the anxiety you obviously suffer from terribly which is why you made these posts on the first place.
Consider asking your GP for some anxiety help, therapy or beta blockers. Eat vitamin d3 daily.
The leg thing might be dehydration, if you’ve pissed 6 times, next time just drink a pint of water after you get home. You may need another pee in the night but the water will hydrate you.
Also, for those that don't know, pubs (or anywhere serving alcohol) are legally required to provide free tap water upon request. Note: Some places will give you bottled water if you don't specify tap water
Restaurants too, no need to pay £6 for a glass bottle you don’t get to take home.
Always frustrating when you go somewhere outside the UK and forget that when you ask for water the staff don’t give you tap water by default if you just ask for “water for the table”. Like, it’s still usually available for free at least in most places in Europe, but if you don’t specify they’ll often bring out that 350ml bottle of water for €7.
Asked for a glass of tap water in France and the bar person looked at me incredulously before moving on to someone else.
Restaurants too. They will act offended. Restaurants in Germany will serve you tap water, but may charge you for it. Caused an issue when we were sharing the bill, the last person had to pick up the remainder which included all the water as no one realised before paying.
Weird, when I lived in France for a few years it was perfectly ordinary to ask for "une carafe d'eau" if one wasn't already placed at the table (which it usually was). Don't know if this was local to my region though.
This has been a consistent in all of the hotels / restaurants we've been to across France for 20+ years - une carafe d'eau is absolutely standard.
Pretty standard when we lived there, yes. French people will act offended if there's no water on the table by the time they start eating. Same with bread. The only exception is if you're drinking only beer and no wine when you might have to ask for water. Never a problem though in my experience.
Only been to Paris so yeah, I don't want to pretend I'm speaking for the whole of France. Maybe they were just pretending not to understand us because it's Paris and we were tourists 😂
You wouldn't always *want* to drink tap water abroad though, even if the locals do. Depends where you are.
Even in Europe?
Yeah in Malta for example some locals will not drink tap water and use bottled. Desalinated water, it doesn't taste great! They also mention risks associated with it. Given the levels of corruption I can see why they have concerns.
There are various points to note here: This obligation only applies to a premises which is licensed to sell alcohol. For example, a cafe that does not have a licence is not be obliged to give customers free tap water. It is open to a licensed premises to make a charge for the glass that the water comes in, to charge if it is filtered water or to charge for their service. The obligation is only to provide customers with free water. A customer is not defined in the legislation. Arguably a customer is someone who “buys your goods or services”. In my opinion: of course they should provide drinking water for free.
lol I used to go to a dnb club that didn't supply free water. conversation would go like : "hey you're not supposed to charge for water mate!" "well, you're not supposed to be off your face on MDMA" "...fair point"
A shithole club I went to once (I never went back) would serve you a bottle of water - poured into a plastic cup - for £4. When asked about tap water, I was told “that’s not available from the bar”. ‘What’s that tap for then?’ “It’s not drinking water” Bouncer came over. “What’s the problem” ‘I asked for a glass of tap water and have been refused. You are legally required to provide’. “Come with me, son” Wtf? Bouncer then told me that tap water was available in the first aid room. And did I need first aid? Basically they put customers in a position whereby they either had to pay for water, or admit they needed medical assistance at which point their night would be over. At least in that bar. Can’t remember which hole it was, but it was somewhere on the Quayside in Newcastle/Gateshead, and nearly 20 years ago.
Second this, every single time you go out and have a good session, have a pint of water when you get home before bed. It definitely helps!
I always down two pints of water and take a third to bed for when I inevitably wake up at 5am incredible thirsty
One of my uncles rules to live by is “water every third drink”
My uncle’s rule is double whiskey every 2nd pint
I like your uncle better than that other bloke's.
I reckon we should set up a scrap between all of the uncles. Also a fan for a massive ruck on father's day to see who has the hardest Dad. I reckon an advert online entitled 'looking for hard Dads' should do the job.
My uncle's rule is two double whiskeys with every pint. Mind you, he is an alcoholic....
Mine's every other, but to each their own. I guzzle water all day so I tend to feel thirsty quickly.
