Alcoholic Neuropathy | Causes, Warning Signs, Symptoms, & Treatment

The central nervous system is a complex and resilient system of nerves and organs that allows us to sense and interact with our surroundings and monitor the internal state of our own bodies. But this system also requires care and can be harmed in a variety of different ways.

Alcohol abuse is one such potential source of injury, with symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy developing in as much as two-thirds of those who experience a prolonged alcohol use disorder.

How Alcohol Consumption Causes Neuropathy

While low level alcohol consumption is not harmful to the human nervous system, the toxic effects of alcohol, including ethanol’s ability to increase oxidative stress, can be significant when a person drinks often or in high volumes over periods of months or years.

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.

Alcohol, Nerve Function, & Malnutrition

Alcohol abuse also has important effects that relate to human nutrition.

Drinking directly interferes with the body’s absorption and metabolism of critically important nutrients like thiamine, folate, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and vitamin E, all of which are used by the body to support proper nerve function over a person’s lifespan.

In this way, a high alcohol intake is able to both damage a person’s nervous system and, through malnutrition, prevent the body from properly maintaining and resolving that damage.

As a result, this leads to alcohol-induced neuropathy in an estimated half to two-thirds of chronic alcohol users in the United States.

Warning Signs For Alcoholic Neuropathy

The earliest symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy/alcoholic polyneuropathy are usually minor but will gradually worsen over time as a person’s problematic abuse of alcohol continues and their nerves become increasingly exposed.

To begin with, a person may feel that something is off, unusual, or painful in their senses, movement, or balance.

Symptoms That Diminish Quality Of Life

Over a period of several months or years, these continuing abnormalities will likely develop into more severe symptoms that directly impacts one’s quality of life in a variety of ways.

This damage typically begins with the peripheral nerves (peripheral neuropathy) in the legs and feet, though other extremities and even a person’s autonomic nervous system may be compromised in extreme cases without appropriate care.

Signs Of Alcohol Use Disorder

Other warning signs for alcohol use disorders include:

• weight loss due to nutritional deficiency
• looking for reasons to drink in settings where it isn’t appropriate
• frequently binge drinking or drinking heavily (generally having 8 or more drinks per week for women, or 15 or more drinks per week for men)
• experiencing frequent mental or memory impairment due to drinking
• drinking alone
• experiencing relationship conflicts because of one’s drinking
• stepping back from one’s responsibilities, relationships, goals, or hobbies to drink instead
• having problems at home, in the workplace, or at school because of alcohol use

Symptoms Of Alcoholic Neuropathy

The symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy can vary depending on the type and extent of nerve damage a person has already experienced. However, the most common symptoms include:

• burning pain, numbness, and/or pins-and-needles sensations in the extremities
• difficulty walking, standing, or maintaining balance
• increased sensitivity to pain (hyperalgesia) and other sensations (allodynia)
• muscle weakness, atrophy, cramps, aches, or spasms
• heat intolerance and problems with temperature regulation
• sexual or reproductive dysfunctions potentially including impotence, low libido, or infertility
• problems with urination and incontinence
• constipation or diarrhea
• nausea and vomiting
• problems with swallowing, slurred speech

Diagnosing Alcoholic Neuropathy

Alcoholic neuropathy can be diagnosed by a physician based on a person’s current or past consumption of alcohol and vitamin deficiencies/nutritional deficiencies.

This may also require a healthcare provider to rule out other potential causes of neuropathy (like diabetic neuropathy) by using blood tests, nerve conduction studies, electromyography, nerve biopsies, liver enzyme tests, and other tests.

Treating Alcoholic Neuropathy

Early treatment and abstinence from alcohol are the most important elements for treating alcoholic neuropathy effectively.

Many people do recover partially or fully from alcoholic neuropathy if they faithfully stop drinking alcohol and receive proper treatment, often in the form of vitamin supplementation, physical therapy, and other treatment options.

However, those who do not stop drinking or who have experienced too much nerve damage and degeneration before receiving treatment often experience permanent and irreversible effects of alcoholic neuropathy.

The same is true for many other alcohol-related health risks, as alcohol dependence and excessive alcohol consumption are major risk factors for:

• Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (also primarily caused by alcohol-related thiamine deficiency)
• liver disease and cirrhosis of the liver
• cardiovascular disease (high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke)
• mental health problems (anxiety, depression, etc.)
• cancer (especially head/neck, esophageal, liver, breast, and colon/rectal cancers)
• learning and memory problems, including dementia
• impaired immune system function

Alcohol Addiction Treatment

If you or your loved ones have been living with alcohol dependence and addiction, the professional treatment services available at Bedrock Recovery Center can help.
We’re based in Canton, Massachusetts and offer treatment services such as:

• medically assisted detoxification
• residential treatment for alcohol use disorder
• residential treatment for mental health disorders
• medication-assisted treatment options
• aftercare planning and case management

Please contact us today to learn more.