SoberSilvia

Hi, all:

I'm female mid 50s, no alcohol for a little over 200 days, and my parathesia (hands, feet, calves) still hasn't gone away, but it might be a little better. I drank 4 to 6 glasses of wine for maybe 25 years before that. My tests for nerve damage were negative, bloodwork good also -- so I was lucky and figured I just had to take my neurologist's recommendation to stop drinking.

He said he thought the nerves would heal if I did, but that was 7 months ago, and I still have the tingling/sometimes buzzing. Tried neurontin (which did nothing) and Lyrica (I think that's gabapentin). The latter made me feel like someone else, and I did really absent-minded things. Just couldn't focus, so I didn't stay on it long. Not taking anything now for the tingling, and I can stand it, can live with it. Just hoped it would eventually go away. Any one had a similar experience with it taking this long to heal the nerves?

Thanks,
Silvia

Dee74

Hi Silvia - welcome

Have you thought about getting a second opinion, new tests etc?
you might pick up something now that wasn't evident then?

D

LexieCat

I had a similar problem, and it was one of the things that persuaded me I had to quit drinking. I had slight numbness/tingling in fingers and toes, and I had had a whole series of neuro tests with nothing found that would explain it.

So I quit--that was four and a half years ago, and it has not improved in that time. I also now have developed a numb patch on the skin of my left ankle. I think the fingers and toes have gradually worsened, as well. I need to go back to the doctor, I suppose, but I'm thinking this will turn out to be one of those mystery things where nobody knows for sure what is going on. They ruled out MS or anything like that when I had the neuro testing done before.

I find it hard to believe that if it is alcohol related it would be progressing after four and a half years of sobriety.

So, I guess my answer is, I'm not sure, lol. I know alcohol CAN cause it, but I'm not convinced now that that is what caused mine. I do know I'm very happy to be sober, regardless of the neuro issue.

sugarbear1

sobersilvia, do you think that in a short 7 months over 25 years of drinking could be reversed?

maybe see the doctor again and keep staying stopped! our bodies take a while to heal.

Glad you found SR!!!

Hugs,
~SB

SoberSilvia

Thanks, all, for your responses.

Nothing to do but wait, really. I had to take out a loan to pay for the portion of the original tests that wasn't covered by my deductible -- so at least for the present, there's nothing I can else do. Am just relieved that there turned out to be no verifiable nerve damage and that it wasn't rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. I really don't know how long to expect healing to take.

Sorry to hear that your experience after quitting has not been better, Lexie.

I am still struggling a bit with not drinking. It's not fun, but it is healthier.
Thank you for the comments and the support.

Syl

Sasha4

Any neuropathic pain is really difficult to treat - diabetic neuropathy or post hepatic neuralgia (after shingles), trigeminal neuralgia (in the face).

There is good evidence though from acupuncture - it is done on the NHS here in the UK. To be honest I think it would only be worth trusting a medical acupuncturist not someone at a spa or who has a cosmetic license.

Another type of drug with good success is capsaicin - which in the UK is a prescription only drug and is available in cream form. I am not sure if it is available in the states. It is extracted from the chilli pepper. It takes a while to work but has no side effects and does not cause problems with other drugs taken.

My Dad tried gabapentin for numb feet.
The side effects were bad. He became quite aggressive too. His neurologist prescribed the capsaicin cream and he has good results. He has to use it 4 times a day but it is worth it to get some relief in his feet.

It is available in 2 strengths but the 0.075% is used for neuropathy. I am sure you will be able to read about it on the web.

I do believe that whatever the cause of neuropathic disease, be it drink, diet, diabetes, drug abuse, traumatic injury, everyone deserves to live pain free and have the best quality of life they can.

Obesity is treated and taken seriously. There are lots of associated risks and health problems from obesity and they cost our NHS thousands and thousands of pounds.

Smoking is addressed by the NHS and prescriptions are given for nicotine replacement and other stop smoking drugs. COPD is a massive cost to the NHS.

People that drive dangerously and have accidents, are just taken into surgery and put back together...and then have to the face the police but medically they are treated and cared for.

Neuropathy from drinking is no different.
Don't hide away from going to the doctors and getting good treatment just because it is drink related.
And if you do feel that you are dismissed because it is related to drink, then you are entitled to another unbiased opinion.
Often people with chronic pain self medicate with drink and if they could get their pain under control, they may drink less or be willing to stop completely.

For people in the UK, please this is your NHS as much as it is mine, as much as it is someone else's with non drinking health problems.

I personally feel sad that there are people who think they have to suffer with pain everyday because they believe they are to blame from heavy drinking.

If there was such a thing as a tick list for disease's I wanted the NHS to treat on the basis I am a UK tax payer and resident, then yes 100% I want to know people with alcohol induced neuropathy are treated with compassion and understanding and that the goal should be living a pain free existence.

And the more patients that present wanting help with alcohol neuropathy the better our doctors and health professionals will become at diagnosing it and treating it. I think this applies to patients worldwide as well.

Like hypochondriac said, the more people who are aware that liver problems are just one of the myriad of health problems that can occur from drinking, the more wary they maybe of drinking.

So go get some good advice!

SoberSilvia

Hi, all:

Just a comment about gabapentin (Lyrica): What a trip that was! I really had trouble concentrating while on it. I also found myself forgetting things, so I went off of it, as it really didn't help anyway. Even a day or two after going off of it, I left the water running in my bathroom, left the house and came home to a flooded bathroom. That is not the normal me! Also, my neurologist was glad to hear that I'm off of it. That was two years ago.

