The possible side effects and complications of treatments for peripheral neuropathy depend on many is alcohol bad for neuropathy factors. These include the specific cause of the neuropathy, other conditions you have, the specific treatments you receive and more. Your healthcare provider is the best person to tell you more about the possible side effects and complications you might experience. Fennelly and colleagues evaluated the response to vitamin therapy in 29 individuals with alcohol-related neuropathy 30. Patients were admitted and treated with a diet containing thiamine, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, folic acid, and vitamin B12.
The condition could be linked to diabetes, medications, vitamin deficiencies and more
- While sometimes attributed to overuse of the wrists and hands, carpal tunnel can be triggered by arthritis, thyroid disease or injury, according to the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy.
- Neuropathy has several potential causes, so your provider may also recommend that you have a nerve biopsy or undergo nerve conduction tests.
- The damage from alcohol-related neuropathy may be the direct result of alcohol addiction.
- There is a 6% to 51% prevalence rate of peripheral neuropathy in diabetic adults.
- Experts believe that chronic alcohol intake leads to oxidative stress, which then causes neuronal damage.
This may be a reflection of the severity of the neuropathy in which motor nerve function is affected at a later stage. The abnormalities were usually of reduced amplitude, in keeping with axonal loss 2, 3, 5, 11, 12, 16, 21, 27, 37–39, 47, 51, 53, 54, 56, 63–68. H and F wave latencies were not routinely reported but were found to be prolonged in those with alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy in studies that did 4, 67. Particular attention was paid to radial SNAPs, tibial CMAPs, and sural SNAPs due to them being spared in entrapment neuropathies unlike the median, ulnar, and peroneal nerves. The sural nerve was the most commonly reported nerve 2, 3, 5, 11, 27, 37–39, 51, 53, 59, 63, 68. Motor function of the tibial nerve was the next common 3, 11, 51, 54, 59, 63.
Alcoholic Neuropathy
Medical, mental health, and substance abuse providers all work together to form and carry out a treatment plan that helps to manage all disorders at the same time. Alcoholic polyneuropathy is progressive and gets worse over time, as the damage to the nerves increases with continued alcohol abuse. The problems that alcoholic neuropathy causes with muscle weakness, balance, and coordination can make a person more at risk for falling down and getting injured.
What can I expect if I have this condition?
Early diagnosis and treatment increase the chances of a successful recovery. The damage from alcohol-related neuropathy may be the direct result of alcohol addiction. Alcohol addiction can cause nutritional deficiencies, resulting in nerve damage. For some people, peripheral neuropathy is temporary, treatable or both. Thanks to advances in medical science and technology, many symptoms or forms of peripheral neuropathy are now treatable. That offers many people a chance to manage this condition, meaning they can live longer and with fewer restrictions or impacts from the related conditions and symptoms.
- The most effective alcohol neuropathy treatment involves a combination of lifestyle changes, medical support, and symptom management strategies.
- Thirteen studies provided data from the biopsy of the sural nerve or the skin in patients with alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy.
- Physical therapy and exercise can help maintain muscle strength and improve coordination.
- It happens when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, gets inflamed or squeezed, causing numbness, pain and weakness in the hand and wrist.
- This is similar to how chronic alcoholism and alcohol toxicity dramatically increases one’s risk of developing a wide variety of different forms of cancer.
- Peripheral neuropathy is an umbrella term for any condition, disease or disorder that affects your peripheral nerves, which are all the nerves outside of your spinal cord and brain.
Other Alcohol-Related Neurological Conditions
However, if you have a history of substance use disorder or chronic alcoholics, you may be suggested to use alternatives to regular pain medications, like massage or acupuncture. Alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy (ALN) can occur when someone drinks a lot of alcohol, which is often the case in individuals suffering from alcohol use disorder Halfway house and high alcohol use. Symptoms can include numbness in hands and feet, digestive issues, and loss of balance due to loss of nerve function. The only way to prevent alcoholic neuropathy is not to drink excessive amounts of alcohol. Alcoholic neuropathy is a severe condition that can lead to pain, loss of some bodily functions, and loss of mobility.