Alcoholic Neuropathy: A Lesser
Dec 26, 2020 | Alcohol Addiction, Drug & Alcohol Addiction Treatment
You are probably aware of how catastrophic alcohol misuse can be on the overall health. It can cause liver damage, heart failure, cancer, diabetes, and more. But did you know it can also result in neuropathy?
Alcoholic neuropathy is one of the most widespread and least known consequences of heavy alcohol abuse. Its such a common issue that 25% to 66% of chronic alcohol drinkers have some kind of neuropathy.
This disease can have a massive impact on the peripheral and central nervous systems. It can result in numbness, pain, and burning sensations. Unfortunately, these risks can become permanent. The key to managing these dangerous effects is spotting the neuropathy as soon as possible.
Here is how alcoholic neuropathy can affect your life, including viable treatment options.
What Is The Prognosis Of Those Suffering From Alcoholic Neuropathy
Unfortunately, nerve damage from Alcoholic Neuropathy is usually permanent and if you keep drinking the symptoms will only get worse. Many people diagnosed with Alcoholic Neuropathy face disability, chronic pain, and damage to their arms and legs.
However, when Alcoholic Neuropathy is caught early on symptoms can be reduced and further damage prevented. By quitting alcohol and beginning a more nutritional diet can often lead to a moderate, even full, recovery.
Being Too Aware Of Your Body Can Actually Cause Problems
When youre dealing with anxiety and believe you may have peripheral neuropathy, you may be more aware of your body. Youre always checking for signs of neuropathy, and every odd muscle twinge or odd sensation is noticeable. This over-awareness can actually make it more difficult to move naturally. Youre always taking stock of your body, so you notice more oddities. You also pay more attention to things youd normally do without thinking, such as walking or reaching out for something. This can make those movements more difficult or more awkward. This, in turn, spikes your anxiety because the movement feels off. The worse your anxiety gets, the more youll experience symptoms similar to neuropathy.
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What Causes Alcoholic Polyneuropathy
The causes and how much alcohol causes neuropathy is unclear. However, it is most common among people with a history of heavy, long-term alcohol abuse.
Studies on this condition have estimated that up to 66 percent of chronic alcoholics develop permanent nerve damage as a result of their drinking. Long-term alcohol abuse can wreak havoc on several vital organs and essential functions in the body. Neuropathy, or polyneuropathy, is just one unfortunate consequence.
How Does Alcohol Affect Neck & Back Pain
Many studies have revealed that some types of alcoholespecially wineare healthy in moderation and may lower the risk of certain health conditions, including strokes, heart disease, and diabetes. However, when alcohol is consumed in large quantities, it increases the risk for liver and kidney damage, among other health issues. What you might not realize is that drinking alcohol can have a significant impact on neck and back pain in the following ways.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Peripheral Nerve Damage
Symptoms are related to the type of nerves affected.
Motor nerve damage is most commonly associated with muscle weakness. Other symptoms include painful cramps, fasciculations and muscle shrinking.
Sensory nerve damage causes various symptoms because sensory nerves have a broad range of functions.
- Damage to large sensory fibers harms the ability to feel vibrations and touch, especially in the hands and feet. You may feel as if you are wearing gloves and stockings even when you are not. This damage may contribute to the loss of reflexes . Loss of position sense often makes people unable to coordinate complex movements like walking or fastening buttons or maintaining their balance when their eyes are shut.
- The small fibers without myelin sheaths include fiber extensions called axons that transmit pain and temperature sensations. Small-fiber polyneuropathy can interfere with the ability to feel pain or changes in temperature. ;It is often difficult for medical caregivers to control, which can seriously affect a patients emotional well-being and overall quality of life. Neuropathic pain is sometimes worse at night, disrupting sleep. It can be caused by pain receptors firing spontaneously without any known trigger, or by difficulties with signal processing in the spinal cord that may cause you to feel severe pain from a light touch that is normally painless. For example, you might experience pain from the touch of your bedsheets, even when draped lightly over the body.
