You know if you are having memory lapses of that magnitude that you most
probably already have brain damage. As for how long or much one has to
drink, I can only relate my roommates experience. He developed WKS after
only about two years of heavy drinking.

By "heavy", I mean he drank frequently until he passed out. He was consuming
nearly a liter a day of 80 proof alcohol. He appeared to be eating fairly
normally during this time, but his body was unable to metabolize the
thiamine in his food.

He had no warning symptoms of permanent damage. One night (Jan. 31, 2002, to
be exact) he developed an uncontrollable tremble in his hands and he knew
something was wrong with his body. By the next day, he couldn't walk without
assistance. Within three days (when I finally made him go to a doctor) he
couldn't speak clearly, he couldn't stand on his own. He couldn't even go to
the bathroom without help. There's more, but you get the idea.

No, it doesn't take 20 years of living inside a bottle to have it ruin your
life. Of course, all people are a little different, and what happened to him
doesn't seem to have happened (to any great extent) to his brother, who
often drank drink for drink with him. But the brother never passed out like
my roommate, so again, everybody's different.

Larry

----- Original Message -----
From: "ClubKid_1998" <melodymaker_98@...>
To: <wernicke_korsakoff_syndrome@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2003 11:21 PM
Subject: [wernicke_korsakoff_syndrome] I might forget writing this, so
please respond!


> I am a one-year recovering alcoholic who heavily abused vodka and
> beer (and whatever I could get my hands on) for a period of about 11
> or 12 years. I also suffer from depression, from time to time, and
> have had a miserable diet ever since I was 22 and began living "on my
> own." I am now 32. Working on the diet... ;-)
>
> I find myself sometimes forgetting several-hour-long periods of time,
> conversations with my girlfriend or others, or even entire half-day
> periods during times of great stress. I am not at a loss of
> physical/muscular control of any sort, but my memory has become so
> insubordinate with my consciousness during these "episodes." I am
> scared and wondering what the hell could be wrong with me.
>
> Sometimes I will still go for days without appetite of any kind (as I
> did when drinking), sleeping only a few hours a day when my body just
> shuts down (again, as it was when I was drinking), and I will have a
> heart-rate of 120-140 beats per minute for no apparent reason (like
> when I was drinking and coming off a binge).
>
> Then, a day or so into it/an episode, I am fine, "normal as ever,"
> and fully functioning and able to recall minutiae from my childhood
> that even my older siblings and parents have long forgotten. It's
> befuddling and scary. I'm scared that this is permanent brain
> damage, but also (and not to judge), it is not as if I lived inside a
> bottle of booze for 20, 30, or 40 years as so many alcoholics do
> before they either recover, start recovering, or die.
>
> Any ideas, anyone? Please mail me. Thank you.
>