Alcoholic Neuropathy: Symptoms, Treatment, Recovery Timeline

Long-term heavy alcohol use, particularly when accompanied by nutritional deficiencies, can damage the body’s nerves, leading to a host of painful and debilitating symptoms. Alcoholic neuropathy can affect both sensory and motor nerves, causing pain, hypersensitivity, numbness, muscle weakness, and lack of coordination and fine motor controls, largely in the extremities. A person’s risk of the neurotoxic effects of alcohol, the quantity and duration of alcohol usage, and nutritional inadequacies are risk factors for developing alcoholic neuropathy. Alcoholics, or those who drink a lot of alcohol over a long period, are more susceptible, particularly if they don’t eat enough of the essential nutrients for nerve function and repair. A medical detox program followed by a comprehensive alcohol rehab program can manage alcoholism and help a person to get sober and stay that way. Many alcohol rehab programs help to manage co-occurring disorders, such as alcoholic polyneuropathy.

A Guide to Alcoholic Neuropathy

• One of the symptoms of a thiamine deficiency is a loss of appetite, further contributing to existing nutritional deficiencies.
• Thus, deficiency of these vitamins was felt to be unlikely in Danish beer drinkers at that time and, indeed, measured vitamin concentrations were mostly normal.
• In addition, 32 patients with nonalcoholic thiamine deficiency neuropathy were also evaluated for comparison.
• Alcohol is one of the most misused substances in the world, and over 18 million adults in the United States have an alcohol use disorder (AUD) with symptoms ranging from mild to severe.
• The person doesn’t feel pain in their limbs and can get light injuries to their limbs on a daily basis.

Alcohol causes inflammation of the stomach lining and digestive tract. When these are inflamed, it becomes difficult for the body to absorb nutrients, leading to various vitamin deficiencies. The patient also needs to find a way to manage the loss of sensation and prevent the injuries from it. Treatment of alcohol neuropathy is usually a complex procedure, especially if it involves alcohol addiction. The first step is stopping the addiction and alcohol detox with medications. After that, the patient has to go through several therapies and take medications to combat the disorder.

Effects of Alcoholic Neuropathy

However, those who have a long history of heavy alcohol consumption and more severe neuropathy may find it more difficult to recover, and if nerve damage is severe, some symptoms might become permanent. The most important thing is to catch the signs of alcoholic neuropathy early to prevent further nerve damage. You can seek treatment for AUD from a professional treatment center to reduce your symptoms by discontinuing alcohol use. Gateway Foundation offers alcohol addiction treatment to help you overcome alcohol dependence and improve your quality of life. One of the other common effects of alcoholic neuropathy is pain and hypersensitivity.

Symptoms of Alcoholic Neuropathy

Severe alcoholic neuropathy may cause motor weakness due to nerve damage. Our muscles need to receive a message from nearby nerves in order to function. When this message is interrupted due to damaged nerves, the muscles cannot function as they normally would. First, you must receive a diagnosis from your physician, and multiple tests might need to be conducted to alcohol neuropathy determine how far the condition has progressed.

• Keep moving forward, one day at a time, and appreciate the hard work you put in along the way.
• Alcohol abuse over a period of many years can increase the probability of an individual developing alcoholic neuropathy.
• Thus, in alcoholics with the mutated dehydrogenase enzyme, acetaldehyde concentrations may reach values about 20 times higher than in individuals without the mutation.
• The best way to prevent alcoholic neuropathy is to drink in moderation, eat a balanced diet, and avoid malnutrition.
• Receive encouragement from people worldwide who know exactly what you’re going through!
• Alcohol-related neuropathy is a condition caused by consuming large amounts of alcohol over a long period.

Sensory symptoms, caused by damage to sensory nerves, usually begin in the feet before progressing to the legs, hands, and arms. Usually, when sensory function becomes impaired above the ankle, they will also spread into the hands, a distribution known as the stocking-and-glove pattern.5 Symptoms also often develop symmetrically. The only way to prevent alcoholic neuropathy is not to drink excessive amounts of alcohol. Call for an appointment with your provider if you have symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy.

• However, it is known to be directly related to heavy and long-term alcohol consumption.
• Only the degree of nerve damage is determined by the nerve tests; the cause of neuropathy is not.
• TCAs have been shown to relieve various neuropathic pain conditions in many trials 115.
• The exact number of people affected by this condition is not known, but studies have shown that up to 66% of patients with chronic alcohol use disorder may have some form of the disease.

Signs and Symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy

The early signs of alcoholic neuropathy include numbness, tingling, and pain in the hands and feet. These symptoms can be mild at first, but they can worsen over time if left untreated. Alcoholic neuropathy, when left untreated, can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life. The symptoms are often painful and can be challenging to manage without help. The best way to prevent further damage and improve your symptoms is to what is Oxford House stop drinking altogether. If you’re struggling with an AUD, this can seem like an overwhelming challenge.