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brain injury account - poisoned at a bar serving counterfeit alcohol

brain damage poison brain injury nootropics research alcohol fake alcohol cognitive impairment cognitive decline

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#1 arboles

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Posted 16 January 2014 - 12:12 AM


A few years back while living in China i was served counterfeit alcohol at a bar and drinking it left me with neurological damage. The damage has decreased my quality of life. It has left me with damage on a range of cognitive functions including aphasia language disorder affecting my ability to speak, vertigo, problems with memory, recall, planning, reading comprehension, and higher cognitive functions. In seeking to understand what has happened to me, I've read that in some ways I was lucky that the damage was not worse. I've read stories of many people dying or going blind from drinking counterfeit alcohol. Thankfully I was spared such an unfortunate end.

I've been searching for information on what type of damage I've suffered in hopes of understanding the deficits and treating them. Unfortunately, my research has found that counterfeit alcohol sold as real alcohol can contain a range of poisonous solvents, in varying concentrations - chemicals ranging from antifreeze, methanol, rubbing alcohol, etc. Therefore I've been unable to pinpoint exactly how much and what exactly I was poisoned with. The specific damage I've suffered is not clear due to the uncertainty regarding the content of alcoholic beverage which I ingested.

Aside from a few studies on methanol poisoning - I've been unable to find any specific information regarding the long term cognitive effects of this type of neurological damage, the possibility for improvement, treatment, and what specific neurological effect and subsequent damage the poison has on specific structures of the brain. My intention for posting this is to create a dialogue for anyone with similar experiences to discuss, link to research, and for anyone with information which can help to also have a forum to share their knowledge. Thanks in advance.
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#2 Multicultural Harmony

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Posted 16 January 2014 - 02:38 AM

Those Chinese seem like good people.
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#3 Adaptogen

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Posted 16 January 2014 - 03:40 AM

How do you know the alcohol was counterfeit?

#4 arboles

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Posted 16 January 2014 - 05:17 AM

i didn't mean for anyone to get the impression that this sort of thing happens only in China. I've read about plenty of counterfeit alcohol injuries coming from different areas of the world including: thailand, indonesia, cyprus, croatia, russia, and even the UK. So i hope it's understood that many countries have people producing and selling this stuff. However, it is especially bad in China.

In terms of measures that people can take to defend against it. In retrospect, i would not have drank any alcohol the entire time i was living there. it is so widespread that its just not worth the risk of being served it. Very little can be done to protect against it, and even the most expensive upscale places sell it. The place where I was that served it was a cheap place for tourists that caters to all you can drink for very low prices, so that was probably especially likely to be fake.
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#5 nupi

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Posted 16 January 2014 - 10:25 AM

i didn't mean for anyone to get the impression that this sort of thing happens only in China. I've read about plenty of counterfeit alcohol injuries coming from different areas of the world including: thailand, indonesia, cyprus, croatia, russia, and even the UK. So i hope it's understood that many countries have people producing and selling this stuff. However, it is especially bad in China.


Citations please. Ethanol is very cheap to produce so it seems fishy that one would cheat, to start with - if anything, it might not be good quality ethanol.

Also, most of the potential "fake" substances you list are much more likely to kill you rather than causing brain damage.
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#6 Deep Thought

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Posted 16 January 2014 - 10:30 AM

Have you had a cMRI done?

Edited by Deep Thought, 16 January 2014 - 10:30 AM.


#7 lammas2

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Posted 16 January 2014 - 11:32 AM

Citations please. Ethanol is very cheap to produce so it seems fishy that one would cheat, to start with - if anything, it might not be good quality ethanol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol_outbreaks

#8 EncyclopediaBrown

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Posted 16 January 2014 - 04:31 PM

Relevant:

"Adulterated alcohol is believed to be behind the death of a British teenager who collapsed after a binge-drinking session outside a nightclub in the resort of Laganas on the island of Zakynthos last month.

Mixing alcohol with industrial spirit to make beverages go further is an old ruse long employed by some unscrupulous bar-owners in Greece."

http://www.theguardi...9/greece.greece

#9 arboles

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Posted 16 January 2014 - 07:41 PM

I hope we can keep this discussion on topic. Whatever your thoughts are on race I would prefer to keep the discussion centered on the issue at hand.

