Urgent health advice needed please?

Question

My mum (age 50) is an alcoholic - has been for decades, we're kind of resigned to it now, however the last 12 months she has noticably deteriorated in health - she has over halved in weight and is losing her mind. She refuses to get her health checked out so we have no idea if she has weeks, months or years to live. Anyway, we're used to her getting drunk every night obviously, however this evening something seemed slightly different - maybe it's just me panicking because I'm on my own with her tonight - but I literally left her alone for about 15 minutes, before which you could tell she'd been drinking but was more than able to talk, and by the time I next saw her she was virtually comatose - couldn't talk or walk, had to carry her up to bed - she'll usually get into that bad a state about once or twice a fortnight - but it just happened so quickly, and even she managed to slur that she didn't know what had happened as she hadn't drank that much (and this time I believe her - by 'not much' it's still enough to get about 4 or 5 normal people a bit drunk - but not much by her usual standards) - and I asked her if she'd taken anything and she said no. Like I said maybe I'm panicking over nothing but I'm just shocked that she could go from being compus mentus to that in that tiny space of time. There's no way her drink could have been spiked as we're at home and nobody else has been in the house. I just wanted to check that this sudden decline isn't a sign that she's likely to have a heart attack or anything tonight? (I know she's at high risk of that anyway in general but I mean it isn't a sign it's looming now?) Any help or advice anyone could offer will be much appreciated.

Answer 1

You're not panicking, you are painting the picture of a serious medical problem.  The mental changes you describe can be consistent with liver failure.  It's called encephalopathy, and it's generally a late sign.  The weight loss is a bad sign as well, and could be a number of different problems.  Does her skin or her eyes appear yellowish?  That would be another sign of liver failure, as would difficulty controlling bleeding.  You need to get her to a hepatologist (a liver doctor) to get her symptoms diagnosed and hopefully controlled.

And you need to do this quickly.

Answer 2

Alcoholics can drink a lot for a long, long time. Stop enabling her behaviour by making excuses. 'not much' it's still enough to get about 4 or 5 normal people a bit drunk - but not much by her usual standards'. WHAT THE h**l IS THAT?!! You're as bad as she is!! Tell her to go to work getting dry and sober, joining AA and seeing a therapist or you'll leave. As long as you're there to watch her abuse herself, she'll NEVER get clean.  

Answer 3

She probably has cirrhosis. She sounds like she's in bad shape. While she probably won't have a heart attack tonight it's hard to say how much time she has left. I'm sorry.

Answer 4

I am sorry your in that bad situation, but your mom probably won't change .Acoholism is a very deadly disease and your mom won't get any better until she  asks for help.