Originally Posted by Wide-O (Post 1294968)

Hey welcome, and good on you reading the whole thing, not many do that!


I'm in a hurry, but I actually don't think that sounds like typical peripheral neuropathy.


Sure, there are exceptions to the rule, and I know some people in the neuropathy forum have this, but generally, it is a degradation of the nerves (well, their myelin sheeth) in your extremities. For all kinds of reasons, not in the least: lack of B12 from drinking. Since those nerves are the furthest away they degrade first. (taller people are at bigger risk BTW). But as you noted, there are probably 100 causes of neuropathy, certain antibiotics, statins in some cases, etc.



That said, whatever you have will almost certainly get worse when drinking. Our bodies are just not equipped to process the toxins (aldehydes mainly).


As for symptoms: I never had numbness, I went straight to excruciating pain in a matter of days. There's also a difference in which type of nerves gets hit first: sensory or motor nerves. Motor nerves are responsible for walking/keeping straight etc. I have no damage on my motor nerves, and quite a lot of damage on my sensory nerves, bad enough that it showed up on the EMG, basically from my shins down.



All this just to say: there is no easy diagnose. Even if less likely/atypical, it may still be what you have. But only a neurologist could (no guarantee) find out.

Originally Posted by ajwinpain (Post 1295016)

That is interesting on taller people, but it makes logical sense.

Originally Posted by Wide-O (Post 1295027)

Yeah, my neurologist mentioned it as I'm 6'7". Of course, it's not the only factor, but it does play a role.




Absolutely. Especially Levaquin (but there are many others) is known to sometimes cause this. Most often it's a combination of things - immune system goes out of whack from the antibiotics, giving alcohol more chance to do further damage, even at amounts that usually would not cause an illness by itself. So you start feeling bad, don't go out as much etc etc. And there's age of course: what we could process at 18 is not what we can process when we're older. And then there is stress: I have learned over the last 10 years that it does play a big role in the perception of the symptoms.




Good luck. Try to be as active as you can in the conversation while still listening. The more info you can give (even if it seems irrelevant) the better they can judge what's really going on. A timeline is often helpful too (when did it start, when did symptom x became apparent etc)



However: don't be surprised or discouraged if at first he/she can not give you an exact diagnosis (yet) either. It's one of the frustrations you see quite often in the neuropathy forum (alcohol induced or not). These conditions are simply not easy to diagnose, and for some they will never know for sure.



Then again you clearly showed you are serious about finding out what ails you, so I'm sure you probably knew all this. Let us know what they came up with.

Originally Posted by ajwinpain (Post 1295237)

Wow, so whether I have small fiber neuropathy or not, and whether it has been caused by a Med reaction, alcohol, or both, I can say this is quite a roller coaster. Some days aren’t bad. Some days are rough. I can also say that things certainly seem worse in the evenings. And most definitively I can say that I am done with alcohol. If the days I have more pain now are due to past alcohol consumption, it will be an easy choice to never have that again, even in moderation. I still hope that completely stopping seven weeks ago means I have at least helped to stop any further damage, and can maybe even start to allow some healing, even if a very slow process now.

Originally Posted by ajwinpain (Post 1294946)

I know I saw a brief reference to alcoholic myopathy by a poster Second Chances in part 2,

Originally Posted by Atticus (Post 1295263)

Hey ajwinpain,

I think you have exactly the right approach and detached philosophical attitude that will enable you to make the fullest recovery possible. Why not aim for a full recovery? If you have alcohol induced PN then ceasing drinking inevitably means you will recover. The body is a great healer and will find a way to heal itself. You can help speed that recovery with optimum diet, exercise, supplements etc.

Nobody talks about the joy and contentment that discipline brings to life and that is what this thread has latterly become; a celebration of discipline.

So superficially we have Sesame Street enthusiasts! ( Counts who like to count!) But really its about the triumph of Discipline and hopefully an inspiration to those trying to find that discipline in their lives. I know it helped me.

Best wishes,
Atty