Regrettably, I am a long time drinker, and fear that I probably brought this on myself. I have been drinking fairly regularly for about three decades, about 1-3 beers nearly every night. After noticing the numbness, I cut back and eventually quit over the month of August. Been alcohol free since Sept. 1. In spite of this, these numbness/tingling symptoms are getting worse and I've become an insomniac.

Appreciate any advice. Thank you all![/QUOTE]


Good morning Bat,

I too have alcohol induced peripheral neuropathy and I am here to tell you one thing that happens with this condition. Against all expectations, after ceasing alcohol, Peripheral Neuropathy symptoms get worse. That's right, it gets worse before it gets better. But it will get better. Stick with it. I don't understand the mechanism. Perhaps alcohol has an anaesthetic effect? Things improve, slowly. The symptoms reduce. For me, my symptoms peaked at about 7-8 weeks after ceasing alcohol.

Pain, tingling and numbness are disconcerting, anxiety producing symptoms however they are great motivators when the inevitable wish of a beer comes to mind.

After a while I realised that my symptoms were not actually the end of the world I thought they were. They were actually trivial and instead of looking for them, I became bored by them. I naturally shut them off. Its easy to do this engrossed in a book or a film or a conversation.

Of course your sleeping patterns are disrupted, but that will soon right itself. Don't despair. I think you're able to buy melatonin over the counter in the USA. Consider that as a short term solution.

Anyway, I wish you well. Let us know of your progress.

Atty