Hi guys,

Hello to everyone and thanks if you can help, give advice or just read post really. I'm totally confused and concerned.

So, long story short, I'm a 31 year old male from the UK who has been living in China for three years. The ex pat drinking culture over here is constant and I've always been a big drinker anyway. In Aug 2020 u developed pain in my hands and feet and shooting pains down my arms. I googled the symptoms, was scared to death by this thing I'd never heard of before (peripheral neuropathy) and feared the worst.

I booked into see a neurologist who confirmed by suspicions that it was PN but was at a loss at to why I was so concerned. She said it was a mild ailment that would just go away. She did an MRI and the NCV test (the painful one) And nothing came up. She gave me some vitamins and pregbalin tablets and told me to cut down on the booze.

I did and it did - by about 95%. Just a slightly odd lrg cramp. Unfortunately though, as I am prone to do, I got cocky with it and returned to, give or take, my old drinking habits.

Fast forward to 22 and it came back with a vengeance. Cold / hot feet, worse at night, numb fingertips, some returning pain in the arms.

I went to see another neurologist recently. Ordered the same tests, said it was no big deal even if they came back positive. They came back all clear. I explained I thought it might be small fiber neuropathy. The doc said it might be but a skin biopsy was "not medically necessary" and seemed confused as to why I was so anxious about the whole thing. He said it was not a big thing and I could expect a full recovery in weeks. He said to try to limit alcohol to two beers a night (this is still way above the recommended amount for regular folks in the UK). I think he gave me pregabalin just to shut me up. I haven't drunk any alcohol since March.

Which brings me to the present day. I've noticed some improvement but not dramatic and lost most of this improvement when I finished my micro course of pregabalin.

I'm so confused. Do I have a life changing issue which will slowly deteriorate, or something that will just go away?

I've been hesitant to post here as I know a lot of people on here have had much, much worse symptoms than me and I would hate to appear flippant. Hopefully you can offer some insights though... Best of luck to you all. Sorry for the essay.

Thanks!

Joe

Welcome, Forsterjoe!

I'm sorry I can't answer your question, and I doubt that anyone can really predict the future, but since cutting out drinking stopped your symptoms "95%," why not give the alcohol-free lifestyle more time this time around? Two neurologists have recommended cutting down on the alcohol, and there's almost no evidence that alcohol has any health benefits for anyone.

You might be able to figure out other adjustments you can make in your life that will also help. A change in diet? More exercise, or maybe different types of exercise? Most of all, if you're taking any drugs or supplements, it's a good idea to look into them carefully to make sure they aren't contributing to your symptoms. Some can be OK on their own but can interact with others in various ways, and so you should read up on each drug or supplement thoroughly.

Welcome Forsterjoe.

Yes very true. Alcohol isn't really good for anything except very short term pleasure - even that is offset by the inevitable hangover. I think you may be right. I'll let you know how I get on. Thanks fir your reply and all the very best

Hi Forsterjoe
There are a number of threads & posts around these forums related to alcohol induced neuropathy.
If you do a search for that term, you will find them and hopefully get info and support. https://www.neurotalk.org/search.php

We do have a Peripheral Neuropathy forum https://www.neurotalk.org/peripheral-neuropathy/
and this one for Alcoholism has related threads https://www.neurotalk.org/alcoholism...-and-recovery/

I totally agree about nothing good about consuming alcohol. I did socially and very moderatly but have stopped it all maybe 15 yrs ago, what a waste of the body and money for sure..

Hi Forsterjoe,

I find the attitude of your Neurologist extraordinary. It sounds to me from your description of events that alcohol is neurotoxic for you. Under those circumstances and at your young age it would be a very risky strategy to continue with alcohol as you have. Your nerves need to last you a lifetime. Typically alcohol causes demyelination of nerves that leads to the symptoms you have experienced. Toxic neuropathy is recoverable if you remove the toxin and allow your body to heal but if you keep drinking it is likely that you won't.

A strategy that you could aim for is to stop drinking until you feel fully recovered and then have an occasional drink, but even that is not without risk.

Best wishes,

Atty

Thanks for the replies guys! Yes I've checked out all the relevant forums. Right now, I'm not bothered if I never drink alcohol again. I just want rid of this thing... I guess I'll just have to wait and see how long it takes to heal, if indeed it does. There seems to be so much ambiguity around whether this thing heals or recovers and if it is reversible / irreversible. So strange. Thanks for your advice though!

Thank you for your reply and your advice. Do you know approximately how long it will take to recover? I know everyone is different but is the recovery time measured in weeks? Months? Years? Just a ballpark figure really.

Yeah I'm not bothered about not being able to drink. The weight is falling off me since I stopped ... I just want the damn burning to stop!

Cheers!