hi all, i've been lurking around alcoholic neuropathy threads for some time now. i would like to share my story with you.

i am 27 now and started to think i have alcohol induced neuropathy last December 2013. i couldn't gather the courage to go to the doctor because of shame. i am not alcoholic, i drink on occasion but i think my body is just too weak to handle the alcohol. i have alcoholic friends but i don't go with them every time they have their "drinking sessions". their bodies can handle it, i can tell. they can drink as much as they want without having some sort of condition like what i have. i started drinking when i was 17, in college, there were years that i would drink on occasion and there were years that i would drink maximum 4 times a month. i stopped drinking again the moment i knew i was pregnant 3 years ago. up until 2 years after because i was breastfeeding. it was only last year that I started drinking again.

one night, me and my friends drank too much beer. we finished at around 2am. came 4am, i got this really bad pain on my right leg only i couldn't move my leg. i couldn't explain the pain. i couldn't forget that night, i was crying in pain. my right leg was numb. i couldn't sleep again, i asked husband to get hot and cold compress but it didn't help, i didn't know what medicine to take because i get allergies on certain pain relievers. the pain traveled to my right arm, but the pain on my right arm was not as much painful as it is on my right leg. i cried for 2 hours until i realized it was morning already.

the next day i searched and started googling and reading threads. thanks to that night and to google and neurotalk, i discovered i have alcoholic neuropathy. i immediately bought over the counter supplements available in our country. B-Complex (with 1000mg b12, took it twice a day) and multivitamins. and then i started ordering supplements on amazon, yes, without even consulting a doctor (haha, my bad) right now i am on these supplements, they just arrived last week:

Nature's Plus Iron 1x a day first thing in the morning
B-Right 1x a day after breakfast
Doctor's Best Benfothiamine 300mg, Jarrow Methyl B12 1000mg, Potassium 99mg, Folate 800mg - all after lunch
Ascenta NutraSea Balanced EPA & DHA Omega 3 Supplement with Vitamin D - 2x after dinner

my question is, should i be worried that I didn't even see a doctor before taking these supplements? i think i am experiencing some side effects - nausea / dizziness / light headedness (but i can handle it). where could these possibly come from? is there something wrong with the timing of the medicines that i am taking?

to add also, it is only after researching that i realized i have also been experiencing usual short term memory loss. for example i remember i have to search for something, after a couple of seconds, i would forget what it is, and then after a couple of minutes, i would try hard to remember what it is. i don't know if this is because of neuropathy or simple momnesia, haha i was induced with anesthesia when i gave birth. i remember also experiencing very slight tingling / numbness on one leg way back when i used to drink often. there were nights when i will drink too much and then the numbness/tingling will occur, i used to think it would be rheumatism or gout, or just because it was too cold. i didn't take anything because the pain didn't bother me.

also, i have been on birth control pills for two months already when "that" night happened. i've read somewhere that pills plus alcohol can weaken the immune system? maybe that is why the pain happened? to add up also my nutritional deficiency, i am very thin and not very often take vitamins until that night happened, everyone says i'm thin and that i should start taking vitamins to get chubbier. i am also starting to think that i might have a disease that won't let my body absorb the vitamins i am taking (haha)

any inputs are really appreciated. even my husband thinks i am crazy for not seeing a doctor. also, i have been sober and stopped taking the pills since that night.

Well.... birth control tablets in some women cause blood clots.

Do you smoke? Smokers have higher risks for clots when using birth control tablets.

Did you have nitrous oxide as an anesthesia? If so and you were marginal to begin with you could have interferred with B12 metabolism.

So when taking your supplements with B12 in them, be sure to take on an empty stomach... as B12 is not absorbed much at all if any with food present.

The supplements should not cause dizziness. That can be a sign of TIAs in the brain. So I would go to a doctor and get evaluated for that and/or blood clotting disorders. It might be safer if you didn't take birth control tablets. But that should be a topic for you to discuss with your doctor.

Yes i forgot to mention that i do smoke. There were times that i used to smoke daily and there were times that i smoked only occasion and then there were times that i stopped. Maximum sticks 3x a day when i smoked often.

I really did not know what type of anesthesia was induced, as i was not able to speak directly with my doctor after i gave birth. A different doctor checked on me and i did not bother to ask also regarding the history. It was injected thru my veins and i slept the whole time. The next thing i know my baby was already out.

