Medical issue

[Forest Beekeeper]

I have had two incidents where I have passed out. Both times my body flopped around a lot and I injured myself. These incidents were about a year apart.

My doctor has run every test he can think of. EKG, Echo-Cardiogram, MRI, Stress test, they had me wearing a heart monitor for a month, EEG, etc. He insists it is something in my heart, maybe a heart electrical issue. But, they can not find anything wrong.

I was sent to a Neurologist. This guy asked me a bunch of questions and he freaked out when I told him about my drinking.

I normally drink a glass of wine every evening with supper, and two drinks as I watch the TV on my way to bed. I dont drink fast, generally, my drinks are spread out an hour apart, from each other. I figure that with my body weight, this keeps my BAC [Blood Alcohol level] below 0.06, so I am never too drunk to be able to drive a vehicle.

I drink three drinks a night. He asked me for how long I have been doing this, I said about 20 years.

The neurologist insists that I am an alcoholic. Now I understand that ALL alcoholics refuse to accept that they are addicted. So he spent 45 minutes trying to convince me that I am an alcoholic. But I just do not see how I could possibly be an alcoholic.

He says that nobody can drink over 3 drinks a week without becoming an alcoholic.

But that I need to stop drinking, and I may need help to address my withdrawl symptoms.

So I stopped drinking alcohol for three weeks, and I have not experienced any negative effects.
No shakes, no headache, no cravings.

Is this neurologist an idiot?

Or am I really an alcoholic?

[LWTCS]

Not a doctor but I'd say there are varying degrees on the spectrum and that everyone is different.

I personally would recommend seeing a forward thinking physician and get your blood work done 2 -3 times a year.

If your physician is a big fat guy (no offense to fat people) find a new physician.

[NZChris]

He either doesn't know what the definition of an alcoholic is, or he is using the term as a scare tactic, hoping that you don't know what it is.

[Deplorable]

Well, I'm not a doctor, and I didn't sleep at a holiday in last night, but I'd say that if you were able to put down the sauce for 3 weeks with no cravings or withdrawals, no, I would not think of you as an alcoholic.

[Forest Beekeeper]

This neurologist said that there are many websites that offer self-surveys where you can test yourself about alcoholism. I went through five of them, Each had a quiz, and each quiz came back to say that I am NOT an alcoholic.

I am perfectly capable of limiting my drinking to only 3 drinks a week, but, then I thought should I have a drink on Monday night, Wednesday night, and Friday night?

I have been retired on pension for 20 years, I no longer go to work. So weekend drinking is not a thing.

Since I retired [2001] I have had my blood work done at least annualy. My liver function is fine, Once maybe ten years ago there was one wild point. My Billyrubin was too high. But it came back down on its own. In my mind my liver is fine.

[Forest Beekeeper]

Thank you every one

[sadie33]

as far as your passing out episodes, something similar happened to me when I was 16. It was so random, I had NO problems until my first seizer. they did all these tests and couldn't find out why I was having grand mal seizers. same as you with the EEG, EKG, heart monitor, stress tests etc. It wasn't until they did a SLEEP DEPRIVED EEG ( I couldn't sleep for 24 hours)that they discovered something.

Not sure if you want to check that out.

[Forest Beekeeper]

as far as your passing out episodes, something similar happened to me when I was 16. It was so random, I had NO problems until my first seizer. they did all these tests and couldn't find out why I was having grand mal seizers. same as you with the EEG, EKG, heart monitor, stress tests etc. It wasn't until they did a SLEEP DEPRIVED EEG ( I couldn't sleep for 24 hours)that they discovered something.

Not sure if you want to check that out.

That was one of the tests performed on me.

And it did not diagnose anything for me.

[Dancing4dan]

I have had two incidents where I have passed out. Both times my body flopped around a lot and I injured myself. These incidents were about a year apart.

Is this neurologist an idiot?

Or am I really an alcoholic?

You are having seizures.

The neurologist isn't an idiot. His problem is he never met a patient who told the truth about how much they drink.

That Doctor on the other hand... might be.

Seizures can occur without any result showing up on any test. The diagnosis is often made based upon the history of the event. What you were doing at the time of the seizure is a key to what is causing the issue. Know a guy who faints and has a seizure every time he sees blood, even his own. Weirdest thing.