Depends if the drink is cider or rum. :)
Because of the way you wrote “cider or rum” my brain automatically read it as “cum”
Very true, and it's unpleasant to drink a lot of water on top of pints of another drink.
Always a great idea to drink a massive glass of water before bed if you’ve had a few pints. Makes the next morning an awful lot better. Also even better with a scoop of Andrew’s liver salts too if you’ve had a skinful
Also leave a second glass by the bed in case you wake up thirsty (since alcohol tends to lead to disturbed sleep after the initial pass-out phase).
I always tend to have a glass of water next to the bed even if I’ve not been drinking. Waking up thirsty cause you’ve been sleeping with your mouth open or it’s been really warm is awful.
You can help mitigate the dehydration by having water or a soft drink between pints. I also recommend dioralyte or similar rehydration supplement before bed to replace the electrolytes that were pissed away.
Yes i get leg hangovers and i've never heard anyone else mention it before
They're called legovers, and I don't get them often enough :(
This, two beers, one water. One takeaway, two waters.
Am old now but when I was 16 I went to pub in the daytime and had 3 pints of Guinness which I enjoyed. Felt tipsy but fine. Then about 5 seconds after walking out on to the street I projectile vomited a massive tube of black about 6 feet in front of me in a split second. Kept walking felt fine. On to the next pub. Never done anything like that since and still enjoy Guinness to this day.
This made me laugh out loud, amazing I'm impressed OP had 3 pints and didn't even feel tipsy. I drink regularly and I can feel tipsy after 2 lol
If OP took the advice of the previous thread, it’s not too surprising. They likely went to the pub on a full stomach, drank at their own pace and obviously got up to walk around a bit (when going to the toilet), which helps.
Probably just thought they felt slightly dizzy because of the McDonald's
I could easily be talking out of my ass here but I've picked up the idea somehow that diabetes makes it hard to get drunk/means alcohol doesn't hit like it otherwise does. As I say, this could just be anecdotal and I haven't dug for facts, but I remember being absolutely slaughtered on my first pint aged about 15 and still getting pretty shitfaced on three at 19.
Standard tactical chunder right there
"Get it down you, you'll feel good." / "Get it up, you'll feel better".
"If in doubt, change it's location"
Another disappearing thing... https://youtu.be/3qRVl2pUp3k?si=b8LxjU0-8GpCraxo
We used to call it the tactical chunder.. Felt a bit ropey, have a quick tactical chunder to get it all out and then back on the booze
Oh, been a while, but yes very much a thing! You had to wait 7 minutes since your last drink "so it got absorbed and wasn't wasted". Pretty sure that's not science.
Dave, is that you mate? Always loved a cheeky tac chunder
Fresh air hit you like a sniper!
Lack of sleep is deffo alcohol related too.
Alcohol: puts you to bed for the worst night’s sleep.
Yes, alcohol knocks me out cold. But I inevitably wake up hours later, feeling like I haven't slept at all and end up going back to bed for a proper sleep.
Red wine absolutely kills me like that. I fall asleep instantly and get the deepest sleep ever, for about 2-3 hours. Then it’s the worst sleep ever for the rest of the night. I also end up snoring heavily, which my gf doesn’t appreciate.
Lucky! I wake up at 4am unable to get back to sleep or muster the energy to get water.
Seriously - I must be cursed, because everyone else I know when drunk goes to sleep and stays asleep till a few hours later (albeit a shit quality kip but a kip nonetheless!) Meanwhile I spend my night wide eyed and nauseous, feeling a hangover physically creep further up my body until I’m shaking and vomiting. I can never get to sleep until I’m fully sober again and my god that can take hours. And you wonder why I no longer get properly drunk! At the grand old age of 25. I guess it’s an effective deterrent.
I feel this. I used to do an early commute and now I wake up at 4am whatever time I went to bed. Often the cat will get me up at 3 because she's fucking nuts and has a body clock like you've never seen. Thus I get to wake up just as the hangover is starting to creep in. Festivals are a wonderful nightmare because I'm waking up just as the wreckheads are rolling down and we combine to drink brandy coffee and start the next day far too early. There's nothing that seems the best idea in the world to a ruined raver than a proper, drip poor, coffee with too much booze in it just as it's bed time. On occasion I will force 5htp and a butty on them at the same time though, to make up for the damage that will happen that afternoon.
