Drinking and dementia patients [Archive]

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Tybee

3-15-21, 8:17pm

Today my brother told me that when he goes to visit my mom, they drink beer together. He also gives beer to her male friend with dementia. My mom's dementia is more advanced than the friend's, as he still has some short term memory--she has very, very little. does not understand where she is, etc.

This seems wrong to me. Does it seem wrong to anyone else. or am I being judgmental? I would never give a dementia patient a drink, but the facility does. Am I out of step here?

She is also on xoloft.

razz

3-15-21, 8:33pm

I wouldn't worry about the drinking of beer. It may bring back some sense of fun she recognizes if she enjoyed beer before. At some point, her dementia may impair her swallowing ability; then, beer would be a problem.

iris lilies

3-15-21, 9:43pm

This seems like a small bit of pleasure for your mom.

What exactly are your concerns about beer?

Simplemind

3-15-21, 9:51pm

https://www.alzu.org/blog/2015/03/25/what-caregivers-should-know-about-alcohol-use-and-alzheimers-disease/

Teacher Terry

3-15-21, 10:09pm

I would let her have any small pleasures she wants at this point. I don’t see any harm.

Gardnr

3-15-21, 10:42pm

I don't find any support that occasional alcohol has a negative impact on one with dementia. Since she already has dementia it's not like she'll develop Korsakoff which is linked directly to long-term alcoholism.

I say let her enjoy the beer and the company.

rosarugosa

3-16-21, 5:26am

My mom likes an occasional sangria or glass of wine with a meal, and we don't have any concerns about it.

Tybee

3-16-21, 5:58am

Okay, thanks. She was a very heavy drinker in life and went through detox when she was in the hospital before being admitted to rehab.

I thought alcohol destroyed brain cells, that's why it seemed counterintuitive to give her booze again.

I was also concerned with mixing alcohol with xoloft, since she is being medicated for her behaviors.

Tybee

3-16-21, 6:04am

https://www.alzu.org/blog/2015/03/25/what-caregivers-should-know-about-alcohol-use-and-alzheimers-disease/

Thanks Simplemind. She does not have Alzheimers, but maybe the advice is the same for other forms of dementia?

herbgeek

3-16-21, 9:03am

Yppej

3-16-21, 9:49am

Tybee

3-16-21, 9:51am

If she's got a drinking problem, then yes I would be concerned. My mom didn't drink for a number of years due to interactions with medication, but now that she's no longer taking that, she will have an occasional drink served by us kids on family occasions, as part of being social. I haven't seen her help herself (where I would be worried about possible over indulging because she can't remember what she has eaten or drunk), but with family it seems to make her feel she's still part of the family.

I don't know if she would help herself if she saw it around or not. She leaves cans of beverages all over the place, including the couch, and last week we were looking for a pop and I was searching the couch and I pulled out a beer and said "oh, that's a beer" and she said, "I'll take that," and it was 10:30 in the morning, and I said, "not a good time for beer."

At the end, at home, they were not eating at all, just drinking and trying to die.

So yeah, real bad history with alcohol. She definitely improved some in the nursing home when alcohol was not in the picture--stopped hallucinating, for example.

Tybee

3-16-21, 9:55am

This is an interesting question. If your mother in her right mind went through rehab and decided not to drink, would she if she knew what's up not want to drink?

My parents do not drink for religious reasons so if they were in a demented state and someone was giving them alcohol I would not be pleased because it would go against their lifelong values.

Mom did not go through that kind of rehab--physical rehab due to malnutrition and decubitous ulcer with gangrene; they were self-neglecting at home and only drinking, not eating anymore. It was not alcohol rehab, rather where you go out of the hospital before you are well enough to be in the nursing home.

iris lilies

3-16-21, 10:03am

If her alcohol intake is naturally limited by living in a place where she has little to no access to it, I don’t see anything wrong with giving her a beer. Presumably she’s thin and frail so any more than one beer might be enough to make her tipsy and unstable on her feet, leading to falls and broken bones.

There are many issues here, but in my mind a dementia patient having a beer is not a problem. Without meaning to be cavalier, so what if she kills a few brain cells for an occasional pleasurable beer? Isn’t your focus on making her existing life pleasurable rather than preserving the length of her life at all costs?

The complicating factors here are medication interactions and history of alcohol abuse and frequency of the beers.

Tybee

3-16-21, 10:19am

"If her alcohol intake is naturally limited by living in a place where she has little to no access to it, I don’t see anything wrong with giving her a beer. Presumably she’s thin and frail so any more than one beer might be enough to make her tipsy and unstable on her feet, leading to falls and broken bones."

But might not given her advanced dementia, even one beer lead to instability and thus fall and broken bones? I don't understand why you do not see this as a reason NOT to give her alcohol?

"There are many issues here, but in my mind a dementia patient having a beer is not a problem. Without meaning to be cavalier, so what if she kills a few brain cells for an occasional pleasurable beer? Isn’t your focus on making her existing life pleasurable rather than preserving the length of her life at all costs?"

Well, this was the logic that led to their remaining at home to the point of self-neglect. As in, what else was there to live for?

When there are so few brain cells left, is it wise to kill those that remain?

Wouldn't the logical response to your argument here to be to shoot her up with heroin? Much more enjoyable, and it would shorten her life, too.

I am not following what you are saying, I guess.

"The complicating factors here are medication interactions and history of alcohol abuse and frequency of the beers."

For sure. And she can't get to much alcohol, so I guess it will be considered a non-problem by the facility.

My brother is going to be her guardian, so he will be responsible for giving her booze. I am out of the responsibility loop, as I disagree with much of what is happening for her, but am powerless to stop it.

iris lilies

3-16-21, 10:55am

I don’t know your mother’s physical condition and physical habits. I don’t know if one beer leads her to instability and potential fall. If she sits in a chair socializing during beer drinking and afterwards, is it a real risk? Without knowing these specifics and others, it seems to me that a beer now and then is fine.

The “logical response” to shoot her up with heroin is not advised for many reasons and you wont find any physician cosigning that.

My mom had Alzheimer’s and died of it. If she was a drinker sure I would’ve gone to visit her and enjoyed glasses of wine with her. So would my brother. I know for sure we would do this. But my mom was not a drinker of alcohol. The loss of brain cells would not have worried us. perhaos comparable: we stopped her Arracept med a few years into her nursing home stay because what is the point of staving off the inevitable?

Tybee

3-16-21, 11:08am

Thanks for sharing your experience, IL. I am sorry you lost your mom to Alzheimer's. I hear you about stopping Arricept.

I wish there was better pharmacology out there for dementia.

razz

3-16-21, 11:08am

In a case where there is conflict with family members, the wisest step is to consult the chief medical advisor who has seen such scenarios many times over the years. Step back and get an objective opinion that guides all involved and let it go.
I had to consult in such situations and the different family members were going through very emotional stresses dealing with conflict.