The body needs adequate levels of thiamine, a water-soluble vitamin, for heart and nervous system function. Thiamine also helps the body maintain the right levels of glucose in the bloodstream. Chronic alcohol misuse can have many serious health consequences, including what is commonly known as “wet brain.” When you drink excessively, it affects your body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

The usual suspects: Common causes of brain mush

If you are suffering from alcohol abuse, it’s important to take the necessary action in order to prevent wet brain symptoms from developing in your life. As we mentioned earlier, the symptoms of the final stages of wet brain are less likely to be treatable and can even be fatal. So, the best thing you can do is to prevent alcoholism from leading to WKS in your life. The good news—if caught early enough—is that wet brain syndrome is a preventable, treatable disease if you stop drinking and seek help. Intense thiamine replacement therapy and abstinence from alcohol can result in a noticeable improvement in both mental and physical functioning within weeks.

Understanding the Importance of Thiamine

Often, when a person doesn’t receive treatment for wet brain, Wernicke’s disease can develop into Korsakoff’s psychosis. Wet brain can cause permanent memory loss and impacted cognitive function that can lead to permanent disability. Lack of thiamine can occur due to long-term, heavy use of alcohol, dietary deficiencies, eating disorders, and chemotherapy. In addition to receiving a vitamin B1 injection and stopping your consumption of alcohol, it is important https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to focus on eating a well-balanced diet. A healthy diet that includes vitamin B1 will reduce your chances of the wet brain occurring again in the future. First, neurological symptoms, such as vision problems and problems with muscle coordination, usually present themselves.

• Learning and memory exercises can help, and a therapist can give you new ways to handle the tasks you have trouble with.
• Individuals who chronically abuse alcohol are at a higher risk of developing wet brain.
• Wet brain, formally known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, is a type of brain damage that can occur after extended and repeated exposure to heavy drinking.

Renewal Center for Ongoing Recovery

What can treatment for alcohol abuse and addiction do to stave off Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome? The earlier someone seeks help for their drinking, the quicker they can resume a normal life. They’ll also have a greater likelihood of avoiding serious medical and psychological complications mush brain from alcoholism. This includes helping to prevent the development of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

People who don’t eat enough, are on extreme and dangerous diets, and/or have eating disorders like anorexia can also become thiamine deficient and develop wet Sober living house brain. While thiamine deficiency can happen to people with poor diets, it is more common in those who drink heavily over the course of many years. Alcohol not only prevents the body from getting enough thiamine from a person’s diet, but alcohol use also depletes the body’s thiamine stores, which are held in the liver. The best way to avoid wet brain syndrome is to prevent it altogether by treating alcoholism before it reaches this point. What about heavy drinkers and those concerned about the physical and mental issues they’re beginning to experience from alcohol consumption?

• People who are struggling to end substance use and dependence and cope with the symptoms of mental health disorders in their lives can get the help they need through a dual diagnosis program.
• If a person is in the end stages of alcoholism, the life expectancy of a person with wet brain can be as little as six months.
• Mostly, these neurological symptoms are related to memory problems, confusion, and loss of muscle coordination.
• This gives them the appearance of lying when it is actually related to their brain damage.

In a crisis, most of us can readily identify anxiety as the culprit behind our poor mental functioning. In these situations, we can usually forgive ourselves for our temporary brain-lock and move on. This possibility didn’t occur to me since I didn’t know that migraines can mimic serious neurological symptoms. Ben’s migraines were indeed from hell, but this diagnosis was a huge relief. This disease affects your central nervous system and can change the way your brain “talks” to the rest of your body.