Pins and Needles
 

Hi all!

Newbie here. Anyway, I'm an alcoholic who is going on my third week of sobriety. This is the longest stent i've had in 10 years. Man, what respect I have for everyone working on recovery. I'm on week three and still feel like crap. I've had all kinds of symptoms but none more bothersome than the pins and needles/cramping sensation all over my body. The onset occurred about three days after I quit so I don't think it's alcohol induced peripheral neuropathy. That said, i googled the way i'm feeling an of course the internet has me thinking its MS or some other neurologic disease. Has anyone else experienced this? *I checked the FAQ on this page and it didn't populate any results*

Dr. Google is always giving me cancer. I started taking daily vitamins on week 2 I think? Multi,potassium,ect.. Drinking robs a lot of nutrition in several ways. Lack of a proper diet(even if I'd eat at all some days) being a big one for me. So, this last quit I threw Vit into my daily plan and still take them 12 months later. Just a thought.

I had similar symptoms. A multivitamin for the minerals and b vitamins really helped speed my recovery.

Hi Tommy - only a Dr can tell you for sure whats goign on - a real one, not Dr Google.

If you're not that worried about it I hope it will pass in time :)

D

I had all sorts of stuff coming and going the first few weeks.

Eat well, hydrate yourself, get on some quality vitamins / minerals
as drink depletes everything.
Gentle walking, lots of showers, plenty of sleep all help.

I feel you bro. I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you about my peripheral neuropathy (PN).

I had myself convinced I had neurological disease too. I couldn't understand why it came on days after quitting drinking. There are 2 reasons the dr gave me. First he told me that my neurochemistry is rebalancing, and it's literally a stress on your nervous system while this brain chemistry clears up. Second, he talked about how alcoholics bodies, at a cellular level, actually function better for short periods with alcohol. At the same time alcohol is killing you, it provides a very short-term bridge over gaps in your nerve communications system (that alcohol created in the first place, mind you). In sudden sobriety, these gaps are suddenly apparent. There's no "lunricating" affect of alcohol. These gaps cause things that are weird involving electrical impulses that are nerve signal transmission.

For me, it was the pins and needles, cramping, spasms/twitching. It was worst in my hands, but I could and did twitch everywhere. For months. Other weird sensations (parasthesias in medical speak) involved a feeling of weakness in my grip (without actually being noticeably weaker), "buzzing" or shocking (felt like electrical fleas), feeling like I had water spots on my legs (but didn't), a lower left eyelid that twitched for weeks, like a twitch a second in my calves for long periods after exercise, restless leg syndrome, myclonic jerks (I.e. Flailing body parts while drifting off to sleep). Fun stuff.

So neurologists are really good at nerve stuff. I had to see 3 before I got all the answers tho. Withdrawal also messes with your brain, giving you evil recurring thoughts. So see who you have to see. But I still have some issues after 10 months. They have gotten better. My neuro thinks I will make a full to partially full recovery which is fine - I am fortunate that my symptoms are a distraction, not painful or debilitating.

The other thing he told me to keep in mind, is that medical folks don't have this all nailed down. PN is permanent in some people, while others recover quickly. there are a lot of unknowns on how nutrition, time, and cumulative impact make healing easier or harder. Symptoms can come and go for a long time. Good luck,

Hi often get them when I quit drinking ... I took vitamin b and after a few weeks it went away

After 10 years of dumping poison into your body, it will take some time to adjust, and much of it will be unpleasant. Though keep going, and things will get better day by day

Wow, thank you NoahJ - I went through so many of the same things - and had never come across it in reading other people's stories here. Besides SR I'm doing this alone, so perhaps if I had attended meetings or seen a doctor I would know about this. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I'm coming up to 4 months and the needles and jerking limbs have mostly stopped. I still get a little twitchy at night before I sleep but it is mild compared to the first couple of months.

One word: POTASSIUM...... You are very low on your potassium levels. Thats why you cramp up. See your doctor about some potassium medication or atleast buy a bottle of a Multivitamin....

Noah, I feel like you took over my mind and wrote that post. Pretty crazy! Good to know that what i'm going through, to include occasional intrusive thoughts, is an experience shared by others. It's crazy what booze can do to your overall health. Thanks for your shared experience man. Helps put my mind at ease. And congrats on 10 months!

Thanks everyone!

Just a reminder not to give out medical advice guys. Share your experience when appropriate but no advice/recommendations/diagnoses/ treatment plans for others please.

Dee
Moderator
SR

Dee's right for several reasons. Not only is it a liability for the site, but even the wrong over he counter vitamin, for someone with near-acute pancreatitis or undiagnosed pre-cirrhosis, can do more harm than good.

I apologise for that... you're right.... I just went by what the doctors always told me.... But, my bad...

Did your symptoms improve by now?

Well I had that at one time and I now associate that with my drinking as well as allergies so that’s my personal experience with it

YEESH!!!! Dr. Google is the worst dr EVER! Lol. Don’t google stuff peeps

Now the mystery gets weird. I had the exact symptoms you describe while I was drinking heavily about a year ago. Ofcourse I went to Dr. Google. Scared myself s**tress....continued drinking heavily so in no shape to see my Dr. Can't recall how long these nueorological oddities went on. I suspect a couple of months. Then one day they were gone never to return. But it's weird cuz yours happened in withdrawal and mine while drinking. I do hope you see your Dr. and keep posting. We need an answer to this mystery and you need medical attention. Congrats on your sobriety and best of luck at doctors.

I have nerve issues as well. In my experience, something I have learned over numerous quit attempts is Alcohol is a sedative (DUH)!...and a pain killer as well. I'am a daily drinker when I drink and I always have a level of alcohol in my body. The alcohol diminishes pain. After a few days to a few weeks, most alcohol is purged from the body and the nerve damage can be quiet painfull because there is no more "Painkiller" to mask the pain. I start hurting in places that I did'nt know hurt! My vitamin, mineral and electrolyte's get all out of whack and that just makes things worse for a while.

I take a B-Complex vitamin and a daily Multi Vitamin. Dont see where it can hurt. Walking a lot helps me also.

What does my Doc say? Quit drinking, for good, of course.

Just my thoughts.

DD