Have treated hundreds of heart attacks and heart problems. Never saw one flop around and injure himself, ever, in over 40 years.

[Forest Beekeeper]

I have had two incidents where I have passed out. Both times my body flopped around a lot and I injured myself. These incidents were about a year apart.

Is this neurologist an idiot?

Or am I really an alcoholic?

You are having seizures.

The neurologist isn't an idiot. His problem is he never met a patient who told the truth about how much they drink.

That Doctor on the other hand... might be.

Seizures can occur without any result showing up on any test. The diagnosis is often made based upon the history of the event. What you were doing at the time of the seizure is a key to what is causing the issue. Know a guy who faints and has a seizure every time he sees blood, even his own. Weirdest thing.

Have treated hundreds of heart attacks and heart problems. Never saw one flop around and injure himself, ever, in over 40 years.

I did learn something from the MRI, sometime in the past I appear to have had a stroke.

I have known and worked alongside many alcoholics in the past. I just dont see their behavior in me, and I understand that all alcoholics are defensive about the topic.

I have liver function tests done every year. I limit my consumption so that I am never 'drunk'.

But this neurologist insists that any more than three drinks a week makes a person an alcoholic.



The medical network I go to, frequently cycles through their doctors. I rarely have an assigned PCP for any longer than one year. Every year for my annual checkup I normally see a different doctor. It would appear that their hiring contracts are for only one year periods.

Just when I find a doctor that I like, I am fairly confident that I will never see that same doctor a second time.

This neurologist has an Arabian name, I assume he is Islamic. I had assumed that if his upbringing is Islamic, he might be strongly opposed to alcohol consumption, and that might be flavoring his medical training.

[Dancing4dan]

"Alcoholic" has a definition in each of the plethora of medical dictionaries to be sure. I'm sure we all reach that threshold. Different cultures and religious persuasions as well. He is just advocating for your best interest as it come to him.

History of a stroke can certainly cause a problem with seizures.

[Forest Beekeeper]

I really like distilling. Most of what I make I end up watering it down / flavoring and giving it away to friends.

When I got this still, I had a cover story that this setup is designed for extracting essence oils. But I only ever did that once, and I was not happy with the results.

I guess now that will be what happens with my hobby.

[contrahead]

Is this neurologist an idiot?

Or am I really an alcoholic?

I witnessed a grand mal seizure once. Scary business. Look up “silent brain infarcation”; which may be totally unrelated here – but interesting nonetheless.

Of course I am no doctor. You can ignore anything I say and toss it out of a window. However it is my opinion that the bar or level for the “clinical definition” of alcoholism – seems to be set unreasonably low. By strict clinical standards - consuming just one drink a day, (but every day) – would easily classify you as being an alcoholic. It seems silly.

The main problem with alcohol consumption is that many people find it too addictive to use in moderation. If a person consumes ethanol faster than the liver can break it down, then the excess in the bloodstream reaches the brain; where the normal signaling from the brain is changed. Long term consumption of this central nervous system depressant can potentially - lead to brain or liver damage, even to mouth and throat cancer.

* [[Small amounts of alcohol do not act as a carcinogen; but large amounts do greatly increase the risk of developing cancer. Specifically cancers involving the upper digestive tract, including the esophagus, the mouth, the pharynx, and the larynx. Almost 50% of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, and larynx are associated with heavy drinking ]]. But we are talking about someone who drinks like a fish here, not about moderate consumption.

We all perceive that it might be best for our health, to avoid alcohol altogether. But what you don't hear or read very often, are the little ways that lite consumption of alcohol on an intermittent basis, might occasionally be beneficial.

–- Some doctors have gone so far as to recommend a glass of red wine, every day.
-- It has been established that moderate alcohol consumption can reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, and potentially help reduce the development of gallstones and kidney stones. Alcohol can reduce the chance of coagulation and clot obstruction in a blood vessel (thrombosis).
-- Alcohol might help reduce the production of a protein (fibrinogen) produced in the liver that causes blood clotting. Modest alcohol consumption might help increase the production of high-density lipoprotein (HDL); a “good cholesterol” that lowers the risk of heart disease.
–- Moderate alcohol consumption might help increase insulin sensitivity and lower the risk of diabetes. (It is insulin resistance that is bad).
–- Modest alcohol consumption can even be linked to the discouragement or reduction of “silent brain infarcts (SBIs)”.

