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How to protect brain from alcohol damage?

M

Memeito

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
168
I like drinking alot and I don't want to stop but I noticed that my mind is a little slow now....What supplements can I take to improve my brain function?
 
Best counter-measure ever: Less alcohol!

I like drinking alot and I don't want to stop but I noticed that my mind is a little slow now...
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That said it all... :\
 
My mind is slower even when I'm sober. Sometimes I forget the name of various things,people or places.
Anyway I still want to drink...I drink about 200ml of vodka each day- I don't think it's that much.

Do vitamins, antioxidants,etc. help?
 
Memeito said:
My mind is slower even when I'm sober. Sometimes I forget the name of various things,people or places.
Anyway I still want to drink...I drink about 200ml of vodka each day- I don't think it's that much.

Do vitamins, antioxidants,etc. help?
Click to expand...


your mind is slower when you are sober than when you drink? LOL.

You my friend are the only person in the world to which alcohol improves cognitive action.

Stop drinking for a while. Have some caffeine or ritalin or something or a nootropics... you will be fine
 
Emericana said:
your mind is slower when you are sober than when you drink? LOL.

You my friend are the only person in the world to which alcohol improves cognitive action.

Stop drinking for a while. Have some caffeine or ritalin or something or a nootropics... you will be fine
Click to expand...

he said his mind is slower than it would be when sober, not that his mind is slower sober than drunk.
 
i find that regular drinking stops me from getting angry and fed up of life. it seems to reset my brain a bit.

if you find yourself slow try eating lots of sushi the day after drinking or just eat more fish in general. drinking will always leave you tired the day after but if you eat well to replace the fat in your brain with good fat you should be alright.

mods on here- i always believed that the reason why alcohol is bad for you brain was because it dissolves fats and your brain is made of fat, any elaboration would be cool...
 
I'm a mod, but I don't know much about chemistry or neurology. :P
...
Here are the mechanisms that I know of for ethanol-mediated neurotoxicity:
1. B-vitamin depletion, as ethanol reduces absorption of such nutrients (b6, in particular, IIRC), and as late-stage alcoholics tend to eat really shitty diets.
2. rebound excitotoxicity mediated via GABAnergic and glutaminergic circuits working in concert.
3. increased free-radical formation, as the presence of ethanol alters catabolism of neurotransmitters.

number 1 is really easy to fix with supplements, and increased intake of long-acting, BBB-crossing anti-oxidants should partially ameliorate 3. Neither is a replacement for not fucking drinking often and heavily enough to induce gross toxicity, of course. :P If you wanna get horribly addicted to a drug of this type, benzos are a lot safer.

It's my understanding that as our understanding of alcohol's activity increased, particularly during the nineties, alcohol's effect on phospho-lipid membrane permeability appeared to account for fewer and fewer of alcohol's pharmacological effects.

ebola
 
for supplements, you should try piracetam. its been shown to be effective in restoring cognitive processing in alcoholics and stoners. it's definitely worth a try, i think it would help you.

more importantly though, i would say the best way to keep your brain healthy while being an active drinker would be to moderate consumption, maintain a proper diet, keep up with exercise, and take a multivitamin on a daily basis.

how much are you drinking on a daily basis?
 
1. Caffeine - Helps with the response slowing effect you're experiencing. Probably isn't result of brain damage, it's just one of the effects.
2. Milk thistle (silymarin) - protects against hepatotoxicity
3. Anti-oxidants - Protects against free-radical damage
4. Multivitamin/mineral - prevents depletion of various vitamins/minerals


and... I dunno. Is there anything out there that can clear acetylaldehyde from your body faster?
 
healthy, and hopefully not to repetitious:

Withdrawal from GABAnergics can feel cognitively debilitating to some people. Why not take a 2 month break, and see where you are?

ebola
 
ebola? said:
If you wanna get horribly addicted to a drug of this type, benzos are a lot safer.
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That's a joke, right? I binged on alcohol for years... went through two months of hell when I quit... I've been on benzos since 2004 and I can't quit for the life of me - at BEST, I'm looking at 6 months taper from 80mg valium after crossing over from 4mg of K. At WORST, I'm a benzo lifer.

Worst advice ever.

And OP, there is no way to protect the brain from damage induced by alcohol - alcohol impacts every single part of the human body and causes destruction all over. It is not just a matter of brain damage. When you drink alcohol, it permeates and interferes with every major organ in the body. The only way to protect yourself from this is to not drink at all.
 
That's a joke, right? I binged on alcohol for years... went through two months of hell when I quit... I've been on benzos since 2004 and I can't quit for the life of me - at BEST, I'm looking at 6 months taper from 80mg valium after crossing over from 4mg of K. At WORST, I'm a benzo lifer.

Worst advice ever.
Click to expand...

Both benzos and alcohol tend to have debilitatingly difficult and protracted withdrawals (benzos having lengthier withdrawals, on average). However, alcohol causes far more organo-toxicity during its use than benzos. But this can make benzos even more addictive, as their reduced toxicity allows people to escalate doses upward even further.

It's mediocre advice. :P
 
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