Hi
Have had burning soles of the feet for the past week and during the day, they feel full of fluid when l walk, it like a tightening of the skin, like they are going to pop open. Some muscle twitches during the night. When l rung the neurologist he said that l have early signs of Peripheral neuropathy, that was 6 months ago, why he didn't tell me that then l don,t know. So l need to go for more tests a two weeks. I have so many questions. The main one being. Is l have had a few parties over the past few months and have had some bad hangovers from too much wine. This month l have had 2 pretty big nights out, and l am a mother, what was l thinking. Both of those nights had me in bed the next day. Usually l don,t get like that. At home husband l share a bottle of wine a few times per week, l generally don,t drink from Mon- Thu, but do drink more in weekends.

Could l have caused this nerve damage from drinking like this? I mean how much does one have to drink to get nerve damage? I am 41 years old mum, who is at normal range in weight, excersise four times per week and only have two meals per day, which are very healthy. Loads of vegetables and protein and nuts. Could l have done this to myself? Maybe l didn't,t eat enough nutrients and consumed too much wine. Is there a way they can diagnose me as having alcohol neuropathy? A certain kind of test?
Also, thought this was something older people get. Does that mean my life will be shortened because of this? Why is this happening to me? I just feel so anxiouse and sad. I have two lovely daughters to bring up, how am l going to do this in pain?
Also does this mean l can never have a glass of wine again? Today l am invited to lunch, l am so scared of even having just one glass just in case l do more nerve damage.
sorry. Sue

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

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You are rather young for PN... so first I think you should screen for the most common causes. Alcohol is typically blamed, but in reality it is not a huge trigger for most. There are people who cannot metabolize it well, and byproducts build up and can
affect nerve functions. This is a genetic thing involving Vitamin B1 Thiamine which is a major cofactor in alcohol metabolism.
A newer more efficient form exists now called Benfotiamine, and trying this may help you.
Here is a post about it:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post653193-4.html

Another cause may be low B12 levels. This can be very common, and also due to use of some drugs, RX and OTC.
Metformin for type II diabetes depletes this, as well as common acid reducing drugs like Zantac or Prilosec etc.
This is our B12 thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread85103.html

Also LOW blood sugars, happen when you drink. And low sugar levels are a sign of impaired glucose tolerance which precedes diabetes by several years. It is also called insulin resistance.
This can lead to starving nerves when the lows occur. If you have testing for diabetes, typically the doctor only looks for HIGHS...the lows are commonly ignored. But they do provoke symptoms and muscle twitching and tingling or burning are also signs. One has to watch sugar intake and starchy carbs therefore and sometimes this helps reduce these symptoms.
Also if you follow a sensible low carb diet,you may forstall diabetes in the future.

People can also be low in magnesium, because modern processed foods are low in this mineral. A quick test is epsom salt soaks for the feet, which often give fair relief of symptoms.
I'd try that. 6-8 oz in a bath tub of warm (not hot) water, or a foot pan with 3-4 oz once or twice a day, may reveal that you are low in magnesium and need to eat different foods, or decide to take a chelated supplement (not magnesium oxide).
This is our magnesium thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html
Low magnesium can cause muscle twitching.

So please study up and decide how you will proceed. Be aware that lab ranges for B12 are often low, and new levels are now recommended. If you have testing bring your results here and include the concentration of the test, as other countries use different scales. (US units pg/ml and others are pmol/L)

This is a beginning for you... as you study our information on the Subforum at the top of the page here at PN, you may decide to try other things. In the meantime, I'd do some detective work on yourself to see if there is a trigger in your environment that is causing this as well. Toxins, chemicals, vaccines, viral illnesses, dry cleaning fumes, autoimmune disease, can be culprits. There are genetic errors that cause Charcot Marie Tooth neuropathy, and this follows family lines, so relatives may have this too. Also some food intolerances, like gluten, and nightshade vegetables may cause chronic neuropathy symptoms. The nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant) can cause burning feet or skin, and this may happen hours or days later after consuming. Doing some elimination testing may reveal food as a trigger for some people.

Thanks so much for all your information.
Do you think l am too young too have Neurothopy?

Do you think it is unlikely even the neurologist said l show early signs 6 months ago?

Also l had my b12 tested at the end of last year and they were normal. I can post u the results?

Does soaking in Epsom salts increase magnesium in the body?