If you just do a google search on counterfeit alcohol plenty of results will turn up.

But fake alcoholic drinks can be produced using other cheaper types of alcohol which can have serious adverse effects on your health.
Drinkaware’s Chief Medical Advisor Professor Paul Wallace explains: “Commonly used substitutes for ethanol include chemicals used in cleaning fluids, nail polish remover and automobile screen wash, as well as methanol and isopropanol which are used in antifreeze and some fuels. These other types of alcohol can produce similar effects to ethanol in terms of making you feel tipsy. But they are also potentially very dangerous.”

Drinking alcohol containing these chemicals can cause nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, drowsiness and dizziness. Drinking it can lead to kidney or liver problems and even coma. Methanol, the substance recently found in fake vodka,(2) can cause permanent blindness.

Find out how alcohol can affect your body here...

“Drinking illegally produced alcohol should be avoided at all costs,” says Dr Wallace. “You don’t know what’s in it in terms of the actual chemicals – and you don’t know the strength of what you're drinking because it’s not been produced to the standards of commercial alcohol.”


www.havocscope.com/tag/alcohol-smuggling

5 billion dollar industry - alcohol smuggling. 42k deaths in russia from fake alcohol.
fake wine sold in china 5% of total market.

https://www.drinkawa...of-fake-alcohol

http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-25455992

http://www.theguardi...-year-revellers

http://www.independe...ol-8856390.html

http://www.nationalr...an-kay-melchior

Edited by arboles, 16 January 2014 - 07:42 PM.

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#10 MrHappy

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 07:59 AM

Hi all! I've pruned some comments to keep this on topic.
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#11 polarbears

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 06:53 PM

arboles:

Replacement of ETHANOL with METHANOL is your best bet, similar smell, similar taste, HORRIBLE EFFECTS and sadly in many countries so industrious that commercial factory solvent grade METHANOL is cheaper than ETHANOL and as per factory grade, VERY IMPURE :(

Is most damaging when served drinks of low volume as the ratio of methanol/ethanol is MAINLY METHANOL (i.e COCKTAILS, SHOTS, PARTIAL GLASSES of slightly flavored liquors)

If you can remember if your drinks were large or small that could be helpful to gauge a range of METHANOL consumed as if the volumes were large than hopefully more ethanol was included(an ANTIDOTE for METHANOL toxicity)

Start taking racetams NOW!

Get your VISION comparatively TESTED with the exam before THIS INCIDENT, remind the doctor of your METHANOL poisoning

he can do retina/corneal exams and map these areas and note the extent of the damage

your typical eye glass shop, even commercial ones all have these machines now which check for diseases of the eye, they check for this damage too

Best

#12 arboles

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Posted 23 January 2014 - 02:06 AM

arboles:

Replacement of ETHANOL with METHANOL is your best bet, similar smell, similar taste, HORRIBLE EFFECTS and sadly in many countries so industrious that commercial factory solvent grade METHANOL is cheaper than ETHANOL and as per factory grade, VERY IMPURE :(

Is most damaging when served drinks of low volume as the ratio of methanol/ethanol is MAINLY METHANOL (i.e COCKTAILS, SHOTS, PARTIAL GLASSES of slightly flavored liquors)

If you can remember if your drinks were large or small that could be helpful to gauge a range of METHANOL consumed as if the volumes were large than hopefully more ethanol was included(an ANTIDOTE for METHANOL toxicity)

Start taking racetams NOW!

Get your VISION comparatively TESTED with the exam before THIS INCIDENT, remind the doctor of your METHANOL poisoning

he can do retina/corneal exams and map these areas and note the extent of the damage

your typical eye glass shop, even commercial ones all have these machines now which check for diseases of the eye, they check for this damage too

Best



Thanks for your suggestions.

It most likely was methanol as that is the most often used substitute for ethanol in counterfeit alcohol, but I can't rule out any of the other toxic chemicals used as substitutes.

I am interested in learning how the long term deficits and damage from counterfeit alcohol poisoning are different than the type of brain trauma that occurs in long term alcoholics. i can only find short term studies on methanol posioning, nothing addressing any of the long term damage.

My response to racetams (piracetam, noopept) has been mixed.