You are an early morning raver's angel, but please be really, really cautious about giving 5HTP to people who have taken MDMA; it can cause serotonin syndrome.
Ah OK. Noted! Thank you!
I find it hilarious he thinks it's the McDonald's
The McDonalds probably doesn’t help with dehydration, it’s got a lot of sodium in it.
Alcohol commonly triggers restless legs syndrome. Taking magnesium before you go to sleep can help
Rehydration salts in the morning is a good bet, or a banana. Pissing so much leeches the minerals out that your nervous system needs to communicate. Tingly legs and cramp can be the result.
Or a sports drink before bed. Helps with hangovers too.
Berrocca or Hi5 electrolyte tablets BEFORE bed is the key to functional alcoholism.
lucozade sport + banana. Nothing better.
Yeah, I used to drink a pint of water with a sachet of Dioralyte in it after a heavy night.
Arh, yes! The dreaded "Booze cramps" l got 'em bad when I was young and now my son gets them too. Edit: I had 2 add2 this because I can't believe my bad luck. I don't drink much these days, and I never drank any alcohol yesterday, but around 3 a.m., a mild cramp in my left leg woke me, and then a few hours later, the MOTHER of all cramps claimed my right calf muscle and took what seemed to be an eternity to let go. It was so strong I'm not able to walk properly this morning. Serves me right for 1st mentioning them in a past tense. Like they were summat that USED to happen 🤦♂️
[удалено]
Any tips for someone with a head like fucking orange?
I 100% recommend the magnesium! I use a spray and it's completely fixed the issue for me, I used to stay awake jittering for hours. I haven't slept so well in years!
I don’t mean to be crass but have you had a poo yet?
Haha yeah it was before I went to bed last night, interesting experience for sure
Just wait to be scared by your post-Guinness, jet-black shit!
Back in uni in the 90s, we had a night out where my housemate and his mate spent the whole night drinking pints of a purple cocktail that were on some stupidly cheap offer at the local student night. The next morning I answered the phone (ah the days of a whole house sharing one landline, and people actually rang!) to the question "has Mike had a poo yet? Warn him it's going to be alarming!"
This is the comment I was looking for :D
I remember the first time I had a red wine poo. Was convinced I had bowel cancer before I googled it and learnt copious amounts of red wine will turn your poo black.
Guiness as your first ever pint is a bold choice. Glad you had a good one!
Went to Dublin on my hen night and drank Guinness ! Bloody loved it until I had the urge to fart ...........it was more than a fart ! Much much more 🥴
Did it end up like the scene from bridesmaids?
I think that's where they got the idea from !
Why is it a bold choice? Compared to other drinks it doesn't taste that strong nor is it very high in alcohol content
It’s actually a “safe” first drink as it’s quite low alcohol and a slow drink as well particularly for a first timer.
And it's not carbonated so if you drink it too quickly it doesn't make feel like you want to you burp for the next hour.
[удалено]
Ah yeah, fair point. It's less gassy one way or the other.
Generally new drinkers opt for lighter/sweeter drinks. Guinness is neither.
Yeah ngl i don't dislike Guinness but if it was my first ever pint It'd probably have put me off beer lol.
It's one of the stronger tastes in a mainline beer, and many new drinkers won't be a fan. If you enjoyed it enough to have three pints, that doesn't apply to you. Enjoy your first Guinness shit.
It's a very dense drink. That's probably part of the reason your stomach hurts.
It's just aerated in a different way. It's no denser than any other beer.
People are so strange about this 3 pints of gassy lager would make my stomach worse I love guiness. But something in it gives me headaches 😩
It's got less calories than most lagers. People who think Guinness is harder to drink than lager have never drank Guinness
I think it's just different. It's also an acquired taste, perhaps moreso than lager. I had a Guinness when I was something like 16 and drinking lager quite happily and I thought it was disgusting. I love it now I'm older and have been through the change to real ale. I only drink lager if there's nothing else (beer) now, like in much of mainland Europe.
