About 6 weeks ago I started taking idebenone, initially at around 100mg per day then up to 300mg, and now 1000mg (separated into two 500mg doses). I'm pretty anal about changing only one thing at a time, because I've been caught chasing my tail many times before by trying out different supplements simultaneously. The most obvious effect was that whenever I consumed alcohol it no longer seemed to get me "drunk" in the same way-- I was still able to think very clearly. My tolerance was obviously higher, and it completely prevented a hangover.
The other things I noticed were significant, but not as unusual: Idebenone puts me in a better mood (the best description would be "more optimistic"); Idebenone seems to completely prevent soreness after weight lifting, and it seems to help me think a little bit clearer in general (maybe just a result of a more positive outlook). I've found anecdotal reports online from multiple people about all of these affects. But I haven't found anything about idebenone and alcohol.
Now, a couple important points: I'm 30 years old, so it's not like I just starting drinking. Also, I'm not a heavy drinker, but pre-idebenone I've always got hangovers that were much worse than those around me even for normal "dinner and drinks" types of nights.
Can anyone help me understand what might be going on here? I don't really understand enough about how alcohol affects the brain (or liver) to even come up with a guess. Is the idebenone just doing a good job of preventing oxidative stress?
The reason that I'm interested in figuring this out has nothing to do with alcohol, I'm interested in the "bigger picture" of what might be going on behind the scenes, as I'd like to focus my efforts in that direction.. i.e., if the reason that this is working for me so well is because it's quenching free radicals between phase I->II in the liver, then maybe my phase II is slow and I could look into that. I have never noticed this much of an affect from a supplement before, and I find it particularly interesting that no one else seems to be having similar results.