addiction counselor - retired

[eugene927]

My wife has been a chronic stage 2 alcoholic for about 20 years. In the last few years I 've noticed a marked deterioriation in her cognitive funtioning. About 6 years ago she began developing peripheral neuropathy. A year ago she had several MRI's and she was diagnosed with spinal stenosis which may account for the loss of sensitivity in her extremities & unsteady gait/coordination/dexterity deficits. I'm curious as to how big a role alcohol has played in her physical problems. How much neural damage can daily excessive alcohol consumption cause to the brain? Enough to cause spinal stenosis and cognitive impairment.

[eugene927]

Stage 2 alcoholism is the final stage. At this point alcohol related physical dysfucntion such as cirhossis, pancreatic disease etc. has become manifest. At this point, continued drinking or the next "binge" will result in death. My wife just cannot seem to muster the strength of will to quit. She has been hospitalized several times after bouts of heavy drinking, has been in rehab, has been on Disulfiram (antibuse), in 2006 was on an experimental drug, Naltrexone which was supposed to curb her appetite for alcohol, all to no avail. She was hospitalized a year ago with acute pancreatitus and was sober for about 6 weeks before relapsing. She used to consume a quart of vodka daily without fail, drank 24/7 waking up during the night several times to pour out a drink. Since her last hospitalization she has switched to drinking about 2 liters of wine daily. She has whittled this down to about a half a bottle per day as she is scheduled for extensive back surgery next month. She professes she really wants to quit but just can't overcome the demon in the bottle. I have done a great deal of research on this topic because of her addiction and prepared a paper while I was still employed in Corrections which was supposed to be published through Nippissing University in North Bay (their psychology department is affiliated with Correctional Services) which I never finished as I had to retire due to several surgeries for jaw tumors. In my paper I addressed the issue of addiction based on neurobiological chemicals/neurotransmitters produced in the body to counter the effects of alcohol & opiates but which the body seems to become addicted to also. It is the presence of these naturally occurring chemicals which causes angsiomatic responses and delerium tremens associated with alcohol withdrawal. I had hopes that alcoholism could be treated phamacologically, but in my wife's case, this does not seem to be a viable solution.

[rpooo]

With peripheral neuropathy I think you must assume that some sort of liver damage has been done and as Sarah mentioned, I too would strongly reccomend a CBC and a complete metobolic panel. Does she take medication for the neuropathy? Nerve damage is very common for alcoholics exspecially after 20 years as I have recently found for myself.

I was recently diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy and prescribed Gabapentin 300mg twice daily. Also found to have permenant nerve damage in my legs. I stopped drinking 600+ days ago after 20 years of alcoholism and it comes with many diagnosis. Cirrhosis being one of them. Try to have the lab work done as soon as possible. I will be hoping for the best. Take care.

Randy

[Audrey_M]

I'm hoping that others respond to your question, both for your curiosity and mine.

I'll echo dominosarah in asking what is a chronic stage 2 alcoholic? How much does your wife drink?

It would seem that alcohol is responsible for many of the problems you listed. The brain is vulnerable to the toxic effects of alcohol; did she have an MRI of the brain as well as the spine? Alcohol can effect the myelin sheaths in the brain, causing lesions, so that signals are not properly transmitted in the brain. More damaging is the loss of brain cells. The cerebral cortex, ventricles and cerebellum are parts of the brain most commonly affected by alcohol.

The good news is that with sobriety, brain cells have been shows to regenerate by 2% after two months of abstinence. This could be a powerful incentive for your wife to stop drinking if she is at all concerned about her current health issues. Here's a link to a fairly comprehensive publication put out by  the National Institute of Health:   http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh314/362-376.htm

I did find some research suggesting that alcohol contributes to the early degeneration of spinal cartilage, thus you wife's drinking may be a contributing factor in spinal stenosis.

I have been dealing with neurological symptoms now since 2002. MRIs of my brain show numerous lesions characteristic of demyelinating disease. I sought a second opinion last year and was referred to a neuro-oncologist who was the first to mention loss of brain mass in the cerebellum. I am now in my third month of sobriety and am in the midst of a "flare" that started on December 1, where I feel constantly dizzy, nauseous, light headed and have obscured vision making nearly impossible to drive; other neuro symptoms are present, but these are the most debilitating. When I was actively drinking, my consumption was 1.75 litres of rum every 8 to 10 days. Just when I expected to start to feel better, I have been hit hard and am waiting for an appointment to see a neurologist and find out what is happening and my longer term prognosis. BTW, this is not "wet brain"; my B levels are fine and the MRI images do not support wet brain.

Hopefully you can convince your wife that if she continues to drink, the alcohol will most likely kill her providing her with enough motivation to get into a good rehab program.

[dominosarah]

What is a chronic stage 2 alcoholic?

As for the cognitive impairment..........yes she has damage from the drinking.  It kills our brain cells.  As for the spinal stenosis, am not sure about that one but i do know when we are actively drinking we do not take care of ourselves.  Our eating habits are poor.  As a woman we also have to take care of ourselves with vitamins and such the older we get.  Osteoporosis is a big one for us. Menopause is another factor in this.  With her drinking like she does her body and mind are not getting the proper nutrition.  Has she had a liver panel done?