Sqad. I Have Wanted To Ask You This Question Since I Joined Ab.

[Jeza]

I read conns question in Chat and decided I'd ask now.

My sister was both an alcoholic and a drunk. I thought alcoholics drank slowly to get through the day. My sister drank as soon as she woke up until she passed out, then started again as soon as she woke up.
My Q is when she died it was not alcohol poisoning or liver failure. The Doc said her brain had shut down. Can you explain this to me please. She was in hospital for 2 days before she died. I was not in this country at the time so couldn't ask. She was 40 years old. I think you will say something similar to her brain needed alcohol but as she was jobless she often had to go without. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

[Sqad]

Good morning Jeza,
I must point out that alcoholism in any form is outside my expertise and the “brain shutting down” as a cause of death, is open to wide interpretation but will do my best.
The most common causes of death in alcoholism are suicides,road traffic accidents, heart attacks, strokes, cancer and last of all cirrhosis........NOT cirrhosis.
The effect of alcohol on the brain is based on pharmacological principles and the upset of chemicals that transmit impulses (messages) from nerve cell to nerve cell(neurotransmitters.) I don’t think it would serve any purpose to you in taking this any further as it can be a pharmacological nightmare.
I presume that a post mortem was performed on your sister and that would identify the definitive cause of death. However in the absence of a post mortem, I would have thought that your sister may have had a massive stroke or heart attack.
Jeza, please understand that these are assumptions on my part based on the information available to me.

\\The Doc said her brain had shut down. Can you explain this to me please\\

No I can't Jeza...........only the scant observations that I have made above.

[slaney]

When the alcohol levels in the blood rise above a certain level, parts of the brain which control essential functions such as breathing temperature and heart rate begin to shut down.
It's possible the doctor might have been trying to describe such a process.

[ronnietoon]

there is a condition known as "wet brain" brought on by alcoholism it is like dementia,i have witnessed it. i think the doctors conclusion is vague as to give an actual outcome. alcoholic seizures, heart attacks and strokes could as before mentioned be a cause for the brain shutdown which again i think is vague,how long ago was the sad event?

[Sqad]

ronnietoon.......that is a good point....it is called "Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome"
and patients may slip into coma and die.

[Jeza]

Thank you for the explanations. I will say I'm not a lot wiser.

Ronnie it was about 15 years ago.

[ronnietoon]

jeza im a recovering alcoholic and can say in my opinion your sister went through unforced acute alcohol withdrawal. (i may be wrong).

in your post you mention she did not drink whilst short of funds,
i could go on and on, in american states(not all) since the early '90s it is law to provide a patient 72 hours of librium mixed with diazepam to avoid life threatening seizures most people dont do this as it effects their health
insurance.

that may be a cause of her death with it being 15 years or so since her death i advise your local MP's involvement,who can and will successfully get an outcome(allow time)

[Jeza]

Ronnie, I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to my thread.

Without wishing to sound callous I was more curious than anything. There were no depths she wouldn't sink to for money and I do mean no depths.

Thanks anyway for sharing your own experience.