father has Wernicke Korsakoff
Posted , 3 users are following.
My Dad became very tired in July 2009, sleeping much of the day, August 2009 he started saying random things e.g. where he had just been (been on a day trip to New Zealand), telling us he was going to see people who had been dead for 5 years etc, having hallucinations about who / what was in the room e.g. people animals etc. After failed trips to the GP we forced him into Hospital September 09. To cut a long story short (though if anyone wants to know I am more than happy to share) after many hospital stays and many tests, he was diagnosed with this condition. My dad has not had an alcoholic drink since September (he had been a drinker for 40 years before then) but he seems to get worse on a daily basis. In September he could speak clearly, he was a bit wobbly on his feet and remember things clearly up to the late 80s, anything since then had never happened, he had no short term memory. e.g Could not recall crashing the car, how to operate the car, who had just been to see him etc.
Now in December 2009 after Intravenous B vitamins and now taking them orally, he has to be physically supported when walking, has no memory of anything, short or long term, can not find his way from the lounge to the bathroom, does not recognise wife, son, daughter etc, Also you can not really tell what he is saying. From everything i have read, it would appear once the person stops drinking, that will be your low point and you may not recover but you can re learn things. But i have not seen any anecdotal evidence that the condition, deteriorates. Does anyone else have any experience like ours? Many Thanks
1 like, 3 replies
Sigatoka Guest
Posted
His keyworker suspected that he was probably indicating signs of Wernicke Korsakoff given his physical condition. She said he needed to go the A&E asap and get B-1 vitamins intravenously. A few days ago, we took him to A&E and had Pabrinex iv. The GP has prescribed also has now prescribed Vitamin B1 complex.
I am worried that if he stops drinking - has been a heavy drinker for the past 10 years or so - he may have the same problem as the above guest's father did.
trevorF Sigatoka
Posted
By way of further explanation, over years of drinking, alcohol causes the brain to shrink, with concurrent diminishment in functions across a broad spectrum of symptoms (alcohol related dementia) that present themselves not so unlike Alzheimer's Therefore, although Korsakoff's and "alcohol-related dementia" are often confused, as many of the symptoms are similar, they are in fact very different.
If your son has a physically dependance, suddendly stopping all alcohol intake is likely to be very damanging, and ceasing to drink should be properly controlled by experienced persons.
The physical brain damage which results from lack of Thiaming is a different issue, however, as the brain does not 'heal' itself.
As with any person who has any type of physical brain damage (eg. a bang on the head), the patient can be helped to develop strategies to cope as a 'new' person with different cpbabilities.
I have recently come across a good book which explains Korsakoff's psychosis in fairly simple and useful way - Wernicke Korsakoff by Lundsay Leatherdale.
I embarked on a journey of using CBT to help Jenny to cope with her brain damage - we are still on the journey, although the journey was started 10 years ago!
trevorF Guest
Posted
When she came home, she was very confused, and surffered from confabulation - her self-esteem was very low. Using resources from outside the NHS, I ascertained that she efectively had two illnesses - the alcoholism and also the physical brain damage caused by the lack of Thiamine (Vitimin B1) in the brain
I have continued to help Jenny to cope with the alcohol - she is no longer physically dependent but still has psychological dependency (ie. it is 'normal' to drink alcohol at celebrations, etc - and self esteem will not 'allow' her to feel that she is not normal!).
For the physical brain damage, I ensured that Jenny had some Cognitive Rehabilitation Training (CBT). CBT was not available from within the NHS, so I personally found a source from outside the NHS and, using the "Crosson's modified model of Awareness (Malia 1997)", I have helped Jenny to develop many strategies and processes which enable her to lead as normal a life as possible, notwithstanding her severe short-term memory and cognitive issues.
Similarr to many patients who have Korsakoff's, when reacting with other people Jenny often sounds completely normal, and function with a very good level of intelligence - but she cannot form new memories and are caught in the repetitive hell that is severe short-term memory loss, and have cognitive and planning issues (functions which rely on remembering ‘where you are’ in the process).
She also still has episodes when she confabulates!
One useful book that I have come across is Wernicke Korsakoff by Lyndsay Leatherdale - which explains the condition & issues in nice 'simple' terms