Hi Aussie,

hope you are keeping well. it seems my symptoms may have been very similar to yours. i am only 26 but have peripheal neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy probably as a result of alcohol i gave up alcohol straight away once i noticed but it has gradually got worse. legs and hands buzzing and starting to become painful, walking on golfballs, irregular heartbeat, heartburn, abnormal sweating, pale face, sleep disturbance, large pupils, constipation, early signs of erectile dysfunction and dizziness, slight headaches, oversensitivity to noise. this has me extremely worried about my future and its very hard not to let negative thoughts creep in .

just wondering were your symptoms similar to mine? how well you recovered? and how long did it take? can u feel nerve regeneration? can u recover from autonomic neuropathy? do u have any advice? sorry for all the questions but they are constantly playing on my mind. i need someone who doesn't think i am crazy, please help

thanks very much you sound like a kind caring person.

best wishes my friend

All I can say is do not drink again. Also don't take mega doses of any vitamins as in my opinion that can be toxic as well. Stay fit, well nourished and take a multivitamin. Get checked for any vitamin deficiencies and work with your doctor on getting them resolved. Keep a health journal and write down your symptoms. Get support from family and a doctor. Keep regular doctor appointments. It seems to me that most cases of PN are treated the same, and by correcting the underlying illness (ie. alcohol) you have a good chance of stopping and reversing some of the damage. I also had autonomic symptoms for a long time and they eventually resolved well enough to not be a major issue for me. I had palpitations,anxiety and labile bloodpressure. I was miserable. It was really tough but I am still here. I was painfree for almost 3 years until I had a car accident and the injury to my spine set off a big flare of PN again. As for you, just get some support, praying also helped me and take it day by day. Nobody knows what the future holds for any of us. There is a very good chance that you will improve in time. feel free to PM me anytime. I am not on he board everyday though. I usually check in twice a week.

My doctor suggested vitamin b and thyamine supplements and flooding my system with glucose(lucosade) - this didnt work for me as I am not alcoholic(just the daughter of a recovering one) but he said it helped his alcoholic patients.
Someone also said smoking makes this worse - it stands to reaon that the smoke in your system will stop oxygen getting to the extremities so will starve the nerves.
Good luck in your sobriety

Another study on alcoholic PN
to read more please go to
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1174146-overview

mizz mg I also have alcoholic neuropathy. Drank for 30 yrs. Have all the good things that go w/it. Cardiomyopathy, balance problems, neuropathy from the knee down on both legs, no ankle reflexes and the worst is alcoholic Hep C. Take 1600 mg neurotin and 250 mg effexor a day. Tried all of the vitiamins and thiamin, folic acid etc. This didn't help. But don't get discouraged some days are better than others. Neurologists have told me once the nerve damage is done it's irreversible unless caught very quickly. Hopefully, yours is caught in time. As for the health ins. try if possible to get on Medicaid thru your state it will cover all depending on income. Keep your head up and do your best. Hopefully, you will get relief.

mizzmg & cindy t,
I also have alcoholic neuopathy. I've had it for over 12 years, now.
I drank for many years and self-medicated on booze, before I was Dx'd w/PN.
Read the threads called 'sticky' at the top of the topics page.
It is invaluable info for 'newbies'.
Also, take vit B12 in the sub-lingual Methyl cobalamin form (not cyano cobalamin)
at least 1000-2000mcg/day.