Old 01-16-2017, 07:28 AM
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617346576453764
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Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1
Does Underage drinking cause permanent brain damage?

I started drinking when I was around 17, pretty much 3-5 drinks every Friday along with some daily Marijuana use that year. After that, I drank heavily when I was 18, and 20-23 so pretty consistent alcohol consumption with some minor ebbs and flows regarding quantity. Started noticing cognitive issues including decreased short term / working memory and now at 27 impaired language including spelling and speech issues.

After 24 I've had periods of sobriety ranging from 3 to 10 months. I rarely drank many in a row since the age of 24 and yet now if I have even one drink it affects me for days. I feel senile in terms of forgetting something said moments ago, struggling to focus, extreme difficulty and pain trying to read, constantly misplacing items and forgetting appointments and general disorientation physically and mentally. All very strange as I haven't drank very high quantities consistently for quite some time. I also had thiamine tested in 2014 or 2015 and came out normal twice.

I've found on the Internet the general timeline for recovery, eg 2 weeks, a few months, to 1 year for significant recovery. However I want to know if this applies to people who started drinking early as well. My fear is about what I've found saying drinking during adolescence causes permanent irreversible damage and I've found conflicting information on this some saying damage done to brain cannot be undone, others saying with time it eventually gets better.

All I know is I can't live like this.

Last edited by 617346576453764; 01-16-2017 at 07:40 AM. Reason: Added symptom
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