Hi, ILWH,
Welcome. My second husband had liver failure as a result of drinking. The mental confusion can go along with that. Once the liver is damaged for ANY reason, alcohol and drugs can hasten the damage. Has he had a biopsy recently?
There probably isn't a lot you can do to get him to quit drinking, unless he is ready to do that. I suggest you start by educating yourself a bit about alcoholism. Here are a couple of good resources: The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (
an online version is here) and "Under the Influence" (
you can read excerpts here).
For yourself, I suggest you try some Al-Anon meetings. They can be a real lifesaver.