Thank you, Nora and Kathleen, for your responses. I appreciate your
compassion and understanding.

Nora, Dad was seen by a neurologist, and they did an MRI. I was not
there. I believe his condition was so far along that there wasn't
much to be done at that point.

There definitely isn't anything to be done now. Dad is 77 years old,
and we have watched him go quickly down over the past year or two.
His condition became very apparent 7-8 years ago, when they simply
said he had suffered mini-strokes. They have continued to say that
he will have mini-strokes (which he has) that are not preventable,
and that his condition will deteriorate, which it has. Ultimately,
the doctors say, he probably will have a stroke and die. All they
could do, they said, was put him on medication that would reduce the
stroke incidents, but couldn't stop them.

While, of course, he hasn't been diagnosed with WKS, I will always
believe that his alcoholism at least contributed to his condition,
and in my mind, was THE major factor in it.

My heart goes out to those who have this syndrome and to those whose
loved ones do. It's a difficult thing.

Thanks again.

Laura

--- In wernicke_korsakoff_syndrome@y..., Nora <dulcineasmom@y...>
wrote:
> Laura:
>
> My heart, too, goes out to you.
>
> Has your dad been seen by a neurologist? Did they do
> an MRI on him? Is there a way you could be present
> and have some input with his doctor? And are you from
> a large or small town?
>
> Although it might be WKS, it still might not be.
> Whether it is or not, there's probably not much that
> can be done this late in the game. It is my
> understanding that, if it IS WKS, it must be caught
> early for any treatment to be effective. And I really
> don't know what the prognosis is when caught this
> late. I believe that basically by now the major
> damage is done, so it will just be aging compounding
> the problem at this point.
>
> I have Wernicke's Encephalopathy but not the Korsikoff
> part. A couple of others and myself on this list are
> sufferers, but most are relatives or friends of
> sufferers. Sorry I don't have any wonderful answers
> for you. I know it is hard for you...it is for all of
> us. I, myself, was not diagnosed till almost 1 1/2
> years after it began...too late for any effective
> treatment also. I do understand your frustration.
> Please let us know what you find out.
>
> Nora
>
>
>
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