Reading tonight about wet brain caused by alcoholism and having some tough reality thrown in my face. I’ve definitely suffered memory loss and I’ve definitely noticed a change in my eye sight. I think I knew the eyesight was directly connected and denied it.
This part fucked me up… “Whilst many of the symptoms of wet brain disease may be alleviated with medication, the key symptoms of memory loss and loss of intellect are irreversible. This is the case when Korsakoff psychosis has arisen. Taking Vitamin B1 supplements will not reverse memory loss and loss of intellect.”
Trying to stay positive and remember I have the ability to stop the continued damage, even if I don’t have the ability to reverse it. Somewhere in mind sick mind I think I almost wanted to cause memory loss. I’m glad I’m starting to feel differently…
What do you do to scare yourself away from your addiction? Specific videos or articles? What physical symptoms/repercussions of your addiction have kept you from using? What supplements have you taken to help?
I am taking Lions Mane which I learned about in a podcast between Paul Stamets and Joe Rogan. Paul talks about Lions Mane helping reestablish new neurological pathways in the brain. That gives me some sense of comfort. Even if I can’t fully heal my brain, I’m sure there’s some amount of correcting I can do, even if it’s tiny.
There were really frightening effects alcohol had on my body. Memory loss, problems with articulation, abscesses, high blood pressure, bad bloodvalues, constipation, migraine, rosacea, neurodermatitis, runners foot, swollen hands, inflamed joints. When my belly started to hurt (liver area) and my skin was at its worst I stopped drinking.
I supplied with vitamin b, vitamin d/k2, magnesium, vitamin c, milk thistle. Later I added cbd oil and black caraway oil. I stopped using all the medications for my skin condition I got from my dermatologist and started to only use shea butter, jojoba oil or argan oil.
There was a time where I had to go back to the antibiotic cream I got bc my whole body had some kind of breakout, I looked like someone who has chickenpox. I assume it was some kind of detoxing because I am finally loosing weight. My body needs longer to loose weight because I got hashimotos disease. Now it’s fine, no pimples or inflammations, only some tiny spots on my feet that heal slowly.
Whoops, long text…sorry
Yeah, the physical repercussions can be pretty awful.
If you think you might have Korsakoff’s syndrome, that’s pretty serious and warranting of medical attention. However, there are other causes of symptoms that can be common to Korsakoff’s, which have reversible neurological symptoms. So you may be able to accomplish a lot more than just damage control, depending on what exactly has happened in your body. I encourage you to hold your perspective of being able to stop the damage now, and not give up hope of your brain experiencing significant recovery just yet.
Korsakoff’s syndrome and Wernicke’s encephalopathy are often preventable in alcoholics by keeping thiamine levels at normal levels. Lots of food is naturally rich in thiamine, but there are supplements available if there’s a deficiency that needs aggressive correction or if you somehow can’t get enough in your diet.
I believe alcohol made me dumber. I don’t think it was “wet brain”, it was more just depressed cognitive function. Since quitting, I feel like I’m sharper, more aware. I still have memory issues though. I have a hard time recalling details of events that recently took place. Maybe it’s my age, maybe brain damage; my kids have no problems with recall, so… there’s that nugget.
I’m only 26 days in, so I don’t think I’ve fully wrapped my brain around all of my feelings, both mental and physical, but I definitely feel worse in different ways since going sober. I think I became so used to how I felt intoxicated that now that I’m detoxing, I have all of these new ailments that are horrible. Now I have headaches like never before, am super bitchy, a sharp pain in my gut, nauseated, my face is broken out like a teenager that just hit puberty, random moments of anxiety, dizziness and crying. I know this will eventually pass, but holy hell… Knowing that having a drink would help all of this go away, is hard to talk myself out of. I just keep telling myself that I don’t want to go through this again, have to start over or make make it any worse.
Gosh, I’m so sorry you’re having so many physical detox symptoms. I hope they start to clear for you soon. That certainly can’t make it easier. I relate to the irritability. I straight up cannot interact with my family longer than 5 minutes right now.
But it’s not a help, it makes everything worse in the end. Stay strong, it will get better. On here are many ppl who experienced those symptoms and survived them You are stronger than you think you are
I consider myself extremely lucky that my body didn’t have any major physical problems, blood tests always showed my organs functioned well and normal. Drinking did cause me to be anemic and flared up my psoriasis. Neither of which was enough to quit drinking. I was a head chef and damn good at my job, so my brain function was doing great, apart from the fact I was a snappy bitch.
I took thiamine and folic acid when I quit drinking, in the beginning my memory was shot, but at the same time I wasn’t eating much at all and only sleeping for about three hours a night. That in itself wasn’t helping my brain function. Four months down the line and I’m back to healthy eating and excesize and my memory is just fine, I was bright when I was drinking and now I’m smarter and wiser
I think a good majority of the damage is reversible… lots of good reads with evidence out there supporting this- in addition to what everyone here a has shared/experienced after quitting. I would still take supplements after you quit drinking. Chronic drinking leads to all kinds of deficiencies, which have their own set of issues. Currently I alternate a b complex and multivitamin, take magnesium when I feel stressed out or need additional help sleeping and take krill oil and turmeric (@yoda-stevie is a good one to talk supplements with). I used to work Oncology and could tell you what I have seen alcohol do, but I’m sure you already know… it’s ugly and heartbreaking.
I did gain a lot of weight during drinking so I have some loose skin. I have one or two spider veins. I did have the thinning hair and quitting seemed to temporarily make it worse. However that was probably just me actually taking note of the problem. Now taking plenty of supplements has stabilized my hair and improved it.
I agree with everyone that you will probably be surprised by how much you improve. It comes from a mix of natural healing, better sleep, and better self care. Even going to the doctor instead of ducking the issues.
I don’t know how long you drank for but some of your symptoms may be natural ageing as well. None of us escapes completely.
While I was a week into the medically supervised detox, one of my pupils pinned and the other blew up. After tests and MRIs they said it’s Horner’s syndrome and I didn’t hemorrhage… I have so much anxiety about this because I look in the mirror every morning and every night ,in between too and I see what I’ve done and I’m ashamed that I’m not right… The proof is right in my eyes😥 tapped
Heavy daily drinking meant accelerating weight gain, lethargy, madly elevated heart rate, and breaking into a sweat at the slightest activity. By the time I’d quit, my resting heart rate was scratching at 100 BPM.
Over the last few months I’ve realized the benefits of sobriety. With a little work, weight is almost back to normal, heart almost healthy (down to 70 BPM resting, no more sweats unless I really work it), and of course there’s always the continued blessings of sober poops.
Also brain fuzz still gets me. It struck me last night, looking at ye olde Fitbit, I may be in a pattern of not sleeping enough. During the work week I stay up too late, getting ~6 hours/night.
It’s funny cuz I feel fine in the mornings. Wondering if not waking up with a mild hangover everyday has me desensitized to what sleep deprivation feels like. Like, I feel better but not 100%. One way to find out!
You are stronger than you think you are
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