ADDICTION: WET BRAIN

MAx Fabry is a regular contributor to a weekly column "ASK MAx" published in the SPRINGFIELD TIMES, Springfield, Oregon. The SPRINGFIELD TIMES is published weekly on Friday by S.J. Olson Publishing, Inc. This column is published on this blog by permission of the SPRINGFIELD TIMES. Visit their website at http://www.springfieldtimes.net.
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Dear MAx,
My father is 72 years old and a chronic alcoholic. It is hard for me to remember times when my father hasn’t been intoxicated. Ironically, he is a renowned scholar, admired by people around the world. He has been in and out of rehab, private hospitals, AA, but nothing really help. Now that he is aging, it seems he is aging faster then others his age. He also seems to be having signs of dementia. What can I do to keep my father alive?

Joyce

Dear Joyce,
I am so sad to hear about your father. It must be very frustrating for you as his daughter to watch such an intelligent human being be consumed by alcohol. This is vivid proof that alcoholism has no socio-economic boundaries. Doesn’t matter if you are brilliant or slow, wealthy or poor, when alcohol takes over, with continued use, it will eventually take your life.

I am sure that you have been witness to your father’s alcoholic progression from early stages to the end stages you are may now be observing.

In early stages of alcohol addiction, alcohol is used as a mood-altering drug to reach a level of euphoria to relieve stress, uncomfortable feelings, or moods. Eventually he would develop a tolerance for alcohol, which means he would have had to start drinking more to achieve the effects he needed. Because the alcohol impairs judgment, personal behavior problems associated with the increased use occur. Then, more drinking to defend the inappropriate behavior, to avoid taking responsibility, and to justify continuing the use.

At the point the tolerance for the alcohol developed, changes in brain chemistry started to occur as the brain tries to accommodate for the alcohol increase. In the end stage of alcoholism the problems associated with increased use of alcohol continues at higher levels of severity. Serious physical, psychological, and behavior problems occur, often leading to a premature death.

Alcohol induced dementia, sometimes known as wet brain, or, Wenicke-Korsakoff syndrome, is direct damage to the brain caused by long-term heavy alcohol consumption. Long-term use of alcohol causes poor eating habits, damaging the gastrointestinal system, and the liver, depleting the body of thiamine. Thiamine is needed for glucose conversion in the brain. The inability to stimulate glucose conversion results in significant brain cell death and serious structural damage in certain areas of the brain.

Alcohol induced dementia is the third or fourth most common form of intellectual loss, particularly in the elderly. It is probably under diagnosed because primary care physicians fail to recognize alcoholism in elderly patients. And, clarifying the diagnosis is tricky in that brain imaging, or other clinical studies, don’t always distinguish alcohol dementia from other diseases.
Sixty percent of the elderly drink, up to 10% are binge drinkers, and 8% of elderly people have a serious drinking problem. It is estimated that Medicare spends more money on alcohol related problems than for the treatment of heart attacks.

Symptoms of wet brain include an irregular gait, confusion, hallucination, loss of control over eye movements, severely impaired short-term recall but excellent long-term memory, and other intellectual functions. End stages, severe wet brain extends from dementia to a pure amnesia that is not reversible.

Early stages of wet brain often respond well to large intravenous doses of thiamine. Approximately 20% in early treatment can lead to a full mental recovery. Late stage wet brain in alcoholics do not usually benefit from any known traditional treatment. The mortality rate is approximately 20%.

It is important that alcoholics, particularly in the late stages of their addiction, be closely monitored by a primary care physician that is familiar with their medical history and their addiction history. Caught in time, alcoholic dementia patients can regain up to 0.5 points on their mini mental per year with prolonged sobriety. Physicians need to continue to monitor for any heart or liver disease related to prolonged use.

Joyce, you asked “What can I do to keep my father alive?” Your father has got to want to live, and he has got to want to accept help. Depending what stage he is in, the first thing he would have to do is totally abstain from alcohol. And, you, Joyce, visiting an Alanon meeting once in a while will remind you that you are not alone in this experience.

Be well on your journey.

Have a question about addiction, recovery, or life transitions such as retirement, career change, grief and loss issues, empty nesting, etc, ‘Ask MAx’. Send your questions to Lifestyle Changes, PO Box 1962, Eugene, OR 97440; or, e-mail your questions to maxfabry@lifestylechangescounseling.com. Learn more about MAx Fabry and read her blog at http://www.lifestylechangescounseling.com.