Quote:
Originally Posted by echoes long ago
Alcoholics often develop peripheral neuropathy because of the nutritional deficiencies caused by not eating correctly while they are drinking. You are off to a good start with the vitamins. B1 , B12, and D3. Make sure the D you are using is D3 and the B12 you are using is methylcobalamin. These are the usable forms of the vitamins for your body. A good multl B vitamin and a good multi vitamin would be a good idea. It's important that she eats a balanced nutritious diet.
Since she may also have diabetes, she should be given an A1c Test which indicates the average blood sugar level over a 3 month period. This would help to diagnose whether she is a diabetic or not. Repeat the test 3 months later after she has been taking the vitamins and eating well for that period. I wouldnt jump to conclusions based on that first test since she has just started to take action to turn things around. Its possible that a combination of dietary deficiencies and diabetes has caused her peripheral neuropathy
The good news is that peripheral neuropathy caused by alcoholism/ dietary deficiencies is one of the few causes of peripheral neuropathy that can get better long term.
|
Thanks for the info! Yup, she's been taking Jarrow's Methyl-B12 for about 7 days now, and D3 once every morning as well. I don't know if there's a better form of B1, but if there is I'll definitely try and see if we can get some of that instead, through her doctor or otherwise.
I don't think she necessarily has diabetes yet, at least whoever had said her glucose was a little high hadn't said she had diabetes. I did a bit of looking stuff up and apparently she is in prediabetes range though. I'm not sure if prediabetes can cause neuropathy, but all things considered I'm not going to ignore it or anything. I'll try n help her get a healthier lifestyle going-- we'll order some multivitamins, maybe B complex too, but I'm a little worried about getting her too much of something, so if we get multi B vitamins and/or multi vitamins, should she be taking less of the B1, B12 or D3 she's taking right now too?
We've already noted some improvements since she started taking the B12, B1 and D3. But my Mom's not exactly gonna be happy until the pain's all gone, and whenever she's presented with something she might have to stop doing (like eating fast food or sugary stuff) she ends up in tears because she feels overwhelmed, I'm assuming at least. She told me she feels like I'm the only one trying to help her get better, which is an awful feeling for me but especially her. It takes weeks to get to talk to someone qualified to actually help, and then they only tell us that increasing the gabapentin dosages can help. She knows she's doing the right thing, she knows it's going to help her, but I guess it's just hard for her to have to turn everything around while also dealing with long-lasting and sometimes intense pain. I really hope we can get to a point where she at least can be happier soon...it's killin' me to see her like this.
