Alcohol Poisoning – MRI Results Are Ok, but Speech Loss?

Question by anoop: Alcohol poisoning – MRI results are ok, but speech loss?
About 2 weeks back a close friend of mine slipped into coma. This happened at night and someone found out in the morning and immediately took him to the hospital. My friend was not well for a few days before this happened and was a habitual & heavy drinker. The doctors cited the heavy drinking as the cause of the coma. They also said it was hypoglycemia.
My friend stayed in coma for about 4 days and he is conscious now. The doctors had the oxygen tube removed, but left the food pipes in. Now (for the past week or so) my friend is awake and can barely lift up his head and limbs, does not have any bladder / anal control. His eyes are open and it looks like he tries to talk. But no words come out – only incomprehensible sounds and then he begins to cry. The doctors did a CT Scan and just yesterday did an MRI scan. They also tested all organs – heart, BP, kidneys, liver etc., all results came out to be normal – by the way my friend is about 70 years old. The MRI scan was the last test the doctor had to do, and now that the results were good, the doctors have said that my friend is out of any danger and can be safely discharged from the hospital.
But our biggest problem now is that my friend is not yet alright – he still cannot talk, has no bladder / anal control and cannot care for himself – we are not even sure if his memory is intact. The hospital & doctors are some of the best we know, but they have not provided any clues / ideas to try and we are all terribly worried. We can take him home and care for him – but we cannot sit still without trying to help him get better. So can anybody please help with any experiences, any thing that can help my friend, his wife and me to improve the situation. Will my friend ever be back normal again?
Yes – he was tested for diabetes as well, no problem there. Apart from drinking he had been in good health, never over weight.

What I am hoping to know is if there is any hope for him to get his speech (and possibly his memory) back? I want to try if there is even a very very faint glimmer of hope – anything at all. Surely mankind has come quite some distance in medical sciences, isn’t there some research somewhere, that maybe has some answers or even some ideas?

We will ensure that he can never get a drop of alcohol anywhere.
I understand the effects of alcohol and all that – one of the primary things I do not understand now is the why doesnt the MRI scan show anything – the doctor said that the MRI scan was good and no problems were seen with the brain – earlier the CT Scan also reported similar results.
So if the problem is not big enough to show up in the CT / MRI scans, does that indicate that the problem is smaller by any margin? Or does that make no difference at all? I dont think the doctor would have mis-represented the facts!

Best answer:

Answer by im hotness
stop drinkin

Answer by 3 Tribes, 2 Clans
The scientists say alcohol is worse than cocaine. Those addicted to alcohol can die at 40 and look 70 and will starve to death because of trying to stay high all the time. The booze can not only pickle the brain, but can destroy the liver, stomach, kidneys and every organ you can think of. If he was so bent on finding a drink, some resort to drinking anything that contains alcohol and wood alcohol is common in shaving lotion, hair tonic, and every day bottles of alcohol used for antiseptic use. When this happens, it destroys the stomach, lives and eats brain cells. If a patients ends up in the hospital after drinking the wood stuff, they sometimes infuse regular alcohol to displace the wood. But the damage already done is not reversible.

If your friend is also a diabetic, he could have gone into the coma because he didn’t have enough sugar in his blood and resulted in too much insulin circulating. You can also be hypoglycemic without being a diabetic.

What is left of his brain and organs after being attacked by no food and too much alcohol, I am surprised he is alive. Very few habitual drinkers quit and if they do, it is forced and will return to look for anything to drink, even witch hazel.

Did the doctors suggest rehab? At his age, and his condition, they just might only recommend going home. Getting better is hard to guess and if he did get a lot of attention and care, it might be a very long road before any signs of improvement show up. I volunteered at the VA hospital, many vets end up turning to alcohol to not to remember their tour of duty and it is sad to see them go from one bottle to another without living a real life. I have seen many of my Native American tribesmen end up dying from complications being a diabetic and a heavy drinker.

What you can do is find a person that deals with the elderly and see what is available for your friend in services, the worker at the hospital should be able to direct you to a center or nursing service. Good luck.

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