What Causes Sciatica To Flare Up
Sciatica triggers can be different for each person. Some people also find that they have multiple causes of flare-ups. Knowing what triggers sciatic nerve pain is crucial because it will help a lot in preventing and managing them. For that reason, you should be aware of any triggers that you may have. If you can identify what causes sciatica to flare up, youll know what you can do to avoid them.
Here are the ten triggers that may be causing your sciatica to flare up that you need to watch out for:
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What Are The Causes Of Peripheral Neuropathy
Most instances of neuropathy are either acquired, meaning the neuropathy or the inevitability of getting it isnt present from the beginning of life, or genetic.; Acquired neuropathies are either symptomatic or idiopathic .
Causes of symptomatic acquired peripheral neuropathy include:
Genetically-caused polyneuropathies are rare. ;Genetic mutations can either be inherited or arise de novo, meaning they are completely new mutations to an individual and are not present in either parent. Some genetic mutations lead to mild neuropathies with symptoms that begin in early adulthood and result in little, if any, significant impairment. More severe hereditary neuropathies often appear in infancy or childhood. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, also known as hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders.
The small-fiber neuropathies that present with pain, itch, and autonomic symptoms also can be genetic. As our understanding of genetic disorders increases, many new genes are being associated with peripheral neuropathy.
Peripheral Neuropathy And Alcohol
Peripheral neuropathy refers to damage or disease of the nerves that carry messages to and from the brain or spinal column and the rest of the body. Peripheral neuropathy can have many causes unrelated to alcohol consumption, and it was previously thought that when it was found in alcoholics it was merely the result of poor nutrition in alcoholics as well as alcohols direct impact on nutrients. More recent research, however, suggests that alcohol can directly damage nerves. The evidence points toward alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy being a form of toxic neuropathy, rather than nutritional neuropathy.
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What Is Alcoholic Neuropathy
Neuropathy from alcohol abuse can be a debilitating disease. Its characterized by a loss in nerve function, mostly in the extremities, and;can;cause damage to your body that ends up lasting for the rest of your life.
Alcoholism, even in so-called high-functioning alcoholics, is a major risk factor with this disease. Sufferers will often experience;numbness,;feelings of pins-and-needles, and possibly other sensations that can become;extremely painful.
And in most cases, the only method of treating the disease is to stop drinking entirely. While simply cutting back can be slightly beneficial, most sufferers of neuropathy from alcohol dependence will only see results after getting;really and truly sober.
Causes Of Back Pain After Drinking Alcohol
After you open a few cold ones, you may notice that a night of drinking can cause you to wake up with not only a pretty intense hang-over headache, but also even;pain and tenderness in your back. Everyone knows that the more you drink, the more likely you are to get this type of hangover,;but does this hold true when it comes to back pain, as well?
Here, we will explore some of the potential reasons why you may have;back pain after drinking alcohol.;
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A Healthy Diet Is Key To Reversing Your Symptoms
Alcoholism is also associated with malnutrition because the digestive system of alcoholics is not efficient at absorbing vitamins and nutrients.; Much of its energy is spent in its attempt to rid itself of the toxin of alcohol, so many important nutrients pass through the digestive system without being absorbed by the body.
Your;chances;of reversing your symptoms of peripheral neuropathy will be greatly enhanced by undertaking an ambitious diet program.; You should focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods and trying to eliminate simple sugars from your diet.
Complex carbohydrates, which break down slowly in the body and release sugar over a long period of time, are very beneficial.; Avoid coffee, caffeine, and other known diuretics. ;If you smoke, try to quit. A new dedication to proper nutrition will greatly help to heal your damaged nerves.
Alcoholic Polyneuropathy Neuropathy & Mononeuropathy
Generally, alcoholic neuropathy is a bit of an umbrella term used to describe;any;deterioration of the bodys nerve cells due to high levels of alcohol abuse.
As such, you might be a bit confused if you hear the terms alcoholic neuropathy and alcoholic polyneuropathy used;interchangeably. In the technical sense though, polyneuropathy is a;subcategory;of the more general neuropathy.
