Alcoholic Neuropathy
 

Hi Everyone -

I'm new to the forums, but I wanted to say wow, what a community you guys have here. It's great to see so many helping others get through difficult times. Restores my faith in humanity a bit. :)

Anyways - I have a question on what I'm perceiving to be alcohol induced neuropathy. I've been a pretty heavy drinker for the past 7 years. 3 days ago I woke up with some tingling in my right leg. I didn't think much of it, but came across alcohol induced PN and really started to freak myself out. I've cut all drinking since then, but still have the symptoms. I wouldn't say it's painful, just more uncomfortable and giving me some anxiety that I've done irrecoverable damage. I have done some searches on the forums and have seen the supplements that people have recommended so I'm planning on starting down that route.

My main question is - Can alcohol induced PN come on this quickly? I don't remember noting any tingling or numbness anywhere prior to this. Does this sound like alcohol induced PN?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Hi Roror

Welcome to Neurotalk :).

I don't know how rapidly alcohol induced neuropathy can happen - (I am an in-remission alcoholic) - when I was drinking I had mild neuropathy in my hands with some tremor as a bonus - both have gone away now.

You might like to check out and post in this forum; http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum31.html . It is a supportive place for people who are at different stages of dealing with alcohol issues.

All the best.

Hi kiwi33 -

Thanks very much for the link. I'll definitely check it out.

As much as I don't wish this upon anyone, it's comforting to know that I'm not alone.

Thanks!

Hi Roror,
Welcome to the forum. It's hard to tell at this point whether what you are dealing with is alcohol related or not. But, obviously quitting drinking is the best path to take. From the things I've read from those dealing with mild to moderate alcohol induced PN, you can typically get significant recovery once you stop drinking. But, it does take some time.

Might be a good time to do a full review of your lifestyle. Make sure your diet is good, be sure to get some exercise to the extent you can, and stress reduction is always a good thing (but admittedly difficult in today's world)

Taking some supplements may also help. Thiamine (or the more active form - benfotiamine) is a good thing to take if you have alcohol related issues. But, if you look through the forum you will find lots of other information on supplements.

Best of luck with the issues your having - hopefully your feeling better soon

I am sorry that you find yourself here. I have large fiber peripheral neuropathy largely due to Alcohol and malnutrition. I started with my left leg being so bothersome. It was worse at night, so restless and felt warm all of the time. I drank and stayed too thin and suddenly had a dropped foot about six months later. It just dropped in the middle of the day on me. I thought I had some sort of sprained ankle or something. I kept drinking while my foot got better and finally went to the hospital and quit about a year and a half from when "the bothersome left leg" began. I have been told that I simply waited too long to quit and too much damage has been done to ever hope for complete healing. I am a 39 year old woman with rapidly progressing self inflicted nueropathy. The progression is so terrible; once a symptom seems to "even out" or "calm down", a new one comes rushing in all angry. I make the most of the good times with my work and the horses, and then sometimes I have a complete meltdown and cry and beg for relief that cannot come. If I knew for one second what I was doing back then.... I thought that I was killing myself with alcohol. This is slow and painful. It sounds like you are not too late. My nuerologist has agreed with all of the advice here, I just had to present it to her first. I would get tested and read about the supplements, etc. Best of luck

peripheral neuropathy, other than injury or spinal issues, cause bilateral neuropathy usually on both sides of the bodie. if you have only the right leg, it could be your spine, or the nerve itself.

Welcome Roror
 

Welcome to the group and I'm sure you will find that this forum, as well as several related, to be one of the more significant discoveries in your physical life taking the time to read, Thread by Thread, the huge wealth of knowledge and experience amassed herein. I, myself, am self-inflicted with PN brought on heavily after drinking for 50 years,(16 to 66) and as a fellow relative newcomer, have spent countless hours poring over the posted experience histories of fellow members. Acknowledging the explicit disclaimers by Neuro Talk regarding taking these suggestions as a substitute for prescribed relief solutions by a licensed medical professional--I am going on record here that my PERSONAL opinion is: question every source, no matter what official paper credentials may hang on an office wall. From what is any particular source's information/education/enlightenment, gleaned on subject matter that still has so many unanswered facets? Never hesitate to reach out to others with personal real-life experiences.(We are always just a few keyboard taps away). Always be accountable, after consideration by listening to your body, that the ultimate treatment decision is YOUR OWN.

One possible plus could be that if your condition is, in fact, PN.......and it came on so suddenly after what some of us would consider a relatively short drinking career......your prognosis for a timelier than most rebound from symptoms could be hoped for.

On the other hand, I, like Neuroproblem, have never heard of Alcohol PN being other than bi-lateral, so neurological testing on elements of the CNS would probably be advisable to follow up on.

In short, all the best of luck and keep us posted as to progress.