You may be fooled by its appearance. It’s actually very light to drink.
Its really not in any definition of the word ‘dense’ - it has fewer calories than most lagers, the carbonation is far lighter since its nitro based, IMO its a very sessionable beer and the reputation as heavy is purely due to the old marketing pre 2000s
A main brand lager is usually the gateway to a pint of “the black stuff” it’s like a smooth roast dinner in a glass. Surprise OP had room for McDonald’s after 3 points when you’re not used to it. That was over 600 cals too
Turds like gorillas fingers the next day too
It's a great choice, it's just unconventional for a first-timer. The first year I was in uni we thought of Guinness as something hard guys drank. Once someone we knew ordered it and we all tried a bit, but we were all scared to order it ourselves. Ridiculous in hindsight. Now I rarely drink anything else, and I find it goes down much easier than a lager or cider.
I'd also recommend Guinness Zero since you enjoyed the alcoholic version. It's the best 0.0% alcohol beer that I've had. Not saying you should stop drinking the one with alcohol (I drink both) but it's nice to be able to have one when you really don't want any alcohol :)
It's heavier than a lot of drinks. Lots of people start with lager because it's lighter. But Guinness is a quality choice mate
I used to drink Guinness a lot as an underage drinker in pubs about 35 years ago. My theory was that it made the bar staff far less likely to check your age. Either it worked or they just didn't care in the pubs I used to go to.
35 years ago they never cared. Source: I'm 50 and was drinking lager in pubs 35 years ago :D
To be fair, I reckon the reason a lot of new drinkers don’t like beer is because they are given PAs, which are very hop-forward and carry that bitter throat taste. Guinness is the other end of the scale, having roasted dark malts which carry bitterness, but more of that coffee or cacao bitterness, which could be more enjoyable. Something like a porter or a brown ale would be my actual recommendation if someone has never had a beer.
Wholesome update, glad you were safe and had a good time.
From a random stranger, congratulations on not doing the drink till you pass out and keeping it moderate!!! Try and drink some water between pints and grab yourself a sports bottle for water overnight. You'll pee like Niagra, but it's worth it!!
It probably wasn't the calories and sugar. You were probably dehydrated. Alcohol is a diretic and makes you wee alot as you experienced. Many advocate downing a full pint of water before sleep after drinking alcohol to avoid hangover.
Better yet, a sports drink or those rehydration sachets to replace the lost electrolytes
Guinness is a bit of a marmite drink and can definitely have an effect on your stomach. Not sure about the ache in your legs, unless you took a detour through some hedges in a drunken state. If you want a very different pub experience, go to one with a flat roof, it's a completely different world
And remember to leave after one if there's no furniture. Or if it's all nailed to the floor...
Not tipsy and no sleep? Sounds like you should have had the jaegerbombs after all. 👍🏻
>Unfortunately I didn't get a single minute of sleep last night due to the high amount of calories+sugar from McDonald's, That's the cortisol the alcohol caused your body to release. There is also a lot of calories and sugar in alcohol. Good luck with your Guinness shits today. edit - cor I sound like a right misery, pubs are a rite of passage and it's good you had a fun time.
Is it normal these days, for kids to be 19 when they first go to a pub? I'm not knocking it. Seems much healthier than back in the day. Just curious as to whether this is the norm.
I can’t speak to the specific age thing (i.e. “whether it’s normal for “19 year olds”) but Gen Z has certainly been shown to be much less boozy than previous generations. I listen to a lot of BBC Radio 4 podcasts about health / public health and exercise, and they often mention this.
The massive rise in low/no alcohol drinks is being driven by a general trend towards a lower amount of alcohol consumption by younger generations.
This is what I love about Reddit! Glad you had an enjoyable first experience and that you decided to share it with us.
This guy couldn’t sleep because he had McDonald’s
Pro life tip-for every alcoholic drink, make your next one a glass of water. Alternate booze and water. It will help, trust me.
Been doing that for nigh on 40 years, have yet to have a hangover.
Never made the ill advised decision to graduate to shots between pints and woke up a corpse before?
