My daughter started drinking 2 weeks ago 2 24 oz. cans at a time. I tell her that this is haveing adverse effects on her mind, increase HD movements/dance, & falling but she tells me she plans on drinking all summer because she always does in the summer. I wouldn't take her to the gas station 3 nights ago at 11:45 pm so she walked 4 miles away in her PJ's and flip flaps. I call the police and they meet her their she ends up not buying and I come and get her, the officer gives her a good speech again drinking and being on 14 medications and the fact that she has these movements that could endanger her life. She calmly listened and we went home. I let her walk because I wanted her to realize I wasn't going to approve of her drinking, I had already rescure her earlier that day when she started walking to the corner store in a very bad rain storm. She already lost her daughters because of drinking and then trying to kill herself a year and a half ago. She's 36 and usually is pretty normal, but about every 8 months something like this happens. She was on Haldol and I hated it as it made her a zambie, she's now on Zpraxia and she came back but I'm afraid for her future. She also wants to move out and get her own apartment but she won't last 6 months. She is involved with our County Behavioral System now for 2 years and they come to our house to see her, it used to be once a week but now she has improved to much they only come once every other week and I called this susport person and she is on my daughter's side because to her she has improved and is an adult she said she's legally obligated to help my daughter do what she want's to do, but she will try to tell her again that drinking is not good for her. I don't know what to do??? Worried Mom

Ask the so called support person if she is going to take responsibility for helping your daughter get alcohol that could interact with her medications and cause adverse side effects or worse? Ask is she will put her decision to do so in the file in the event that something happens, there will be a record that she encouraged this risky behavior. She most certainly is not responsible for helping your daughter do things that are not in her best interests.

Maybe it's time for a medication review. What is she currently taking?

Hi Marnagay,

When I went to my first HD camp retreat in Squamish BC the nurse at the camp told all of us that we had to watch our alcohol intake. She said that one alcoholic drink in the body equaled three drinks in effect on the body. So if I injested two alcoholic drinks my body would feel the effect of 6. She said this is true for not just for HD but people with neurological conditions. The same thing in out bodies that boost the effect of booze also boost the effect of some prescription drugs...

Alcohol was not good for my husband, even early on. I would notice that his behaviours would intensify. I had talked to his psychiatrist about options and he said that the de- alcoholized beer has a low enough alcohol content that it should be okay.

I talked to him and explained that I needed him to stop drinking. Of course he didn't like it but I said that I would do it with him and wouldn't drink alcohol either. I removed all alcohol from the house. I bought the alcohol free beer and if he wanted one he could. I made sure there were other drinks that he liked like ice tea, coffee, juice so that there was always something that he liked.

There were some challenging times but I was able to distract him at those time with going out to get a coffee, slurpee or milkshake. I even kept a stash of hidden special treats that I could whip out when needed.

He hasn't had alcohol in years. 8 0r more. And when he would complain that it wasn't the same I would say something like "Okay. I like it. I have no problem drinking it all by myself" He would usually stop and decide that it wasn't that bad.


I also talked to all our family and friends and said that there could be no alcohol brought into our house and not to buy him any. If there was alcohol somewhere we wouldn't go there. There was even a period of years where I wouldn't take him to a store because if he went into a store he couldn't stop himself from wanting everything he saw.

I also wasn't able to leave him alone. The behaviours, lack of impulse control, perseverative behaviours, lack of insight etc.... began early and were extreme. If he was alone then he would do things that weren't safe, appropriate or even legal.


Lisa