What is Alcoholic Neuropathy? Causes, symptoms, & treatment

Learn more about this condition, including its symptoms, how it’s treated, and ways to cope. According to a 2017 review, muscle myopathy is common in alcohol use disorder. In addition, about 40 to 60 percent of people who experience chronic alcohol misuse also experience alcohol-related myopathy. Individuals may experience different symptoms depending on their body and the impact that overconsumption of alcohol has had on it. Alcoholism often leads to poor dietary habits and the impairment of nutrient absorption in the digestive system. Deficiencies in essential vitamins, such as vitamin B1 (thiamine), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (cobalamin), and vitamin E, can contribute to nerve damage and increase the likelihood of developing alcoholic neuropathy.

Testing for Alcoholic Neuropathy (Alcohol-related Nerve Damage)

For instance, loss of deep tendon reflexes and some degree of sensory loss in the extremities may persist even after prolonged abstinence and treatment. Patient’s alcohol neuropathy history is important to analyze the social habits, work environment, dietary habits, history of alcoholism and family history of diabetes or neurological disease. History of complaints, the nature, onset and the progress of symptoms and history of past or present medical conditions, injuries, surgeries or medications taken must be noted. However, vulnerability to neuropathy and its severity and speed of progression varies. Women, continuous drinkers more so than episodic drinkers, and people with a family history of the disorder appear to be more vulnerable to alcoholic neuropathy and may develop more severe presentations.

General Health

It has previously been considered in relationship to nutritional, especially thiamine, deficiencies seen in alcoholics. Thiamine deficiency is closely related to chronic alcoholism and can induce neuropathy in alcoholic patients. Ethanol diminishes thiamine absorption in the intestine, reduces hepatic stores of thiamine and affects the phosphorylation of thiamine, which converts it to amphetamine addiction treatment its active form 12.

What else can Alcoholic Neuropathy (Alcohol-related Nerve Damage) be?

Following detox, comprehensive rehabilitation programs, like those offered at Resurgence Behavioral Health, provide the necessary support and treatment to address the psychological aspects of addiction. These programs include therapy, counseling, and education on substance abuse and its impacts. For those with alcoholic neuropathy, rehabilitation also focuses on managing and treating the nerve damage, incorporating physical therapy, nutritional counseling, and strategies to prevent further nerve injury.

Conditions That May Mimic Alcoholic Neuropathy

• Of all the deleterious effects of excessive alcohol consumption, neuropathy is the most common.
• The primary aim of this systematic review was to establish the prevalence, character, and risk factors of peripheral neuropathy amongst chronic alcohol abusers and to identify the most appropriate management strategies.
• It is possible that hepatic dysfunction and alcoholic toxicity each cause neuropathy independently, and that there is frequently overlap between the two.
• Alcohol also alters the function of the stomach, liver, and kidneys in ways that prevent the body from properly detoxifying waste material.
• Apoptosis of neurones was induced by cisplatin, but pre-incubation with N-acetylcysteine completely blocked apoptosis 112.

If you’ve noticed tingling, numbness, or burning pain in your feet or hands, especially if you have a history of regular alcohol use, it’s possible that alcohol is playing a role in your nerve health. Test levels of thiamine, folate, and other key nutrients for the nervous systemWhen speaking to a medical professional, it is of the utmost importance to disclose all history, including alcohol consumption. This causes a snowball effect within the body, all the way to the molecular level. The Recovery Village Columbus offers comprehensive addiction treatment for drug and alcohol addictions and co-occurring mental health conditions. Motor symptoms include muscle weakness, cramps and spasms, particularly in the lower limbs. Over time, severe muscle weakness may result in muscle atrophy, loss of reflexes and difficulty maintaining balance.

• Naik et al. 38 suggested the involvement of oxidative stress in experimentally induced chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve model in rats.
• Since nutritional deficiencies are partly to blame for alcoholic neuropathy.

If you are struggling with addiction and co-occurring mental health, our expert team is here to guide you every step of the way. Don’t wait— reach out today to take the first step toward taking control of your life. Recovery Guide LLC does not endorse any treatment provider, and we do not guarantee the quality of care, outcomes, or results from any treatment program listed or advertised on our site. All information is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.