My neuropathy is really more just parathesia and is really not painful. Definitely something I can live with if it doesn't get any worse. The biggest downside is being advised not to do weight-bearing exercise as I try to stay fit -- so I walk a little and ride the stationery bike.

It is definitely nicer waking up and not having the first thought be: "Ok, how much did I drink last night." Not having a hangover is also a benefit as is not spending the $$$.

Take care!
Syl

Leo17

Now that you mention it, I do have slight tingling in my feet and hands. I also have lots of twitching and readjustment when I sober up. Also, I've noticed my head, neck, and throat have taken some sort of damage.

I am hoping this all goes away after a few months of sobriety. I am only 29, but have been partying pretty hard since high school. Hopefully the damage is reversable.

ricmcc

I know that heavy, chronic alcohol abuse interferes greatly with the bodies' ability to absorb Vitamin B12, which is essential for maintaining a healthy nervous system, and usually manifests itself first in tingling or numbness in the extremities, like hands and feet. I am a layman, though, you must see your doctor to see just exactly is what is going on with you. B12 deficiency is treatable, btw, but you really need to see a doctor to find out what you have and how best to treat it--good luck to you, rick

wpainterw

I've heard that some neuropathy is reversible. Consult your doctor on this and what to do to make sure you get better.

W.

SoberSilvia

Hi, B12 is a good point to make. My levels were normal, thank goodness. Take care!

junk33

Hi, I have this every time i stop drinking ,,it is really bad for the first 3 days or so ,i cant sleep at all ,right when i dose off it feels like i get stabbed in the legs or feet .Feet are numb and hurt,i started to get it in my left fingers as well this week. It does seem to get better and better the more days i abstain.
I have had a few really heavy drinking days in the past where i had the pain all throughgout my shoulders, i remember rolling up in the fetal position on my dogs bed and praying for the pain to go away..
Alcohol is definately responsible ,im on another stop and at the end of day 6 i can still feel the pain ,hopefully i can get some much needed sleep
good luck to you ,I feel your pain
take care

SoberSilvia

Hi,
I have posted elsewhere about this. I have the classic stocking and glove pattern (you might want to google it if you haven't already done it). I drank for about 25 years (maybe 4-6 glasses of wine a night), and then the onset was sudden in April of 2010. It was mostly just tingling/prickly feelings in my palms/fingers and the balls/soles of my feet + toes, and it kind of felt like my calves were bound. Not really painful but annoying and scared me to death, especially because my feel would also fall asleep. It was and still is worse at night.

My family practice physician suspected alcohol and sent me to a neurologist who suggested the same thing. He wanted to do bloodwork and nerve conduction tests, which I put off for two years after losing my job/work. I just didn't have the money to pay for it. I tried to quit drinking but couldn't. Did manage to cut the wine with half water, though, which at least slowed down the absorption over a longer period of time.

In July of 2012, I had the bloodwork and the tests, and everything was normal. The neurologist said he could find nothing to treat -- and he said he thought what I had would heal if I quick drinking, but he couldn't give me any sort of timetable. I did quit -- that very night, and it's been 7 months. The parathesia varies in intensity and also which parts of my hands and feet/calves it affects. Sometimes, I think I feel it on my face and maybe my arms -- but it's hard to say. Actually tonight, it hasn't been that bad, so I'm wondering if it might actually be healing.

It's weird, but I can live with it and will feel fortunate if it doesn't get any worse. Neurotin didn't help. Lyrica (gabapetin) made me goofy.

Good luck!

hypochondriac

Hey Silvia. I guess everyone is different on this and heals on different timescales. The neuropathy in my hands cleared up pretty quickly. I get the odd tingle now and then but nothing like I had before. And I had had nerve conduction tests which showed nerve damage/impingement so you would have thought that would have taken longer to clear up. My leg is a different matter. I only ever got it in my right leg and it is still not completely right but it is a lot better, but that took months. I'm nearly 12 months now and I think it has only really been the last few months where I have been forgetting it was there. I find walking helps a lot. I might be imagining it but it can't hurt to get the blood flowing a bit x The only thing I have now really is burning patches for a few seconds. I can live with that x

SoberSilvia

Hypo... If you don't mind me asking, how long did you drink, and how long did you have the neuropathy before quitting alcohol?

hypochondriac

I was drinking daily for 12 years and I had the neuropathy in my hands for about 4 years before I quit but in my leg only a year or so, which was another reason why I was surprised that took longer to clear up x

SoberSilvia

Thank you, hypo. Sounds like you didn't experience it in the feet -- or experience the classic glove and stocking pattern. I am encouraged by your post. Maybe mine will be gone by the end of the first year... mostly. It's interesting how different everyone's experience with that is.

I have heard that really bad neuropathy is like having your feet (or whatever part is affected) on fire and is really a painful thing to try to live with. I sure am grateful for not having that...

Syl...

SoberSilvia

Please post and let us know how you are doing.
Take care,
Sylvia

Healthworried13

I got tons of shooting pains in my hands and feet... then it progressed to my eye ball like I was being shocked... it was the most horrible feeling I have ever experienced. I also get chills and nausea.. anyone else?

Dee74

Hi healthworried

It may be nothing in the end, but I think that's something to see a Dr about, to be honest.

D