brain damage from alcohol poisoning

[Scott41]

I am wondering about brain damage resulting from isolated heavy drinking nights.  I have read that if you drink a ridiculous amount and narrowly escape death you may have irreversibly damaged your brain.  I can't find anywhere on the internet information about this that could help me figure out whether I have brain damage from alcohol.  The other night I drank a fifth of 70 proof liquor in no more than 4 hours, though I can't be certain about how long it took me because I don't remember anything after I had taken the water level in the bottle down about 4 inches.  I weigh 165 pounds.  I blacked out quickly and the next thing I knew I was in my bed the next day with a little bit of vomit on my pillow and sheets.  I was conscious enough to navigate my driver to my home, which was after I finished off the bottle, and I threw up in the car on the way home.  And people said that had a good time with me that night so I don't think I was lying down in the corner unconscious.  I have a weak stomach and I have always considered that my safety net from alcohol poisoning.  I always thought that I would start throwing up long before alcohol poisoning could even become an issue, since throwing up would make me stop drinking that night.  But in my reading, I have learned that drinking hard liquor really quickly can actually dangerously slow down your gag reflexes so you aren't guaranteed to throw up efficiently.  I have never been one to drink very often.... I have never had addiction... but sometimes, with the right type of liquor, I just end up drinking it too fast, maybe because I don't give my body enough time to absorb it before drinking more, and my decision making process is a little messed up when I'm drinking liquor, to say the least.  The night I just described is an example of one of only a handful of major blackout nights I have had in my life.  I'm 23 years old.  In fact, the night I just described might even be the closest I have ever come to alcohol poisoning, based on how much I drank and how fast.  My hangover wasn't terrible since I slept through much of the next day.  I didn't throw up at all after I woke up.  I usually throw up when I'm hungover.  My concern is not alcoholism, or the sort of brain damage that results from a long drinking history.... my concern is with the type of brain damage that can occur when you drink too much just one time.  I have read that when you have a high enough BAL you don't take enough breaths and starve your brain of oxygen.... I don't know if I have done that.  I have always seemed to recover fine from my black out nights... certainly no symptoms of any "brain damage."  But then again, what would be symptoms of brain damage?  All I can find on the internet about this matter is:  "alcohol poisoning can cause irreversible brain damage."  Nothing more.  How exactly does lack of oxygen damage the brain?  what part of the brain does it damage?  And what would a person who got brain damage be like afterwards?  Would they have a different personality?  Would they be slower witted?  I just really want to know the likelihood of me having a damged brain, even if it's just a little tiny bit of damage.  I certainly don't feel like I have a damaged brain, but if you ask me if I have ever had alcohol poisining... I would have to say that yes I probably have.

[CarolinaGuy]

Scott41,
I just came across this today Feb. 19, 2008, I am 32, a husband and a father of an awesome 4 yr old and I'd like to share my story.  Two years ago, Jan 30th 2006, I was out drinking with a family member, vodka and champagne mixture.  Like yourself I ended up drinking WAY too much.  I was not an alcoholic, but a casual daily drinker, 1-2 drinks a day, with occasion excessive binges.  On this night, something went very wrong.  After consuming close to 3-4 of the red solo cups half filled with vodka and half filled with champagne, I was VERY drunk in a VERY short period of time.  My wife said my head fell back twice in the car on the way home as if I passed out, and she was afraid I might fall or not be able to stand.  I believe I am only still alive because God is merciful and I weighed 420lbs at the time, which maybe helped to absorb some of the alcohol. . . .BUT that still did not keep it from having to pass through my brain tissue.  After watching me lick the hotel wall for no appearent reason, she somehow, she put me in the chair in the hotel room and I slept there most likely with very little oxygen (hypoxic) as I had sleep apnea.  I woke the next morning, ate breakfast (a banana) just fine, and then went over to her family's house again and we ate lunch (heavy meal) and then things began to change.  I suddenly felt shortwinded, my heart started to beat irraticlty, and I felt fainty.  I went to emergency room and blood pressure was up to 190ish over 100+, I was cold and shaking all over (neuro?) I felt like I was running a marathon and I was breathing as such.
This was a small town hospital so they did a few things, but I don't think I got a comprehensive exam but they did do an EKG, arterial blood gas, and checked enzymes for heart attack, all were normal.  Only thing they could find was I was severely dehydrated and my electrolytes were off.  I was given lots of fluids and potassium via IV.  They kept me overnight for a CT scan of my    ?  Again no mention of alcohol poisoning or the resulting dehydration (alcohol is a diuretic).  They put me on medication to control my blood pressure and a cholesterol pill (my cholesterol has always been fine) and let me go.
I got in the car and started riding back to my home state but 1 hour later as we got into Atlanta, I began to feel fainty and short of breath again.  Checked into Emory and underwent extensive heart tests (no neuro), all checked out fine, left the next day.  When I got home, told my Dr the whole story, he said he was debating on putting me on BP meds, tossed out the cholesterol drug, and questioned the potassium given.  Here is the point of my post, days after this incident, I began to develop what the neurologist described as benigh fasciculations (all over) and also tinnitus.  I still suffer from them right now.  I also had what felt like trembles in my back and neck muscles. Coincident?  Not likely.  Something affected my nervous system during that period. (I did suffer from numbness in the peronial nerve and my toes before, but I don't think its related)  To answer your question, I do believe up to this day that I suffered a small amount of brain damage that night because it was so much, so fast.  I still research what happened to me and how they are linked a lot and thats how I came across your post.  I have since given up drinking at all, have lost some weight and I encourage family, friends and others when possible that its just not worth the health cost (it almost killed me that day), the lives lost (drunk driving), and the pain and emotional issues it put on me, my wife and my son.  God gave me another chance so I am trying to make the most of it.  If you do by chance decide to continue to drink, please don't binge. . .don't binge on anything for that matter.  Life is precious and I am now grateful for mine.