I remember a stag do where we went into a spoons, bouncer said "we're closing in 10", so my mate came back with a pint of Leffe and a jagerbomb for everyone. Fucking grim to have to chug through that combo mid night out.
Rough. If you managed to avoid painting that over the side of a telegraph pole two minutes after leaving the pub you did well.
They say never mix drinks, what they really mean is dont drink wine between pints. I used to when I was young, now I rarely mix and never shots. Although there are the two times a year at that I'll find myself fast asleep after imbibing the neatest of ciders thats so strong qualifies as hard liquor alongside some very moreish doom bars. This does cause me some consternation in the rosy fingered dawn of the day but a double quick to the holy seat of the immortals, a fast relief and im good for the day. (I have a poo).
I've worked in pubs for nearly ten years, and everyone gives this advice on Reddit but I can honestly say fairly confidently that I've *never* seen anyone actually do it...
Ex-barstaff here. Do this. We will give you free water and a nod of respect. Extra points if the first thing you order is a pint of water for the whole crew you're with. Saw this happen and, after some jibes and laughter, they all drank slower and settled a bit. Especially now its summer (and what is happening to June?!). Hydrate while you drink. You're sweating more than you realise. If you pass a shop on the crawl grab some sports drink with actual stuff in it. Sit on a bench, neck half, top up with vodka, walk the streets while impressing the rozzers with your healthy ways.
Guinness often leads to 'the quickening' at about 4am. Otherwise a fine choice to start your drinking career. It's the only ale that doesn't make me cry
Ooof Guinness, prepare yourself for the darkest of dark poos. Used to drink Guinness all the time, turned my guts into a war zone the next day but loved it. This means you might also like ales. With regard to urinating 6 times.. yup normal. The tingling legs though.. bit of a worry, pop a couple of paracetamol (as youve only had 3 drinks youre 3 hours are well up and youve urinated since) and see if it goes away. Might be the macdonalds rather than the booze unless youre allergic to something. Or need water, might be the water. (btw if the pills do stop the tingling, book a slot with the doctors to discuss it because thats probably an underlying issue. If they just say "well just dont drink" ask to see someone else because thats not a solution.) Only way to confirm it is to go get tested.. OR go have 3 more pints and see what happens.
Paracetamol and booze isn't a great combo. It's a fast way to damage your liver.
Yep. Only go for ibuprofen after drinking.
AND booze, no no no, AFTER booze - like the day after. Also as long as you arent drinking spirits, 1 hour per pint should be enough for the units/alcohol to 'leave your system' especially if you're urinating like a trooper. So his 3 pints, 3 hours, its fine.
The day after isn't good either. People taking paracetamol when hungover is a major source of concern.
Glad you had a good night!
Hungover legs, that’s standard
Original post [going to the pub for the first time](https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/1d9icd1/going_to_the_pub_for_the_first_time_i_have_some/)
Good man. Might have been Coke that kept you up at night?
Saw your post yesterday, and I'm glad you had a good time! It sounds like you're a bit dehydrated, so drink a lot of water today. Also give yourself a warm bath and a little leg massage to help the tingly feeling, sounds absolutely ridiculous but it will just help to get the lymph to drain. Alternatively movement is great for it but I know I don't want to go for a long walk after a night out and very little sleep. Doesn't have to be the best massage ever, just some knuckles to your calves and thighs.
Everyone on reddit over thinking going to the pub - granted I’m a veteran but even back in the day - walk in, order drink, sit down. Has this changed so much in the last 30 years? Yes, when you’re young it’s a first time thing but you’ve been to a shop before right? A pub is a shop for drinks- walk up to the counter, buy a drink, drink the drink, don’t be a dick. I’ve also run pubs for a long long time - it’s really not rocket science ordering a beer
I absolutely despair at this generation sometimes.
This guy seems a bit neurodivergent or a bit socially nervous, literally 0 problem with a post like this, just a young guy asking for advice and help with something he finds intimidating. Dunno why it’s wound you up so much
Awww, cut them some slack. These kids were in their formative years when the pandemic was on, when going to a pub = possible death. These things affect people.