[NormandieStill]

Contrahead, the "modest alcohol consumption"studies have tended to looked at congeners in the drink while ignoring the alcohol itself. The red wine recommendation was based on antioxidants but it has since been shown that the associated alcohol has more negative effects than the positive you gain from the antioxidants. I don't think there's any justifying drinking on medical grounds. It's a poison we can choose to consume because we like the side effects but it's no spa treatment!

Regarding alcoholism I would say 3 drinks a week is a little far from the threshold, but very regular, consistent consumption would be a cause for concern. It's up to your doctor(s) to decide if there's a clinical concern due to the level of consumption. You've shown that you can stop without physiological effects but how much were you looking forward to that first drink? Could you have gone another day because you forgot that you were finished with your experiment or would that have been somewhat upsetting or disappointing? I'm not saying that you are an alcoholic, but that the suspicion is not unwarranted. I've known high functioning alcoholics a nd the classic image of the permanent drunk is not the model.

Taking a break from time to time to make sure that you still can is a good idea.

I can't speak to your medical issues though. Did the neurologist see the results showing the possible stroke. The literature suggests that strokes can cause epilepsy.

[Dradas]

I have had two incidents where I have passed out. Both times my body flopped around a lot and I injured myself. These incidents were about a year apart.

My doctor has run every test he can think of. EKG, Echo-Cardiogram, MRI, Stress test, they had me wearing a heart monitor for a month, EEG, etc. He insists it is something in my heart, maybe a heart electrical issue. But, they can not find anything wrong.

I was sent to a Neurologist. This guy asked me a bunch of questions and he freaked out when I told him about my drinking.

I normally drink a glass of wine every evening with supper, and two drinks as I watch the TV on my way to bed. I dont drink fast, generally, my drinks are spread out an hour apart, from each other. I figure that with my body weight, this keeps my BAC [Blood Alcohol level] below 0.06, so I am never too drunk to be able to drive a vehicle.

I drink three drinks a night. He asked me for how long I have been doing this, I said about 20 years.

The neurologist insists that I am an alcoholic. Now I understand that ALL alcoholics refuse to accept that they are addicted. So he spent 45 minutes trying to convince me that I am an alcoholic. But I just do not see how I could possibly be an alcoholic.

He says that nobody can drink over 3 drinks a week without becoming an alcoholic.

But that I need to stop drinking, and I may need help to address my withdrawl symptoms.

So I stopped drinking alcohol for three weeks, and I have not experienced any negative effects.
No shakes, no headache, no cravings.

Is this neurologist an idiot?

Or am I really an alcoholic?

I think you should get a second opinion from another doctor, because passing out can have many causes, and it may not be related to your heart or your drinking. However, I also think you should reconsider your alcohol consumption, because it sounds like you are drinking more than the recommended limit. According to the Mayo Clinic, alcohol use disorder is diagnosed based on certain symptoms and behaviors, not just the amount or frequency of drinking. You may not have withdrawal symptoms, but you may still have a problem with alcohol if it affects your health, your relationships, or your ability to function. Drinking three drinks a night for 20 years can damage your liver, your brain, and your heart. It can also increase your risk of cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. You may not feel like an alcoholic, but you may be harming yourself without realizing it. I suggest you talk to your doctor or a counselor about your drinking, and try to cut back or quit for your own sake

[Forest Beekeeper]

... According to the Mayo Clinic, alcohol use disorder is diagnosed based on certain symptoms and behaviors, not just the amount or frequency of drinking.

I have found a bunch of self tests online. Has drinking affected your job? Your family? Have you had a DUI?

None of them ask about how frequently you drink, nor what quantity you drink.

It has had no effect on my job, or family. I have not had a DUI. [I do not drink enough, fast enough to have a BAC that would result in a DUI.

... Drinking three drinks a night for 20 years can damage your liver, your brain, and your heart. It can also increase your risk of cancer, diabetes, and other diseases.

I am not diabetic. They have done every test on my liver, brain and heart that exists, I am healthy.

... You may not feel like an alcoholic, but you may be harming yourself without realizing it. I suggest you talk to your doctor or a counselor about your drinking, and try to cut back or quit for your own sake

I have been 'sober' for 14 weeks.