Possibly alcoholic neuropathy
 

Hi everyone Im new here and looking for advice. Around 2 month ago the soles of my feet went numb followed by pins n needles and now they both burn. The tingling has also spread to my hands. I did an Electrical test (not sure of name) on my feet at a hospital in Bkk where the neuro didn't tell me much except "not as bad as he thought" and gave me 300gm of lyrica and 25 g of Nortipolyn to take every day.I All of my blood work came back as normal and my liver is in perfect condition even though I have been drinking for 30 years non stop including binging most weekends. I have also had several alcohol withdrawal seizures over that time.I handle my my booze very well and most cant tell when Im drunk. Im 46y male. Am going to see a neuro in Australia next month and will take a copy of my reports. In the meantime Im taking the following supplements and would like to know if I should be taking anything else

Vitamin b group inc thiamine

Neuromet is Mecobalamin, each 1 ml ampoule contain 500mcg mecobalamin and each tablet contains 500 mcg mecobalamin. Neuromet is indicated in peripheral neuropathies, megaloblastic anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiciences

magnesium,Calcium, vitamin D,fish oil, folic acid

I have scaled back the pain killers to just 75mg of Lyrica/day

I also had chronic gout in both legs whilst in hospital and am taking 300mg puride per day. They also gave me oral steroids to take for a week to stop the swelling

The most annoying problem is the constant minor swelling of my right foot giving me permanent stabbing pain when walking and dont think its gout but neuro related. The steroids help but don't think I should be taking them to often right? The burning is annoying and the lyrica helps but don't like the spaced out feeling

Anything else I should be doing for this? many thanks for any responses

anything else you should do?
 

Yes....stop drinking altogether. 30 years of non stop drinking and binging is catastrophic to your health. Alcohol is a neurotoxin! I am a sober alcoholic with peripheral neuropathy. Go to alcoholics anonymous and get clean & sober. You are shortening your life and killing your nerve cells. every alcoholic thinks they handle their booze...but they are the only ones who do. AA can help tremendously...good luck..

ann

Hi zorrro13 & welcome to this forum, usually excessive alcohol use causes huge depletions of B1 levels out of the body, so especially the thiamine supplements are a very good idea, i took 3 x 100 mg daily of B1 for a long time, it seemed to help some with the burning, for me anyway, with the B12 methylcobalamin normally 1000 mcg [on a empty stomach] daily is the least we take here, some here take 5 mg [5,000 mcg] daily, depends on the individual & of course the other B vitamins in a multi B are needed as well to help the other B's work properly.
Have you had a Glucose Tolerance test or just the fasting Glucose test ? as a fasting glucose test is useless for testing for Prediabetes, which can cause the same nerve problems as a full blown diabetic.

good luck with the neuro appointment anyway.
Brian :)

thanks everyone I have cut back significantly (really) and am trying my best to get sober. over the last few days the burning has cut back dramatically and I assume its through rigorous consumption of suppliments over a 2 month period?. One question, is 500 mcg mecobalamin. the same as
methylcobalamin ? slightly diff spelling but its what my neuro in Thailand gave me and its a tiny white sugar coated tablet to take twice daily

Yep same stuff, it is the active form of b12, not like b12 cynocobalamin has to be converted by the liver into the active form.
Alcohol is a nerve irritant so cutting back and the B vitamins are propably both helping, best to stop it all together when your able to, if it is beer you drink, all the sugar in it can irritate the nerves too, even some people with idiopathic PN
can have a reaction to a lot of sugar, i used to like a drink myself but give it up because of the neuropathy.

Yeah pretty much beer but how on earth could my liver be in excellent shape both through blood work and ultrasound??? I did a major full body all 40+ male check up at BKK hospital (super modern) and they assure me I don't have Diabetesin regards your previous question Brian

zorro13...,
I was hospitalized for pancreatitis (from drinking alcohol to excess over a 2 yr period),....12 yrs ago - and my liver was fine. I do not have diabetes, either . I was self-medicating for my pain, and causing damage as I was doing it. But my alcohol caused my neuropathy (undiagnosed at the time) to be compromised. But my liver was OK- by their tests (and still is), and my pancreas recovered in a matter of weeks.
Alcohol (even 1 glass of wine or 1 beer) will cause me discomfort and pain an hour or more afterward. It is a proven fact that alcohol will deteriorate the myelin sheath and will cause neuropathy - in itself. Drinking & PN do not go together very well.

I don't have any answers for you but want to say thanks for being honest about your condition and raising an issue that probably many people are relucant to discuss. Like many people, I like to have a drink or two but in the back of my mind always wondered if this is affecting my neuropathy in a negative manner. However, it is one of life's little pleasures and when you have stressful things going on like a health issue it is hard to take away things you enjoy.... But I think I really should consider whether it is a factor in my neuropathy (idiopathic).

I drank beer most of my adult life and my liver is in good shape going by blood tests, which shocked me a bit too, i was also assured that i didn't have diabetes by 1 doctor & one so called neuro, but they didn't send me for a 3 hour glucose tolerance test, my 2nd neuro did and found that i had prediabetes, it was the cause of my nerve damage, that is why i was asking about the Glucose Tolerance test.

I drank heavily for years but have had very few drinks in the last 25 years.
Could it be the cause of my idiopathic showing up just a year ago?
An angle I never thought of, guess there's not much I can do about it at this point anyway.