It means;multiple;groups of nerves are affected whereas mononeuropathy only refers to a single group. Mononeuropathy, according to the;Center for Peripheral Neuropathy, is more commonly the result of damage by trauma, local compression, prolonged pressure, or inflammation.
That means that the condition can affect people in lots of different ways. Moreover, it can make other problems worse. As a result, it shows why its important to seek help for a drinking problem early. Failure to do so can result in life-long complications that dont have a solution.
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Herniated Disc And Sciatica
A herniated disc may then impinge or compress a nerve, which can cause pain around the area of the affected disc. Research suggests that nerve impingement due to slipped disc is the most common reason for sciatica.
So, what are the most common signs and symptoms of sciatica? And what are the most common sciatica risk factors?
Treatment Of Alcoholic Neuropathy
There are several medical treatments that can be used to manage the pain of alcoholic neuropathy. These include pain medications;and antidepressants. While not specifically approved for the treatment of alcoholic neuropathy, antidepressants are often prescribed to help control the pain. Similarly, anti-seizure medications:;As with antidepressants are sometimes prescribed as a way to manage pain.
Since nutritional deficiencies are partly to blame for alcoholic neuropathy, supplementation with vitamin B12, folate, vitamin E, and thiamine may be recommended.
There are no medications that can help improve loss of sensation, strengthen the muscle weakness, or aid the coordination and balance problems caused by alcoholic neuropathy. However, some people notice an improvement in symptoms a few months after discontinuing alcohol intake.
If you or a loved one are struggling with substance use or addiction, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.;
For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.
Sometimes alcohol causes such severe damage to the body that a liver transplant may be necessary. In that case, there may be some improvement in the symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy after the liver transplant, but often, the neuropathy is so advanced that there may be little, if any, improvement, even after a transplant.
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Is Alcoholic Neuropathy Curable
Alcoholic neuropathy is a serious disorder that is difficult to completely reverse or cure. If the disorder is caught in the very early stages and if action is taken quickly, then reversal is still possible. But in most cases, the disorder can be managed with medications to decrease the symptoms as much as possible.
First, alcohol consumption has to stop. But that in itself doesnt guarantee alcoholic neuropathy will go away. The longer the alcohol abuse has been going on, the more damage it has inflicted on the nerves.
Medications can help, but they are mostly used to manage the disorder. Nutritional supplements are crucial during recovery, as the body of the patient was deprived of them for too long.
Hospitalisation is certainly an option; in some cases, its a must. But this condition is hard to manage, especially if the patient still drinks heavily. It often requires a watchful professional eye.
Does Alcoholic Neuropathy Go Away
When alcoholic neuropathy causes nerve damage, this damage is often permanent. The symptoms worsen with time unless patients stop drinking. With continued alcohol abuse, people become vulnerable to chronic pain, disability, and damage to their extremities.
But, when caught in its early phases, patients can minimize nerve damage. If you stop consuming alcohol and work on your diet, you can achieve a full recovery. While taking supplements can help you manage your deficiencies.
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What Causes Alcoholic Neuropathy
The peripheral nerves in your body help to manage important sensory and motor functions such as: bowel and urinary elimination; walking; sexual arousal; arm and leg movement; and speech. Heavy, chronic alcohol use often results in damage to these nerves, causing Alcoholic Neuropathy. Additionally, nutritional problems can also cause nerve damage, or further damage caused by alcohol use.
How Does Alcohol Affect The Body
Alcohol is a toxin and it can have mild to severe effects on our body, depending on the severity of abuse. In mild cases, alcohol can cause lower inhibitions, concentration troubles, loss of coordination, reduce core body temperature, cause vomiting, and even causing sufferers to pass;out.
In the long-term, more severe consequences include
- Memory loss
- Cancer
- Nerve damage
Alcohol abuse over a period of many years can increase the probability of an individual developing alcoholic neuropathy. While some alcoholics do not develop this condition at all, others are severely impacted by its effects.
