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How Alcohol Use Disorder Is Linked to Your Neuropathic Pain
Neuropathic pain is pain caused by either damage or injury to the peripheral nerves, those that transfer information between the skin, muscles, and other parts of the body to the brain and spinal cord.
Alcohol-related neuropathy is neuropathic pain caused specifically by the consumption of more alcohol than your body can process.
At the offices of Dr. Michael Kullman, our staff treats neuropathic pain in our patients from a variety of different causes, including alcohol use disorder. Here’s how the disorder is related to the pain.
How neuropathic pain works
Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain condition that develops when nerve fibers sustain damage and become dysfunctional. The compromised nerve fibers send incorrect signals to pain centers throughout the body, leading to prolonged and persistent pain.
Neuropathic pain is often associated with tissue injury, where the nerve fibers are strained from inflammation or physical stress. This is a type of pain different from normal pain, which is the body’s natural way to alert you to an injury or other potential harm.
Neuropathic pain can persist even long after the injury has healed, leading to chronic pain that can seriously impact a person’s quality of life.
How is alcohol use disorder linked to neuropathic pain?
Alcoholism, now called alcohol use disorder (AUD) to help decrease stigma, is a condition in which you struggle to stop or manage your alcohol intake despite experiencing negative effects.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), nearly 29 million people in the United States had AUD in 2021.
Over time, the effects of too much alcohol may lead to alcoholic neuropathy, now referred to as “alcohol-related neuropathy,” again, to help decrease the stigma surrounding the condition.
Alcohol-related neuropathy damages the peripheral nerves, which help your body manage important sensory and motor functions, including:
- Feeling touch and pain
- Moving your arms and legs
- Controlling your bladder and bowel
Research suggests that as many as 66% of those with AUD have some type of alcohol-related neuropathy.
Though abstaining from alcohol can help improve your symptoms, restore your nutritional health, and prevent further nerve damage, some alcohol-induced nerve damage may be permanent.
What causes alcohol-related neuropathy?
Researchers don’t fully understand the exact causes of alcohol-related neuropathy, but they have found that imbibing too much alcohol over a long time can damage the peripheral nerves.
One way chronic alcohol consumption can lead to neuropathy is by causing malnutrition, as alcohol impacts the way the body absorbs essential vitamins and nutrients the nervous system needs, such as vitamin B1 (thiamine), folic acid, and vitamin E.
Another way is through oxidative stress and inflammation in your body, which are associated with damage to the myelin sheath surrounding nerves (demyelination) as well as to important neurons (axonal degeneration). Both lead to loss of sensation, weakness in the affected area(s), and chronic shock-like pain.
Treating alcohol-related neuropathy
The most important thing you can do to help alcohol-related neuropathy is to stop drinking alcohol. This may feel like a big challenge if you have AUD, but you aren’t alone, and there are many support systems available to get you through the problem.
Treatment for AUD is designed to help you manage symptoms of withdrawal and cravings for alcohol and may include:
- Medications: such as naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: to reframe negative thoughts
- Counseling with a therapist
- An AUD support group
Once you’re free of the alcohol, Dr. Kullman can focus on treating the alcohol-related neuropathy itself. Although neuropathic pain may be difficult to treat completely, it’s good to know it usually isn’t life-threatening.
Dr. Kullman specializes in ketamine infusion therapy, which involves using a repurposed surgical anesthetic to treat many physical and mental health conditions, such as chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
Ketamine can help with the pain that usually accompanies neuropathy, but patients get the best results from combining the drug with support for emotional and mental well-being and a pain specialist who offers other treatment modalities. Managing your pain and your response to the pain can benefit you in every area of your life.
Are you dealing with neuropathic pain caused by AUD? The office of Michael Kullman, MD, can help. To learn more, call us at 914-465-2882 to schedule a consultation, or visit our website for more options.