condition that make someone drunk w/o Alcohol?
 

Does such a thing exist? i have a parent who seems to every single day since the past year or so, exhibit drunken behavior ( ive seen the parent drunk before, so i know how this person becomes) down to the very last detail including slurred speech, limited understanding, and being overall more chatty, and incredibly prone to arguments. I really do believe this person doesnt drink anymore, yet i could be fooled as far as i know. Does such a condition exist?

Hepatic encephalopathy, also called portal-systemic encephalopathy. This condition occurs when a heavily damaged liver is unable to filter toxins from the blood or when blood flow through the liver is blocked. The condition may occur in people with either acute fulminant hepatitis or long-term chronic liver disease. Few patients with chronic hepatitis C develop full-blown hepatic encephalopathy; however, some degree of brain impairment may occur in as many as three-quarters of those (estimated at 10-25 percent) who develop advanced liver cirrhosis. Hepatic encephalopathy is distinct from the more common “brain fog” that often experienced by people with HCV.


Hepatic Encephalopathy Symptoms

Symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy can range from barely perceptible changes to hepatic coma.

Cognitive dysfunction may include lack of concentration, irritability, impaired short-term memory, confusion, disorientation, slowed reaction times, and dementia. Some people experience personality, mood, or behavior changes. Motor symptoms can range from muscle tremors to asterixis (flapping of the hands when they are held out in front of the body) to altered reflexes. Changes in consciousness may occur, progressing from decreased alertness and daytime sleepiness to lethargy and stupor.


My mother suffers from H.E. and I have noticed that some of her symptoms are reflective of a "drunk" sort of state of being. You may want to encourage your parent to see a doctor ASAP as this can lead to very serious complications if left untreated.

Would this occur at certain time ranges of the day, its seems after 5pm everyday this happens to my parent. Theyre normal by the morning and the cycle repeats by the same time again.

things in the gut can ferment and indeed drunkenness can be the out come.

There is also a rather rare medical condition where a person lacks the enzymes needed to properly break down sugars, the resulting partial breakdown being alcohol as a byproduct. Children born with this defective gene often become alcoholics before they are able to talk as the parent has little idea of what's going on until the child falls behind in the motor skill development curve. I wish I could remember the name of the disease, but it's really a rather nasty one. The only treatment is via a very very low sugar diet.

Again, this is an incredibly rare disease though.

Diabetic conditions can cause this as well. The only real path to take is call a Dr.

These are very rare things. No offense, but especially with the "after 5pm" comment I would be suspecting vodka/drugs first, incredibly rare medical conditions second. I doubt hepatic encephalopathy switches itself on every day at the cocktail hour.
If they want help, they should see a doctor.

I had to bite my tongue (that is, keyboard) to avoid making roughly the same comment yesterday!

If it's some rare disease, which causes all these symptoms to kick in like clockwork at 5:00 despite total sobirety -- or if it's just the booze talking, the point is that we are powerless over people, places, and things. We do not have the ability to change people's behavior. I almost lost one when I got into the program -- she went into the hospital with a platelet count of 2, was in intensive care for a week, then went to treatment for several months, thanks in part to an intervention but thanks mostly to the fact that SHE decided to get healthy. It's painful to watch someone self-destruct -- but if they're determined to do it, we're powerless to stop it.

T

I just wanted to point out that HE isn't that rare in people who have been alcoholics for many years and suffering from advanced liver disease. Obviously I don't know the condition of the liver of the person we are talking about and was not aware the "symptoms" began after 5pm. So in this case yes, the person is probably drinking. Although it is true that people suffering from HE "behave" similarly to someone who is intoxicated and the condition could be confused with intoxication by people who are not familiar with it.