I'd like to get an MRI done onyl problem is that even with my insurance its expensive due to my deductible. I'd like to see a neurologist to see if they have any suggestions for therapy or medications. I've read about memantime and nsi 189 and other experimental drugs. but would like to speak to a specialist. although i don't think i will ever return to my original baseline, i would like to regain as much as possible.

I've had an eye exam recently - I didn't mention the poisoning incident to the doctor when I went in for the appointment - it may be a good idea when I go back to tell him so that he can look specifically for signs of methanol damage. The opthamologist said my eyes were okay however my vision would benefit from prescription eye glasses. I would need to compare the pre and post exam vision to check for any degradation in vision. It's possible that methanol was the cause for needing glasses but it could also be just normal aging or other things.

I was served counterfeit alcohol on more than one occasion during my time living in China. On each of these separate occasions I was either drinking: whiskey, vodka, sake, or baijiu.

A variety of things that occurred subsequent to drinking that normally wouldn't occur if I was just drinking regular alcohol:

becoming very intoxicated after consuming only a small amount of alcohol.
blackout after only consuming a small amount,
no memory of the event.
In the days following I was feeling like I was still drunk and i never regained my mental clarity.
the hangover didn't go away.
concentration and ability to focus decreased,
persistent confusion and dizziness - (possibly the most troublesome symptom in terms of quality of life.)
attention span substantially decreased
long and short term memory and word recall decreased
ability to quickly query my memory for recent events decreased, it takes me longer to remember things.
ability to think on my feet decreased,
ability to understand and comprehend complicated topics and learn new things decreased,
ability to speak fluently decreased, as I mentioned I experienced decreases in verbal acuity and what I can only describe as verbal aphasia.
spatial reasoning and memory. harder to get remember locations and directions to certain locations.
ability to remember peoples names decreased.
reading comprehension decreased substantially. i can no longer speed read, complicated topics take longer to understand. i read slower and i have constant interruptions. and have storing new information, and trouble remembering what i've read.
ability to remember numbers decreased

Edited by arboles, 23 January 2014 - 02:08 AM.


#13 mrnootropic

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Posted 03 June 2014 - 03:26 PM

 

Citations please. Ethanol is very cheap to produce so it seems fishy that one would cheat, to start with - if anything, it might not be good quality ethanol.

Also, most of the potential "fake" substances you list are much more likely to kill you rather than causing brain damage.

 

 

Citations ?

 

Are you serious, this guy is asking for help. And you are dismissing him.

How is it fishy ?

 

We live in a world where Fake Basmati rice is being sold.

Fake Alcohol is being sold everywhere.

 

 

You want citations or should i say evidence,  here you go : 

 

http://www.mirror.co...m-found-3151850

http://buzz.bournemo...in-bournemouth/

http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-25455992

https://www.hillingd...r-of-fake-vodka

http://www.theguardi...-health-warning

https://www.drinkawa...of-fake-alcohol

http://www.thegrocer.../354618.article


Edited by Mr.Nootropic, 03 June 2014 - 03:28 PM.

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#14 Absent

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Posted 03 June 2014 - 03:31 PM

Alcohol is indeed just alcohol but as many people fail to realize the aspect that separates different types of alcohol is not the type of ethanol, but rather all of the other things contained in the alcohol. It is extremely possible for their to be a type of alcohol produced that has additional compounds in it that are more hazardous than the ethanol itself. Just like tons of frozen foods are loaded with potentially cell-threatening additives, different kinds of ethanol can fall under the same fate.

 

To OP, there is not much we can offer you here. If you seriously think you are brain damaged, then see a real doctor, and possibly a lawyer.


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#15 jacob90

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Posted 29 December 2017 - 11:59 PM

I too was exposed to methanol - I have permanent light sensitivity, especially noticeable at night with traffic lights and when I put on polarized sunglasses during the day - my vision is almost perfect. 

 

My vision does not bother me like the neurological symptoms that I am experiencing, and I hope they reverse. 

 

My working memory is diminished. Writing, reading and even speaking are affected. 

 

 

The OP said it had been years since he was exposed, and still could not get back to his cognitive base line.. that seems to be an unfortunate sign that any damage is irreversible. Would love to hear from the OP today as far as any recovery... I'm 23 :(


Edited by jacob90, 30 December 2017 - 12:00 AM.






Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: brain damage, poison, brain injury, nootropics, research, alcohol, fake alcohol, cognitive impairment, cognitive decline

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