Does anyone here have any experience with Beriberi?

[Ilsa]

I'm talking about the thiamine, B1 deficiency. Sometimes, it presents with alcoholism. There can be wasting with it.

I know someone who was recently diagnosed with this after several missed diagnoses. But I know very little about outcomes other than what is on the internet. Can anyone share any personal experience on this?

For legal purposes, let me declare that I am not soliciting medical advice from anyone on DU. I'm not looking for how to treat the disease. I'm just looking to understand it better, the course of the physical treatment followed by counseling, etc.

I cross-posted in Addiction &Recovery forum earlier this week and received a great response. But I am needing to broaden input. Thank you very much.

[Warpy]

1. Much of it can be reversed with prescription strength Thiamine

If it's secondary to alcoholism, it's much more difficult to reverse. The person absolutely must quit drinking, something who's down the road far enough to have beriberi is probably not going to do.

Check out Wernicke-Korsakoff for the whole scoop on what's going on with an alcoholic in your life.

There was a push in the 1970s to get thiamine added to alcohol. The usual suspects of bible beaters and abstinence morality police managed to scream loudly enough to prevent this very sensible thing.

And the carnage goes on.

[jberryhill]

2. I think he mainly afflicts tween girls