Another question about b12, it says on the bottle to take it with food. I wonder why? Will change timing of b12 from now on.

What are TIAs? Yes I was really hesitant to take those pills, that was not my first time. I took another brand 5 years ago and did not like the side effects it had on me. I am really glad that that night happened because if not, I wouldn't know that what I was taking was bad for me.

If it is also helpful, i also have chronic gerd / hyperacidity. I am thinking that the nausea might be because of the supplements because it usually happens in the afternoon after i take my after lunch meds. Nausea happens usually while travelling, and then when I get to burp because of the hyperacidity the nausea will lessen. Do any of these meds cause hyperacidity in the stomach? Also, should I see a neurologist directly? I wonder what the doctor will think if he knew i was already taking these meds without even consulting.

Most vitamins can be taken with food. B12 is the exception because it is used in microgram amounts...and often lost in food.

Manufacturers which produce combined products usually put the food suggestion on there.

It is best therefore to take a B12 supplement by itself separately so you can control it better, for optimum results.

Nitrous oxide is an inhaled anesthetic used in childbirth and dentristry. It is not injected, but would be inhaled via a mask of some sort.

TIA is transient ischemic attack in the brain... a warning sign of a stroke. Dizziness, numbness, weakness, in a limb or part of the face, is a sign of TIAs. Young women may have strokes when using the hormones in birth control pills. This risk is increased with smoking and in those with genetic tendencies to fast blood clotting.

Vitamins are not likely to cause a stroke. But birth controls pills may.
http://www.strokeassociation.org/STR...3_Article.jsp#

As an aside: it would be best to have a blood panel when taking iron supplements. Hemochromatosis is a rather common genetical condition, and if present is dangerous if you supplement on iron. Chances are slim you have that, but it really pays to be sure.

Whew..good to know all of these information..would it still be possible to have these TIAs even if i have stopped taking the pills and smoking a month ago? I am kind of confused and i hope starting the b12 regimen was the right thing to do. I am hoping to see the doctor soon.

When i was pregnant my doctor prescribed me 2 kinds of iron supplements, took everything 4 times a day. My iron levels were marginal and she couldn't get my iron levels on the levels she wanted. And anemia runs in the family. But i will remember to take these iron supplements for 3 months only and then stop for a while and take them again.

If you are low in B12, all the iron in the world will not make it into new cells. B12 aids in the formation of the blood cells themselves.

I would ask for a B12 test, ASAP and bring your numbers and letters here. The lab ranges for B12 have not been changed to reflect new treatment guidelines. 400pg/ml is the new acceptable low. If you are below that then you may have neurological and finally anemia symptoms.

Iron needs acid to be absorbed. So take your iron with orange juice. If you take daily acid blocking drugs, you can be low in iron, zinc, magnesium, B12, folate, and calcium.

Since you recently had a child, I'd also take some fish oil to replace EFAs the baby took from you, and also have a Vit D test, to see if your Vit D is low as well.

Stop taking any vitamins 5 days before any further testing.
The ranges on the test results were not designed to reflect vitamin intakes from supplements. So false highs will report and you won't know your real readings.

A month ago I inquired with a nearby hospital on the b12 test. It costs 290usd converted from Philippine peso. I don't know why it's so expensive here maybe it is not common among the tests hospitals use here. I probably cannot afford that for a single test, the vit d test i can.

That was my earlier guess after all of the research i've done. i am low on b12 that was why my doctor could not get the iron levels that she wanted. Made me more eager to start the regimen asap. Right now i am not taking any acid blocking drugs. But i think i will have to soon. Hyperacidity attacks more often now. I am thinking that is where i get the nausea, from my hyperacidity attacks. I only get nauseous while travelling and when i feel the acid has finally digested, the nausea is gone. But i am also a bit worried that it may be TIAs. I would have to observe my body more.

So.. just a thought. This may not be alcoholic neuropathy? What i've experienced? It may be because of the birth control pills and smoking taken together? Which caused the stroke/blood clotting that night?

My younger sister also experienced the same thing, more than 3 years ago. the attack/pain on one side of the body only. So this might be hereditary. The doctor only told her to take antibiotics for a year! She took amoxcicillin for 4months only and did several tests. The doctor did not find anything low or too high on her blood levels. I think the diagnosis was rheumatic heart disease? The attack did not happen again. She was not taking any birth control pills and does not smoke and do not drink often.

I'm sorry the diagnosis is rheumatic heart fever not disease