Alcohol and Alzheimer’s don’t mix
I have often been asked for advice and/or my opinion on whether those suffering from Alzheimer’s should be allowed to consume alcohol. Once again, I have no medical degree but from my personal experience my answer is always emphatically, “No!”
First of all, you must take into consideration the medications often prescribed for these patients. They can be incredibly strong.
For example, my dad was taking Nemenda for nearly a year and a half. This medication threw off his equilibrium to the point where I was constantly worrying about him falling.
Just the thought of having added alcohol to his system would have been insane.
The few other powerful drugs available for treating Alzheimer’s: Exelon, Aricept and Axona are just as potent.
Mixing alcohol with them can cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, drowsiness, fainting, internal bleeding and loss of coordination.
Secondly, even if your loved one is not currently taking any of these drugs, the consumption of alcohol will only increase his or her confusion which is, the exact opposite of what you will be trying to achieve.
I’m well aware of the fact that there are many people who have developed the habit of ending a long day of work by winding down and enjoying a drink. My father included. He loved to have a few glasses of wine in the evening so naturally I found it necessary to dispose of all the liquor in the house, and then I kept it that way.
The first time the Hospice doctor came to the house my father was sitting at the kitchen table with a wine glass in his hand.
Dad, delighted to have a gentleman close to his age to sit and talk with, ordered me to pour the doc a glass of wine and told his new friend to pull up a chair and share a drink with him.
The doctor, obviously stunned, stared at me. I quietly informed him that it was only cranberry juice.
What they don’t know won’t hurt them. By serving Dad’s juice in a wine glass or brandy snifter he remained content, believing that he was still enjoying those distilled grapes from the past.
Although this worked well for my father, I’m sure many patients will put up a first-rate expostulation, demanding to have an alcoholic beverage in the same manner in which they are accustomed.
I believe trying a bit of innocent deception is a tactic worth attempting.
If beer is their beverage of choice try switching to O’Doul’s or some other brand of non-alcoholic ale.
Keep in mind that alcohol is a depressant. I don’t have to tell anyone who has spent time around an Alzheimer’s patient that, sadly, there’s already enough depression brewing for everybody.
For More Info
Gary LeBlanc was the primary caregiver of his father for more than eight years after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and he has just published a collection of his articles in a book named, “Staying Afloat in a Sea of Forgetfulness.” The book can be found at www.stayingafloatbook.com, Amazon or Barnes and Noble. He can be e-mailed at us41books@ bellsouth.net.
