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Old 01-13-2013, 09:01 AM
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mrsD mrsD is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2006
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mrsD mrsD is offline
Wisest Elder Ever
mrsD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Great Lakes
Posts: 33,508
15 yr Member
Lightbulb

With good B12, this is where you stand:

1) heavy drinking depletes magnesium levels. Low magnesium causes nerve symptoms. So fixing this will enable healing.

2) heavy drinking depletes the metabolic pathway for B1...it gets used up. So supplementing this, either with thiamine or a B50 complex may help heal faster.

3) People who abuse alcohol, don't eat properly, and I would guess you don't consume many Omega-3's fats. These are used by the body to repair damaged tissue, including nerves.

4) People who use alot of alcohol, have metabolic pathways used up in the liver, where this is converted to glucose. So there is a period of adjustment when you start eating again, because other pathways are used for energy. You have to expect this shift to take some time and be uncomfortable. Many people who stop drinking, get carb cravings because of this. Try to not give into too much sugar or carbs, as this makes nerve pain worse. I've seen recovering alcoholics who get major addictions to cakes, candy, and the like. At first you can do some, but try to taper this off within a month or so. This is the metabolic shift from metabolizing alcohol to metabolizing other food sources.

People who crave alcohol may have a metabolic need for it because they have a condition called pyroluria.
http://drkaslow.com/html/pyroluria.html
What happens is that vitamin B6 and the mineral zinc get used up and excreted before they can work properly in our bodies.
This is a genetic condition, and otherwise basically harmless, and more common than one would think.
The loss of B6 and zinc becomes serious, leading to more anxiety and alcohol craving. So taking a Bcomplex helps again by providing B6. The zinc you would have to take separately, and OptiZinc is inexpensive and easy to tolerate. One a day of this may help.

So in answer to your question... yes you can probably recover.
And it will take time, to fix the damage. And YOU will have to make some efforts, to do so yourself. And as far as drinking again, if you have an alcohol problem it will always be there. Best to not drink anymore. Get some counseling or AA, support. If you have the pyroluria, fixing that will help reduce cravings and make this easier for you. No one here can say what will happen to you in 2, 5, or 10 yrs from now, but stopping all alcohol now is important for your recovery.

I would like to add, that if you also used other drugs, recreationally , which is common behavior, you need to stop that as well. Ecstasy has been shown to cause brain damage, that might be long term or permanent.. so don't be tempted by it.

Did you read the posts by IceHouse yet? They will reflect the path
you need to follow to heal.
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Last edited by mrsD; 01-13-2013 at 09:45 AM.
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