[AspiringAuthor]

I have dementia in family history on both sides and red wine has preventive benefits. It also helps with heart disease prevention and due to the metabolic side effects of drugs I am almost 100 lbs over my ideal weight which is a heart health risk. So I am considering drinking 1 glass of wine a day for prevention. I do not suffer from alcoholism and do not have an addictive personality, so there is no risk of abuse, but there is the risk of untoward interactions with drugs. I am treatment-resistant and it is now between Clozapine or Olanzapine, both taken with Metformin, and then if neither works or is tolerated, it is TMS or ECT.

Has anyone tried wine with these meds and were there untoward interactions or lessening of the effectiveness of the meds?

If I do decide to drink 1 glass of wine, what time of the day is best for it (with a meal, of course)?

[Tucson]

I do not think one small glass of wine will cause any drug interactions. As far as benefits to ones health, I think the discussion on this has been going back and forth. I do not think that what you are thinking as benefits from the wine is still not the definitive answer on the subject. But who knows? There may be some truth to there being benefits.

I have dementia in my family on my mother’s side. Both my mother and my grandma became psychotic. I do not want my daughter to deal with this, besides I do not want to be ending my life in this way. If something as simple as wine can possibly change my apparent outcome, that would be very worthwhile to me.

Just a side comment - I’ve read that low dose lithium might be a treatment for dementia; watch for any studies about this.

Ketogenic diet and coconut oil are supposed to be helpful too—ketones generated by these are an alternative fuel.

[Pookyl]

I have dementia in my family. None of my doctors have ever recommended wine as a prophylactic.

[emgreen]

Originally Posted by key tones

Ketogenic diet and coconut oil are supposed to be helpful too—ketones generated by these are an alternative fuel.

I just got off a ketogenic diet for weight loss & it was miserable. While it might have other benefits, it's lousy for the mood & all the fats one ingests aren't good heart health. Then again, I guess I'd rather die in my sleep of a heart attack than suffer from dementia. Do a Google on the emotional effects of a ketogenic diet...My findings were that it led to depression & other problems at least initially.

[AspiringAuthor]

Originally Posted by key tones

Just a side comment - I’ve read that low dose lithium might be a treatment for dementia; watch for any studies about this.

Ketogenic diet and coconut oil are supposed to be helpful too—ketones generated by these are an alternative fuel.

I have also read such studies, but, regrettably, I had to stop Lithium because it started to affect my kidney function.

[AspiringAuthor]

Originally Posted by emgreen

I just got off a ketogenic diet for weight loss & it was miserable. While it might have other benefits, it's lousy for the mood & all the fats one ingests aren't good heart health. Then again, I guess I'd rather die in my sleep of a heart attack than suffer from dementia. Do a Google on the emotional effects of a ketogenic diet...My findings were that it led to depression & other problems at least initially.

Thank you for warning me! I would not do a ketogenic diet because eating whole rye products - toasted German bread and Finnish or Swedish crackers - is too important for me emotionally. I also eat buckwheat and millet as hot cereals, and, being Russian, these dishes connect me emotionally with my childhood memories. I think the emotional aspects - how food is part of our cultural heritage - are very important, plus, clozapine is majorly constipating (there have been deaths from bowel obstruction), so the fiber in whole rye, buckwheat and millet is not something I can trade for fats without "punishment" from the gut.

[AspiringAuthor]

Originally Posted by Pookyl

I have dementia in my family. None of my doctors have ever recommended wine as a prophylactic.

I think there was an article in a recent issue of "Psychology Today" - I browse those magazines when in my doc's waiting room.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I am on clozapine. I only had a brief experience with olazapine because it made me more manic. I can't drink because I'm on an MAOI but I can't imagine drinking even one glass of wine wouldn't be incredibly sedating when combined with the sedation from the clozapine. I'd also worry about having more difficulty getting up in the morning if that is something you need to do. For me I need at least 14 hours from taking it to being alert and coordinated enough to drive, for example. You might handle clozapine totally differently than I do though.

I would definitely talk to my pdoc about this. I'd also look into grape juice as I've read it can have a positive effect without the alcohol (but I don't know more than that).

[UpDownAround]

Definitely mixed opinions on wine as a medicine. I have read a few things that say resveratrol is the key and you can get it without alcohol. I also read something interesting where a doctor commented that many of the people in the studies that don't drink, or at least say they don't, have had drinking problems (full disclosure - I have and now don't drink) and are prone to unhealthy behavior and/or have already done some damage from that behavior. I think there is something to that; a significant portion of the non drinkers I know (and knew even before I had my problems) quit drinking because of drinking trouble. There are also correlations with social behavior and socializing seems to help with lifespan. It's hard to tell what are causes are what are just likely common attributes because of the actual causes.

If you google the words ketogenic diet mental health, you will find a lot of information to the contrary, meaning there are many, many reports of improvement.

In my case, however, I think ketogenic dieting increases cortisol (stress hormone), so I do better on moderate than low carb dieting because anxiety is my worst problem. So, I personally can't say it is the best way to go.

I keep the information filed away for in case *dementia* becomes an issue. I would absolutely do it.

[Guiness187055]

My grandparents had a glass of wine with dinner their whole lives and still they both died of alzheimers disease.

[Unrigged64072835]

I can't have red wine anyway because it gives me migraines, even in small amounts.

I have a friend who is on a keto diet. She was doing well at first--she was off all her meds--now she is getting depressed again. I hope she can pull through. She has her med team and therapist on board with it.

I don't know how this works with dementia, but there are other things to do. Ultimately it's your body and your choice.

[AspiringAuthor]

Originally Posted by Tucson

I do not think one small glass of wine will cause any drug interactions.

Definitely only one small glass, no more - I do not even like it that much. It is too bitter for me and I actually would rather drink mellow white whine, or, a much-diluted vodka cocktail. But resveratrol is in red wine.

[BipolaRNurse]

I worry about dementia, having spent much of my career taking care of people with the condition, but I don't think I'll start drinking wine. I have an alcohol problem and while I take the occasional sip of someone's margarita, I don't actually drink. Plus I'm on a lot of meds. Don't think it's worth the risk for me.