It is unclear why some are more prone to this condition. What is clear is that heavy alcohol use can speed up the onset of alcoholic neuropathy.
The most likely cause of alcoholic neuropathy is the nutritional deficiency thats caused by heavy alcohol drinking. Those who abuse alcohol usually have poor diets, but this is made even worse by the fact that alcohol decreases the absorption of some crucial nutrients.
Several body parts, including the nerves, get impacted by the lack of proteins and vitamin B12 especially. If the neuropathy persists, it might be irreversible.
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Can Alcohol Cause Muscle And Joint Pain
Studies have shown that moderate drinking of alcohol can have some health benefits, at least according to Medical Dailys;Sabrina Bachai. For instance, its been found that it can reduce the risk of some heart problems. However, heavy drinking can have some serious health repercussions.
Apart from health-related issues, alcohol has been associated with some social and economic problems. Some alcoholics will neglect family responsibilities, work, and misuse the available financial resources not forgetting the effects it will bring to friends and the communities they interact with. In this piece, well delve deeper into the effects of alcohol on the most important parts that constitute our body structure, muscles, and joints.
The body is made up of four types of movable joints, namely, gliding joints, interphalangeal joints , pivot joint , and the ball and socket joints. These are the links between all the bones in the body.
With this in mind, there are 360 joints in a fully grown human being. These are then joined by cartilages, tendons, and ligaments that connect to the muscles.
But does alcohol consumption have anything to do with muscle and joint pain? To rephrase that, can alcohol cause muscle and joint pain? With the support of some of the pointers below, the answer is a big capital yes. Find out why and how below.
Can I Drink Alcohol If I Have Diabetic Neuropathy
When you have diabetes, it’s important to watch what you eat and drink. What you put into your body directly affects your blood sugar levels. People who have diabetes need to control their blood sugar to reduce risks, so choosing what you put into your body is one of the most important tools you have to stay healthy and avoid problems.
Alcohol affects everyone differently. When it comes to alcohol, you need to keep a close eye on what and how much you drink. You should always talk to your doctor and your healthcare team so that you understand the effects of alcohol on your body and what you can do to manage them.
What happens when you drink?
Alcohol can have an effect on your blood sugar. Your liver’s job is to regulate your blood glucose level. When you drink, your liver tries to detox your body of that alcohol and is not focused on managing your blood glucose levels. If you have diabetes, this can create problems. Your blood sugar levels can either spike or fall .
Alcohol-Induced Hyperglycemia with Diabetes
Hyperglycemia is when your blood sugar levels become extremely high. Mixed drinks are often full of sugar , which raises your blood sugar. When your blood sugar gets to a certain level , you can become tired, thirsty, need to urinate frequently, and in serious cases, you may get diabetic ketoacidosis . DKA is a complication of diabetes that happens when your body breaks down fat too fast and makes your blood acidic.
Alcohol-Induced Hypoglycemia with Diabetes
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What Is Recovery Like
As mentioned above, recovery from alcoholic neuropathy is;not assured. Some people experience complete relief from their symptoms in a number of weeks or years and others may have to cope with the effects for the;rest of their lives.
The most notable common thread for nearly all sufferers is that the;sooner;you seek help for your neuropathy from alcohol dependence, the;less;the overall damage is likely to be. This makes the effects of alcohol withdrawal a small price to pay for relief.
Having said that, the first thing almost any doctor will tell you is that;you need to stop drinking. Not cut back, not only have a little but drop it;entirely. If your alcohol intake has gotten so bad that its actually;physically damaging your nerve cells, then continuing to add;any amount;of alcohol is only going to make the problem worse.
And while it can be difficult to;finally decide to get sober, doing so is absolutely crucial to mitigating the damage.
Beyond that, your physician will likely prescribe you a variety of different supplements, most likely thiamine and folic acid. These vitamins can help your body repair all the damage that it can.
Your physician may also decide to prescribe pain relievers to help deal with alcoholic neuropathys effects. This, however, is dependent on your risk of abusing the pills as many opioids can be;highly addictive.
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