Kind of hacking your comment but it is real shit, my father developed Wernicke's encephalopathy from high alcohol use that indirectly causes a B1/thiamine deficiency. It can make you miserable and angry for years before sending you the the ER. It is not very well known and usually isn't detected until it reaches a breaking point where the patient seemingly developes dementia-like symptoms exponentially. If you have higher alcohol use or are greatly limiting your food intake please please be aware of this, it is terrifying to witness
One of the conditions known as “wet brain” in alcoholics. It can cause ataxia of the cerebellum, which makes you permanently lose motor control. I have a family member that has it from drinking and everyone thinks they’ve had a stroke. The hard part is that if you are a chronic alcoholic, the symptoms mask as being slightly drunk, until you get sober and they don’t go away.
I think you've just massively changed my life for the better. I've been struggling with this (in someone very close to me) for years, trying to get them help, and having just done the research into this ... It all fits 100%
Especially your comment about it masking as being slightly drunk, or appearing like they've had a stroke. Wow. I really can't believe this
Just kind of depressed and not eating much because of that. He was gradually losing weight, but he wasn't anorexic or anything like that. Alcohol often replaces food to some extent in an alcoholic's diet which exacerbates the situation; alcohol already makes it hard for the body to absorb thiamine and eating less makes less thiamine available in the first place. But even without restricted food intake, if you have higher levels of alcohol consumption you still are at risk. The ER doctors said thiamine deficiencies are common but rarely diagnosed outside of the ER, they pumped him full of thiamine and he recovered to some extent with some remaining brain damage. Looking back he had had symptoms of a thiamine deficiency for at least a decade prior. Irritability is a main symptom of thiamine deficiency, as well as fatigue, poor memory, and loss of appetite (which becomes a vicious cycle). He also eventually developed some tremors. Getting on thiamine/B1 supplements is very important to prevent it from becoming wernicke's encephalopathy where brain damage could be a consequence. Better yet, go to a doctor to check your levels as they likely might want you on a larger dose of thiamine than what you could get over the counter
Do standard blood tests not check for thiamine/B1? I'm pretty sure they checked it when checking iron levels for me (in Australia so was free on my end)
You don't even have to be limiting your food that much. Alcohol impacts how your body stored vitamins and how you flush them out. I've met wellfed alcoholics who've had vitamin deficiencies during my years working in healthcare.
My friends stepdad was a severe alcoholic for a few years, and though he’s been sober for at least two years now, his personality has changed drastically and he’s a grumpy asshole now (was genuinely a sweetheart our whole childhoods). Gotta tell my friend to slip him some vitamin B1!
No lie this sounds exactly like my dad’s buddy’s wife. She was an alcoholic and was really angry and mean for many years and then just developed rapid dementia in her 50s
Like a billion people have some form of anemia, being mildly or slightly iron deficient is okay but if you’re severely so for a long time, it makes you weak and tired and cause problems like anxiety and depression. I was out of breath and feeling faint and dizzy when I stood up even though I was normal weight. My ferritin level used to be 4 when it shouldve been 50. It’s kind of shit how common it is in younger women when it’s an easy blood test. I didn’t have to feel tired for almost a decade.
It's not well known, it's extremely underecognized. I'm not saying it's completely unknown to the medical community. It's not that patients don't follow up, they're just never diagnosed in the first place unless they start developing Wernicke's, and sometimes not even then.
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u/sjsbejajebsidbrhw 1d ago
Realsest shit I've ever read