What about b1 or other b,s do they also help?

I find when l take b,s l feel terrible.



Thanks sue

I started my PN when I was about 30. It was due to hypothyroid issues. Once that was fixed my feet came back to 90% normal.

But we do see younger people here now, than say back a decade when I started online.

Younger means aging is not the simple culprit. Many autoimmune diseases are showing up in younger people now, because of the extreme push vaccines are being given. The H1N1 vaccine in other countries had squalene in it and this has been shown in animals to stimulate autoimmune reactions. We have a Canadian poster here who got 2 doses by mistake, and had nerve damage from it. In Australia, the H1N1 vaccine caused seizures in infants, and was discontinued for a time.
In northern Europe, there is now a cluster of narcolepsy in children being found who received the vaccine.

People are being exposed to things nowadays that we weren't in the past, so yes, younger ages. Diabetes type II is now occurring in late teens in the US! So the neuropathy that comes from that would be showing up younger. I've seen some healthy men of normal weight showing up with type II in their 30's.

So while 40ish is not terribly young anymore, it is still less likely for PN compared to the past, where PN was mostly in older folks. When the teens and 20's posters show up, I suspect
mostly vaccine injury or drug injury.

The drug thread can be helpful because there are MANY drugs including common ones that can actually cause PN:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread122889.html

On some lists is an antibiotic no longer available here and in most countries. BUT...I have discovered that SHRIMP farmed in Thailand and some other places have chloramphenicol added to them, and we may be exposed to that by just eating shrimp in restaurants and at home! Something I love to do!
So PN can be very sneaky and get you even when you are thinking you are doing all you can to avoid it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500262_162-644203.html
I was having shrimp a couple of times a month, and when I went out... I am now concerned!

There is another thing I thought of....since you mention WINE.

Wine is often a source of sulfites. These preservatives are added to it during bottling.

Some people are allergic to sulfites, and it might be a factor for you. Also sulfites are in various foods:

http://foodallergies.about.com/od/co...iteallergy.htm

http://allergies.about.com/od/foodal...a/sulfites.htm

Not all people have the asthma component, but skin sensations are possible IMO. Intolerance is usually a smaller reaction, that an allergic one. If you are allergic to sulfa drugs, you may be reacting to the sulfites in the wine.

If you stay away from wine and the other foods in that list in the link above for a month or so, and feel better, then reintroduce something and see if you relapse. That is the best way to test for it without going thru elaborate medical testing.

It can happen young now just like other disease like Diabetes. Kids get illness that only older adults used to get. Medications, sugar (can cause oxidative stress,) carbohydrates, toxins, etc, all add up. Food is one of the most important things to watch.

The supplements are very, very important. Benfotiamine is so good. You can really learn a lot reading all about it. Not B1.... Benfotiamine which is fat and water soluble.

The book "Minding my Mitochondria" is excellent. About healing nerves and the myelin that insulates them. About food and supplements needed for that and the mitochondria. It is written by an MD, Terry Wahl's who has MS and was in a wheel chair and now walks and exercises. Lots of good videos on You Tube by here also.

There is SO much we can do!

I am glad you found Neuro Talk. There will be alot of different responses and information for you. Normally, wine is not a huge factor in nerve pain to my knowledge. It doesn't sound like you over do it or anything like that.
If I were having that much pain, I believe I would see my primary care physician, and ask his opinion. He may refer you to a neruologist, or not depending on what he thinks this could be. For sure go see someone. That burning sensation also can come from some kinds of neuropathy, or PN. There are tests for that, to rule it out. I do have some form of this in my ankles and feet. There are also medicatons that can help. Please visit the peripheral Neuropathy forum, and ask even more questions. There will be people to help you and give you more information. I do wish you all the best as you go forward to find a resolution, where you arn't in so much pain. Welcome again to Neruo Talk. You will find alot of friendly folks here to help. ginnie

Its a relief to speak to you all.

Have many post to come.

I think l just posted this accidentally in the wrong thread. Ahhh.


Sue

don't worry, it is OK to post anywhere. Someone will be along to help you with navagation. I have been here two years, and sometimes I still do need help with getting around the boards. If you would use the search bar up at the top of the page, you can type in your medical condition, and it will get you to that forum where folks have the condition you do. I still can't transsfer a thread, so I am learning too! Have a good day, ginnie