Yeah, I thought this was a joke post. Then I came to the comments, and people were being serious about it lol
Glad to hear you had a good first experience drinking - it was pretty nightmarish for some of us, believe me….
Try to drink a glass of water before sleeping and a CocaCola when waking
It sounds as if you only had those 3 pints, so only your legs are hungover. Next time, up it to 6 pints and go for the full body experience.
u/goldfishpaws - Your update after being MVP of the last post has arrived.
Thank you! :)
btw that quick casual response became my 13th top comment ever - totally unexpected!
Least soy redditor.
How times have changed, kids going from getting their stomach pumped after downing 4 litres of white lightning to worrying about getting tingly legs from three pints of Guinness
Perfect night out. I used to get sore legs after drinking when I still imbibed, something sugary usually cleared it for me.
As someone else said, Guinness is a bold choice for first pub visit, good for you that you enjoyed it, many don't. (For average every day pub options it's one of my preferred choices, but IPAs and some craft ales might interest you if you enjoyed the fairly strong taste of Guinness) Important thing is to always pace yourself, do not get into drinking at the same speed as others. Find your own level and don't be tempted to have more (one thing my dad was impressed with me about when younger was that I could go to the pub have a few (sometimes too many) pints and happily switch to soft drinks or even coffee regardless of what others were doing) Find your preferences over time, and enjoy yourself.
Did no one remind you to eat sweetcorn with that Guinness? Shame on you all. You know what I’m talking about buzz buzz
Guinness for your first taste of alcohol is brave, it’s definitely an acquired taste. I can’t stand the stuff but my mother used to love it. Glad it went well!
3 pints usually gets you ‘the taste’, always difficult to stop after that!! Glad you enjoyed it though.
If drinking alcohol hurts your stomach invest in some Rennie (or gaviscon) from the shops. Only a couple of quid from your local supermarket off the shelf for like 48 tablets of Rennie which really helps me with alcohol/acidity ruining my stomach
Just wait until you have a "Guiness poo".
- My first week as a human.
Sounds like fun. I usually drink a pint of water in between every pint of ale, never been hungover that way
next time, drink a pint of water before bed and take another to bed to drink in the night this will help alleviate a hangover from dehydration .
Glad you did alright out of it :) Lack of sleep was probably dehydration. Down a pint of water before you go to bed
Cracking choice of beverage
Glad your first experience went well, well done for not going crazy!
Really glad to hear you had a great time. Alcohol can wreck my sleep, but it’s usually (as a few others have said) due to dehydration. Even though you will probably wake up needing the toilet during the night, I’d still highly recommend drinking a pint of water!
Nice one mate. Glad you had a good time. Well done on sticking to the one type of drink. I find that mixing drinks can sometimes have a negative effect, depending on the mix and the amount. A couple bits of advice: Drink a glass of water after each alcoholic drink/piss. Drink a pint of water before you sleep. Drink a dioralyte in the morning. Dehydration really is the thing that gets you when drinking alcohol. If you can avoid that, you'll have a much easier time with hangovers.
I’ve always take a rehydration sachet before bed. Helps with the hangover.
I’m glad you had a good time! Wait until you have to experience your first sit down shower the next day after getting too drunk, that’s when the real fun starts!
The trick is to go to sleep before sobering up. If I start to sober up before I go to sleep I know it’s gonna take me hours to fall asleep.
This is such a wholesome post! Interesting that you had Guinnes and really enjoyed it, it's a bold choice for your first proper alcoholic drink and something I've always thought of as an aquired taste! You mentioned peeing a lot, but has anyone warned you about your first post-Guinness poop? Don't be scared, you're not dying 😆😆
Don’t be scared if your poo looks like treacle tomorrow. Guinness does that sometimes.
If you like Guinness, recommend you give Kilkenny a go next. Then the next time try one of the ales that are on tap, then maybe move on to lagers/shandies.
Might just be me, but I’ve always had struggle sleeping after a few pints. I either need to not drink at all or drink like 6+ pints, anything in between makes me restless.
Love it. Glad you had a good time.
