At risk of bumming everyone out, Im posting this as it might save someone's life. Last week I witnessed a friend having severe case of delirium tremens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens when he took a day off drinking. He had a full on freak out that ended with a seizure, hitting his head and ****ting his pants and he is still in the hospital 6 days later. You probably dont drink as much as he did but there are likely people here who drink enough to be at risk. (This guy was primarily a beer drinker) At least read the summary paragraph and take note of the symptoms so you can recognize it and take the appropriate actions (up to 40% mortality without medical intervention!)
Delirium Tremens is a thing
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thehaze
Well-Known Member
That was very unfortunate.
Delirium Tremens only occurs for people who are alcoholics, which means they have a condition, they are ill and are in desperate need of help, and not only through medication. These people need to be helped before they experience seisures, and not after. But as a man who lived with an alcoholic father, this is a very difficult thing to achieve.
Delirium Tremens only occurs for people who are alcoholics, which means they have a condition, they are ill and are in desperate need of help, and not only through medication. These people need to be helped before they experience seisures, and not after. But as a man who lived with an alcoholic father, this is a very difficult thing to achieve.
catdaddy66
Well-Known Member
As a physical therapist I once treated a guy that was in the midst of a DT meltdown. He was shaking, agitated and ornery. He loved to disparage me and the rest of the staff as I worked with him. Very sad but occasionally he did make me laugh.
The wife is an ICU nurse, and her particular ICU is the dumping ground for her hospital. She's constantly dealing with folks going through DT's because they have nowhere else to put them. Says they are usually the absolute worst patients - which given what I know about her job; that's saying quite a bit.
DT is a symptom of alcohol dependence (as in the body "needs" it) which is a more advanced stage of alcoholism. Someone with dependence should have medically supervised detox as a means of withdrawal from alcohol. So to sum it up, one can be alcoholic without having DT, and having DT from not drinking means one is alcohol dependent and has likely been alcoholic for quite some time. Be well.
I too have worked in a medical facility (34 years now!) and generally those with DTs are admitted for a while for acute care, and them shipped off to rehab after that passes. Most don't make rehab, and come back either with DTs again, or dead to the ED.
Alcoholism is a killer. It ruins families, and the lives of everyone it touches. It's a terrible thing, and if anybody is worried they have a problem they should get help immediately.
We all love to brew and enjoy the products of our labor but we need to respect the idea of moderation, and the powerful draw of our products for those who may be struggling with alcoholism.
Absolutely true on all accounts - hopefully my post wasn't taken as making light of the situation at all. It's a horrible disease; and one that's incredibly difficult to treat effectively.
The guy definitely has problems but he was never an ******* drunk - never been in fights, no dui's, never punched out Alex P Keaton, able to hold down a job etc. Everyone of his friends has been pulled aside by the ICU staff and asked "so what is he on?...yeah, we know he is an alcoholic, but what else does he do?" He doesn't and until recently only drank beer...just an unholy amount of beer.
He was one of the guys who got me into homebrewing. I play golf with him semi-regularily but I hadn't been to his apt for the last 10 years. A couple years ago we were there watching a fight and I saw that he was drinking straight from the fermenter with an auto siphon. He was fermenting Cooper's extract kits and adding double the sugar and not cleaning his carboys, just topping them up again. I had a taste - it was crazy hot and phenolic and completely undrinkable (if it was submitted for competition, a courtesy score of 13 would be extremely generous). I called his older brother and let him know that things weren't right as anyone who could drink that had problem. I don't know what came of that but he seemed to be better. When golfing, he would carry a back pack in addition to his clubs filled with a 15-pack of 6% ABV cheap lager, but lately its been a respectable single tall can of guinness per side. We had all commented on how he seemed to have his drinking under control but it turns out he was just getting better at faking "casual drinking" and had been spiking his session beer with vodka.
I don't know where it goes from here but this has to be a wake up call.
He was one of the guys who got me into homebrewing. I play golf with him semi-regularily but I hadn't been to his apt for the last 10 years. A couple years ago we were there watching a fight and I saw that he was drinking straight from the fermenter with an auto siphon. He was fermenting Cooper's extract kits and adding double the sugar and not cleaning his carboys, just topping them up again. I had a taste - it was crazy hot and phenolic and completely undrinkable (if it was submitted for competition, a courtesy score of 13 would be extremely generous). I called his older brother and let him know that things weren't right as anyone who could drink that had problem. I don't know what came of that but he seemed to be better. When golfing, he would carry a back pack in addition to his clubs filled with a 15-pack of 6% ABV cheap lager, but lately its been a respectable single tall can of guinness per side. We had all commented on how he seemed to have his drinking under control but it turns out he was just getting better at faking "casual drinking" and had been spiking his session beer with vodka.
I don't know where it goes from here but this has to be a wake up call.
My father was/is an alcoholic. He now resides in a nursing home. I do love my mother but she ignored the signs that he had preliminary Alzheimers for too long, attributing it to his drinking. Lots of drama there. His doctor thinks that his drinking accelerated the Alzheimers/dementia. But like most people with an addiction issue, he did what he could to hide it as well. I can see the same tendencies in myself and work hard to keep it in check. I don't like to get drunk or be out of control...but I love beer. I find myself moving more towards lower ABV beers to have on tap, and working on recipes that keep the flavor but lower the alcohol. Dad was lucky and never had a DUI, and never had I...there but for the grace of the gods go I.
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