When I first caught wind of the story of a girl suffering from three-day hangovers, I thought to myself ‘you’re just getting older babe. Rub some dirt on it, smoke some weed, drink some grease, and get your head back in the game. There’s no crying in Drinking To Forget About Life.’
Then I read a little deeper and realized that I was being totally insensitive. PER USUAL.
Because this 19-year-old English college student is battling something far worse than a hearty morning puke/poop combo. Last year, Shannon Birse was diagnosed with fibromyalgia–a disorder that causes severe joint and muscle pain, chronic fatigue, insane migraines and delivers hangovers that last 72 hours. An ENTIRE weekend.
Shannon typically takes 30 pills a day but cannot pop the pills if she’s planning one drinking, which results in debilitating pain for the following three days.
Shannon told Mirror,
“At first I found it difficult because you grieve for the life you thought you could have.
I started getting severe joint pain and muscle pain and I was only getting two or three hours sleep a night.
It’s not even restorative sleep because my body doesn’t enter into REM.
Shannon takes painkillers, vitamins, sleeping tablets and other tablets every day, to help improve her quality of life but has to battle through the hangovers with no help.
The illness affects 70 million people worldwide. Sometimes it takes a story like this to remind myself how lucky I am and that dry heaving into a toilet for the better half of the morning is actually a solid deal in comparison to what others struggle through.
Perspective cures.
Related: Hangover Cures From Around The World
[h/t Mirror]