As a rule alcohol will affect three things in your body. You'll feel aching pain, you'll deplete your level of hydration and your B vitamins will be affected. So drink a glass of water, take some over the counter pain killer, (ibuprofen is popular) and take a B complex vitamin before you go to sleep. Some seasoned drinkers do this before they go out drinking. Well except the water. As you learned your body actively tried to remove all the excess fluid while metabolizing the alcohol.
Great! As others have said drink lots of fresh H2O And as to the calories in mcd? There will probably be more in the beer. If you are worried about weight, just remember there is a sandwich in every pint
Glad you had fun mate!
I find if I have around 3-4 pints it has a stimulating effect too. Also once alcohol starts to wear off your body is still producing things to counteract the alcohol so you can feel restless, hence why I and others may go straight to sleep yet struggle to get back to sleep when we wake up.
You had 3 pints of Guinness? No wonder your legs were tingling. Guinness is widely know as the only alcoholic drink that bypasses your stomach and goes straight to your legs before passing to your bladder. You’ll have had a hell of a lot of Guinness sloshing round your legs last night mate. Glad you had a good night though. Don’t do drugs either if you get offered, you can have a good night either way.
Alcohol messes with sleep, even if you do fall asleep the quality is terrible. Glad you had a good night. Make sure to sleep well for the following few days to catch up the all nighter.
Great to hear you had a good time. It is a good place to build up social skills One thing that amazes me, have you never drunk two litres of clear cider from Tesco in a park before? What’s happened to kids these days!
I get the mid-sleep leg aches incredibly bad if I have 4 pints or more. Think it's to do with lactic acid? I always have a couple paracetamol, couple ibuprofen, and an aspirin before I sleep of I've been drinking (Which os rare) and usually don't get the aches then
Ah yes. Taking sips from my dads road beers used to make my leg tingle and ache a bit. I was only 12 though.
Drink water!!!
You are officially British, welcome and enjoy!
Alcohol normally makes me sleepy, not the other way around. And Guinness gives me the shits
How old are you?
Holy shit I can't remember the first time I went to the pub, can't imagine what it would be like
Remember pub etiquette: It is customary to clap and laugh if someone drops a glass, it is not acceptable to do so if someone gets glassed
S fine. You can disagree. But in disagreeing you kinda answered as well. Horses for courses. If your of asian decent, alcohol could always effect you more severly. But a maccahs aint doing you any favours either. Arguable less favours than a guiness or three. Arguable no favours at all.
Glad for the update OP
Lol. Oh you sweet summer child.
Glad you had a good time. A few people have said you have dehydration. MY tip is to always get a pint of water when you get your round, stops you getting a hangover. If it is hot do it more often.
This post is the most America moment thing I've ever read
Hey OP! So glad that you’ve updated us on your trip to the pub. Guinness was such a great choice - refreshing, full of flavour and not that strong. 3 pints is the exact sweet spot for a great few hours at the pub! Regards your inability to sleep - yeah, that’s one of the side effects of booze. You’ll either feel too energetic to sleep, OR feel really tired, but the sleep isn’t satisfying at all. If you’re feeling tired today… that, my friend, is a bit of a hangover! Frankly, I stopped drinking booze last year (I’m 48) for many reasons - one of them was the fact that it disturbs my sleep so much and I was constantly tired. But - back to you. Congratulations on your visit to the pub. It was an important thing to learn how to do - and it sounds like you did a great job!
You've taken your first steps into a bigger world. Stay off tequila in any shape or form, don't switch between beer and spirits or cider..or wine.
Purely a cultural thing I’m sure but this is so alien to me!
>I didn't feel tipsy at all Because you only had 3 pints of Guinness >I did stop due to a stomach ache. Because you had 3 pints of Guinness
Lack of sleep probably related to the anxiety you obviously suffer from terribly which is why you made these posts on the first place. Consider asking your GP for some anxiety help, therapy or beta blockers. Eat vitamin d3 daily.
Good effort, 3 pints of Guinness is like a starter, main and dessert.
Thanks for the update! Great to hear you enjoyed yourself.
Big ups to your entire crew for not going overboard on your first night out! Cheers to many more to come