Alcoholic Neuropathy is definitely real, I know, I got it. I have been a heavy drinker for 20 years, and three years ago what began as tingling in my feet turned into numbness and sometimes outright pain. I was professionally diagnosed and was told symptoms improve and sometimes go away by stopping drinking. I quit for a few weeks and guess what, my symptoms improved greatly. However then the pandemic hit, I began drinking vodka again, and the symptoms came back in a couple weeks. I am in the process of quitting again and I suspect they will diminish again. The reality is though they likely will still be residual effect, but I am proof the symptoms do improve and can become just an annoyance.
Alcoholic Neuropathy is a nervous system issue. What happens is alcohol robs the body of Vitamin B, and you become malnourished. For whatever reason, this causes the pulses from your brain to become diminished and when they get to your toes they are not strong enough. Regardless of the details your nervous system is impacted. While its not fatal, it certainly is a pain.
While there is no guarantee of improvement, one thing my neurologist guaranteed is it will get worse if you drink. That is true. Sometimes in bed I awaken terrible pain in my feet. There is medication that helps greatly, the issue is there are side effects. When I took the meds my wife would have to help me to the bathroom in the middle of the night because the meds made me completely out of it. With a family at home, I really can't be in that condition in the middle of the night in case they need me, so I just tough it out. If you are interested in the meds I can probably dig up the name.
Yes, Alcoholic Neuropathy and its more common than you think, my neurologist said patients come in virtually every week, and the advice is the same, stop and they can improve, or don't stop drinking and they will get worse.
Good luck.