Memory Failing? Check the Alcohol Consumption…

There is a condition that can look like dementia called Korsakoff Syndrome. It affects memory.

It is mostly the result of vitamin B1 deficiency and that is typically associated with high levels of alcohol consumption over the course of many years.

For men, the level of consumption is about 35 standard alcoholic beverages weekly for some 18 to 22 years.

For women, the number is about 20 to 25 standard alcoholic beverages weekly for some 14 to 16 years.

(Think 26er to 40 ounces of hard liquor; 24 to 36 beer; 4 to 6 750ml bottles of wine.)

Please note, there is variability to those standards depending on any number of biological factors.

The person with this disorder is left with holes in their memory that they don’t realize.

It’s kind of like cutting the middle six inches out of a two foot rope.

The middle six inches dissappears and the two remaining pieces are fit back together as if nothing has happened, but the memory is lost.

With the piece missing, the person is left to make sense of their experiences and does so by reconstructing their reality in a way that may make sense to themselves, but certain to no other.

The person with this disorder just doesn’t recognize it. That phenomenon is called anosognosia. There is no explaining it or helping them recognize their deficits.

Treatment requires the person to stop alcohol consumption and usually includes taking vitamin B1 as prescribed by the doctor.

This is preventable.

Ask your doctor about safer consumption levels and treatment with vitamin B1.

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Gary Direnfeld is a social worker. Courts in Ontario, Canada, consider him an expert in social work, marital and family therapy, child development, parent-child relations and custody and access matters. Gary is the host of the TV reality show, Newlywed, Nearly Dead, former parenting columnist for the Hamilton Spectator and author of Marriage Rescue: Overcoming the ten deadly sins in failing relationships. Gary maintains a private practice in Georgina Ontario, providing a range of services for people in distress. He speaks at conferences and workshops throughout North America. He consults to mental health professionals as well as to mediators and collaborative law professionals about good practice as well as building their practice.