Peripheral neuropathy in legs ..

[Travelplease]

Since dc were born , now 24 years ago, i have slowly got into the habit of having wine as a treat and relaxant.
I would have a glass of wine each nigjt cooking tea , or on a sunny afternoon innthe garden ,followed by wine watching tv . So I would say I have had half a bottle of wine each day for a good few years.
i love wine and in all honestly prefer drinking ( any liquid ) to food.

last year i noticed my toes were numb , this spread to the bottom of my feet, which feel like plastic .
I went to the gp who said i have peripheral neropathy. Its now gone up to the knees in both legs .

i have been referred to a neurologist but the wait to be assessed in another few months from
here .

Have been veggie all my life.

has anyone had any symptoms like this ? The gp has said i shdnt drink .
ive cut down to a large glass of wine x3 a week but gp says in the long term i have to stop completely

I know that drinking sneaked up on me , but the thought of stopping rather than reducing feels really hard as i really like to drink wine . Its a pleasure .

@Travelplease - is it really “only” half a bottle a day? (I’m an alcohol abuser so no judgement). Or more? Are you eating a healthy diet - you say you would rather drink anything than eat. Could you have a thiamine deficiency as a result of the drinking AND lack of eating well?

half a bottle a day is a lot but it’s not a crazy amount in the world of heavy drinkers (I know a lot of people will disagree with this and I’m not suggesting it is ok to drink like this). If it is really only half a bottle of wine a day, you could cut back further with a weaker wine/spritzer type drink combined with eating well and taking an appropriate vitamin supplement (b vitamins especially).

This might appear less scary and do-able than stopping completely- which would obviously be better for you. Feeling the benefits of cutting back might spur you into giving up completely. Good luck 💐

Thanks very much .
good thinking ! Yes it is definitely half a day..
the gp has said if it is this issue it will only get worse if i drink anything at all.. she has also suggested thiamine deficiency and she says she cant do bloods to check this .. i have started with this supplement .

Thanks for support , I really appreciate it .

Those symptoms sound like B12 deficiency which can cause neurological symptoms such as yours. Drinking also depletes B12. As does being veggie/vegan

Look at vitamin B12 wake up FB group to start with. I joined a couple of weeks ago and it's amazing what B12 deficiency can do to us and if left for too long the resulting neuropathy can be permanent. Lots of people in the group whose pins & needles, burning feelings in legs and tiredness have all been cured with B12 injections. It can take a while but for you I'd say it's highly likely.

Thanks , i have felt tired for a long time but all bloods have come back normal!

Your legs have gone numb
You have been told to stop drinking because if you carry on you are going to make it worse
You haven’t stopped.

You are an alcoholic OP. The idea of not drinking alcohol is worse than the idea of loosing feeling in your lower limbs.

I would look up alcohol support services, like AA for example, in your area

Have you been tested for diabetes? Neuropathy is one of the symptons.

Yea i have been tested and I dont have diabetis.

Have you seen an osteopath, chiropractor or physical therapist. You might have a nerve entrapment in your lower back which is causing the symptoms and can get it loosened up

Hi need some help, so currently I am peri menopausal I have peripheral neuropathy and have Ostio arthritis. I know it’s rubbish as only 53 but feel like 83, I have had done many tests and have tried everything people have suggested, was just wondering what other people may be trying. 😊😊