[kitlyn]

Hi: I will tell you my story of drinking will make it brief as poss.F/ used to weigh about 150 , but since am donw to 127. I have been drinking since age 19. I never drank every day. As the yrs went by i would binge drink on  one night as a weekend and then that was it for a week or so. I know that the binge drinking  is extrmely bad. I was a poster here, but in 2006 i got extremely ill, very suddenly, neve rhad any headaches, major, no migraines or anything that was serious by way of health, I decided to stop drinking on the weekends, some night out one night, i could easily drink 15 drinks, vodka mixed , and i wa salways fine. However on one ocaison i wasn;t , and it wa sa rarity. I was out drinking w  afreind, he may have given me too much vodka, but i ended up the next day in the intensive care unit a tthe hosp, i wa sshocked , I couldn;t breath well and i had a blood alcohol level of 3.7 or so. ER doc said your lucky to be here werre you trying to kill yourself?? i didn;t have any brain damage, or trouble after. However, my point, i got very ill in 2006 , severe weakness etc, thought i was havinga  stroke, i wasn;t but afterwards, i also had severe severe head presssrure,  , you can view older posts on my here, about that , w  neuro .  trouble. They found twolesions on my brain, both sides, it led me into a yr of H and severe weakness. They still dont know what inflammed my brain, im atypical they say. I did tell, MS specialist about my heavy drinkking, and he said that yes soemtimes things can happen. My point, the alcohol is very dangerous, although legal  its very toxic, and everyone should heed both of our stories of it, and drinking. I have not been able to drink for fear of symptoms reoccuring as i am not well now and afriad to drink, i do miss it, but afraid to drink now ever. I think i almost killed myself w the heavy night out w it,. many times.  Peace, and hope this story helps someone who still drinks, Iam not a AA protestor, just someone that doesn;t drink now.  Kit

[Vitruvius]

I don't have an outragious story, neither do i really drink any more than those around me, but i have questions of my own as a 18 year old male. Through high school i was always really against drinking, never ever thought of touching the stuff up till junior year. That summer i was unfamiliar with the substance, my parents don't drink my sisters only drank once in a while, but that summer i went on trips to over seas with friends and got drunk a fair amount of times off of hard liquor. When i say a fair amount i mean probably 10 times or so. After that i took it easy, no drinking, no nothing, for 6 months. Then one night during Christmas break i got really really drunk off vodka. I had around 6 shots in 30 minutes and was left puking my brains out, i made it home later that night only to put my head in a toilet for an hour just dry spuing.(I was 17 when this happened and weighed 140 pounds and very healthy) I didn't go to the hospital but my mom said that she did think that when she say me that i had alcohol poisening. After that i never drank agian My question is, from that night, is there any long term effects on my brain, I don't feel any different but from time to time ill think "what if i damaged my brain in some way and since my brain isn't done developing will i not reach my full potention as if i might have if i never drank. I don't want to go through life feeling inferior to some people because i got really drunk once. If some one could give me some guidence that would be really great since the little alcohol info online i cant help to discard it as propaganda.

So to sum it up
Go Drunk once off of hard liquor(bacardi), close to alcohol poisening, only 17 weight 140, never touched it agian

Question: is there any long term effects

PS Please respond

[mo269]

I am having some serious issues right now. I was a college student in a fraternity and drank excessive amounts of alcohol. I would go through severe hangovers and withdrawals symptoms. There are proabably a dozen times where I have completely black out and been unaware of my events but there is a particular time where i think i escaped death. I woke up and through up for around four hours and felt confused and had other symptoms of alcohol posioning. Since then i have stopped drinking but i didnt consult a medical physician before i went cold turkey. I feel now that I have severe brain damage. My personality has left me and i have lost my edge and am having diffculty understanding and responding to others as well as a very shortened attention span. During this time I made the worse decisions of my life and i got suspended from school for a semester. I am trying to ignore the symptoms in hope that they go away but i feel that i have done considerable damage. Should I go to an neurologist and is there any hope.