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The B vitamins, vitamin E and niacin are important for nerve health, which means you should eat a healthful diet. Our evidence-based alcohol addiction treatment program is tailored to your individual needs so you get the best quality treatment with the highest chance for success. We can help you detox while providing you with the tools and resources to build a healthy life. Take the first step toward recovery and contact us today to learn more about our programs and services.
Diagnosis usually involves a healthcare provider collecting a medical history, performing a medical and neurological exam, and performing blood and urine tests. Treatment options include steps to quit alcohol use and managing symptoms of the disease. If you’re looking to get tested for alcoholic neuropathy, you will need to submit a copy of your medical history along with completing a physical examination and possibly submitting blood work. If you find that you have any of the symptoms listed above, you may have alcoholic neuropathy.
Signs and symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy
Some researchers estimate that 65 percent of people in the United States who have been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder also have alcoholic neuropathy. A person who drinks alcohol in excess may start to feel a tingling sensation in their limbs. In general, it takes years for alcoholic neuropathy to develop, so a long-standing history of heavy alcohol use is typical.
Can you drink alcohol if you have neuropathy?
Drinking is the second-leading cause of neuropathy, so the elimination of alcohol is the best thing you can do for yourself. If you abstain from alcohol, your neuropathy shouldn't get any worse.
Some people experience a faster onset and progression of alcoholic neuropathy than others. It’s not completely clear why some people are more prone to this complication than others. Another prominent effect of alcoholic neuropathy involves painful and uncomfortable https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/alcohol-neuropathy-symptoms-and-treatment/ sensations. Alcoholic neuropathy can result in hypersensitivity to touch and even resting pain. Light touch can feel exaggerated and painful, particularly in the fingers and toes. People who drink too much may start to feel pain and tingling in their limbs.
Nutritional deficiencies
Peripheral neuropathy is present in 46.3% of individuals with chronic alcohol consumption when confirmed by nerve conduction studies. Peripheral nerves, unfortunately, take a while to heal, so you may have setbacks. Nerve cells can be regenerated but this is dependent on the health of your nervous system. It is completely normal to have these setbacks, but overcoming the alcohol use disorder will be what kickstarts your road to a better life. Although there may not always be a full recovery from peripheral neuropathy, with the right treatment and change in lifestyle, the symptoms can go from chronic pain to slightly irritating pain. In agreement with Monforte et al. (1995), these findings suggest that alcohol could be an important risk factor for alcoholic neuropathy.
Muscle weakness is one of the most common long-term effects of alcoholic neuropathy. People with this condition might have motor weakness from nerve damage, and the nerves can’t send or receive signals. Alcohol can seriously affect a person’s health, damaging the liver, kidneys, heart and brain. However, the toxic effects of alcohol can be even more extensive by affecting the nervous system and causing alcohol-related nerve damage.
Decreased Sensation
Since nutritional deficiencies are partly to blame for alcoholic neuropathy, supplementation with vitamin B12, folate, vitamin E, and thiamine may be recommended. Alcoholic neuropathy is one of the most common but least recognizable consequences of heavy alcohol use. People with a long history of alcohol misuse might experience loss of balance, pain, tingling, weakness, or numbness after drinking alcohol. In most cases, alcoholic neuropathy sets gradually into the body so that the individual does not realize they have this condition until it is deeply rooted within their system. While weight loss is an early warning sign, it is also a side effect of heavy drinking, so most individuals with alcohol conditions do not realize what their body is trying to tell them. Alcohol consumption in extremes can also increase the toxins within a person’s body such as ethanol and acetaldehyde, which many believe are directly linked to alcoholic neuropathy.
Sensory symptoms (e.g., numbness, paresthesias, dysesthesias, allodynia, and loss of vibration and position sense) usually manifest before motor symptoms (e.g.,weakness). However, patients might gift with each motor and sensory symptoms at initial presentation. Chronic alcoholics are already at risk of developing alcoholic neuropathy symptoms due to the direct toxic effects of alcohol. However, there are other factors like medical history and gender that may contribute to the likelihood of developing alcohol-related neuropathy.
Alcohol can also cause a thiamine deficiency, which can cause neuropathy in people with an AUD. One of the symptoms of a thiamine deficiency is a loss of appetite, further contributing to existing nutritional deficiencies. It can even cause heart, brain and nerve abnormalities in severe cases. Recovery is not easy but with treatment at Cornerstone, alcohol addiction can be treated and allow patients to improve their lives. With our inpatient and outpatient services, we can provide you with the tools and treatment to either prevent or overcome the symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy. Peripheral nerves are harder to reverse the damage of, still there are many treatment options that will assist you in making the symptoms more manageable.
While peripheral neuropathy generally cannot be cured, there are several medical treatments that can be used to manage the pain of alcoholic neuropathy, aiding in your recovery. Excessive drinking is the number one cause of peripheral neuropathy, which can lead to a person feeling tingling sensations or pain in their limbs or extremities. They may also experience muscle weakness and atrophy in severe cases. Alcoholism may additionally end in loss of appetency, alcoholic redness, and puking, that decrease food intake. Substance abuse damages the liner of the system and reduces absorption of nutrients that square measure taken in. The mixture of all of them might end in an organic process deficiency that’s joined to the event of alcoholic polyneuropathy.
