Alcoholic Neuropathy: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

In some cases, it can be reversed or at least stopped from progressing, says Dr. Adler. Based upon these results, vitamin supplementation appears to exert nerve damage from drinking a positive therapeutic effect in alcohol-related neuropathy. The mechanism of this is presently unclear, one possible explanation is that is resolves concomitant vitamin-dependent neuropathy which exacerbates alcohol-related neuropathy. People with a history of alcohol misuse may not be able to consume alcohol safely.

How to prevent alcoholic neuropathy

Several treatment options and interventions can help a person recover from alcohol dependence. Once a person stops using alcohol, they can often experience recovery from symptoms, though in some cases, some damage may be permanent. But delirium tremens is a medical emergency and requires a hospital stay.

Neurological Effects of Alcohol

An electromyography involves putting needles into the skin and muscles. This can tell doctors if someone’s nerves are functioning properly. It can also show them if nerve cells aren’t working the way they should be. Thus, further preclinical and clinical studies are required to assess of this molecule in alcoholic neuropathy. Heavy alcohol use can also impact how the kidneys, stomach, and liver function. This leads to a build-up of toxins in the body because the system that flushes these toxins is no longer working correctly.

Physical therapy

If alcohol continues to accumulate in your system, it can destroy cells and, eventually, damage your organs. Your liver detoxifies and removes alcohol from your blood through a process known as oxidation. When your liver finishes that process, alcohol gets turned into water and carbon dioxide. Dr. Sengupta shares some of the not-so-obvious effects that alcohol has on your body.

• When significantly limiting or stopping alcohol consumption, receiving ongoing support is essential.
• No patients with grade III (severe sensory impairment, absent reflexes, foot drop, muscle wasting) neuropathy showed clinical improvement over the 4-week period, but 4/8 did show an improvement over 3–6 months.
• Many people with alcohol abuse problems also suffer from a poor diet.
• Amongst those who did not respond to thiamine, two patients with grade I neuropathy and one with grade II responded with the correction of low circulating nicotinic acid.

Why Substance Abuse is Prevalent in the LGBTQ Community

• The prognosis for alcoholic neuropathy depends on various factors, including the extent of nerve damage and the individual’s commitment to avoiding alcohol and adhering to treatment plans.
• Those with mild neuropathic symptoms and a shorter history of alcohol abuse may experience quicker and more significant recovery, especially if they cease alcohol intake and receive appropriate treatment promptly.
• Alcoholism, now called alcohol use disorder (AUD), is a condition in which you have difficulty stopping or managing your alcohol intake despite experiencing negative consequences.
• Use of this website and any information contained herein is governed by the Healthgrades User Agreement.
• You also need to begin eating a healthy diet, and you may need to take vitamin supplements to improve your levels of B12, thiamine, Vitamin E, and folate.

Thus, treatment with TCAs may provide symptomatic relief in patients with alcoholic neuropathy. Here we discuss a few of the therapeutic options which are tried and could be tried for prevention and treatment of alcoholic peripheral neuropathy. Call for an appointment with your provider if you have symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy. Impotence, diarrhea, constipation, or other symptoms are treated when necessary. These symptoms often respond poorly to treatment in people with alcoholic neuropathy. The psychological impact of chronic conditions such as alcoholic neuropathy should not be underestimated.

• A doctor may diagnose a person with alcoholic neuropathy, if alcohol use has damaged the peripheral nerves.
• This dual strategy is essential to manage the condition effectively and improve our quality of life.
• Alcoholic neuropathy is a condition in which the nerves become damaged as a result of years of heavy alcohol consumption.
• Reduced recruitment pattern of motor units was a frequently reported outcome 16, 28, 67, 70.
• Someone who struggles with alcoholism may replace meals with alcohol, take in a lot of empty calories, and not maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

Both were largely corrected by N-acetylcysteine supplementation 111. A mechanism of cisplatin chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy was elucidated in an in vitro mouse model. Apoptosis of neurones was induced by cisplatin, but pre-incubation with N-acetylcysteine completely blocked apoptosis 112.

• That’s because the kidneys depend on having the right amount of water to function.
• It can manifest as a pins and needles sensation, trouble walking or typing, sensitivity to touch and sporadic limb pain.
• This identified improvement in sensory symptoms within a few days and a clinical improvement in strength over a period of weeks to months, but in up to 2 years in the most severe cases.
• In many, if not most, cases, improvements in symptoms are seen with continued abstinence from alcohol.

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. Clinical features of neuropathies in the alcoholic and post gastrectomy patients were similar. These two groups, however, were distinct from the standpoint that nerve conduction velocities were slower and sural nerve biopsy specimens revealed more segmental demyelination in the post gastrectomy group. In one clinical study, aimed at studying distinct clinicopathologic features of alcoholic neuropathy, 64 patients were assessed. In 47 of these patients sural nerve biopsy was performed, with discrimination in terms of their thiamine status 3. The ethanol consumption of these patients was more than 100 g day–1 for more than 10 years.

Even in instances where neuropathy can’t be fully reversed, finding and treating the underlying cause can mitigate symptoms, our experts agree. There are, therefore, no ethical concerns with regard to this study. When you drink too much alcohol, it can throw off the balance of good and bad bacteria in your gut. Your gut microbiome is a hotbed of bacteria that help keep your digestive system happy and healthy. The trillions of microbes in your colon and large and small intestines are critical to proper digestion.