Becoming alcoholic!!!

[Pinsandneedles]

Hi all. I have severe Peripheral Neuropathy over most of my body and am literally at the end of my tether. I know most of you can relate to this. I had another long awaited PM session and have been told that there really is no other drug that I haven't tried and become tolerant to so basically go away and manage it as best you can with what you already have.

I have begun to have a little wine in the evening to help me sleep - then a little more - then a little more - then together with the drugs and I am now sitting typing this with a hangover from hell and the PN too! What an absolute idiot I am. All I wanted to do is have some time away from pain and sleep is the only place I get it.

Sorry - just needed to get this down on 'paper' to try to understand better what I may be doing to myself with this stupid behaviour!

[debhun]

Now that you see it on paper you have to really try and not drink. I had a Friend that would drink at night too for his pain. But it wasn't wine. But he said he didn't want pain meds. He didn't want to be on them. I know you want to be out of pain but this is not the way to do so. You have caught this early. I think you need to go back to your dr and see if there is some thing you can try. There has to be some thing out there. I am sorry you are in pain and I Hope you can find a answer to help you.



Deb

[Mark N]

I hope putting it down gets you to stop drinking while you can. One thing you need to realize is that those of us that use pain meds don't eliminate our pain but only control it. I haven't known a pain free day in decades but have learned to deal with my pain. Another consideration since your pain is PN is have you tried Cymbalta or another nerve medication. My pain med wasn't dealing with all my pain and the PN was driving me crazy until I tried Cymbalta.

I hope you have tried them all but if you become tolerant to pain meds there are strategies to help you out. You could take one that works and once the dosage gets too high switch to a different pain med. Good luck dealing with this as it isn't easy and unless someone has been in our shoes they don't really understand what we are dealing with.

[Pinsandneedles]

Thanks to you all for replying. Mark - I have tried Cymbalta with some initial success but got right up to 90mg which was having some negative effects on my kidneys. The doctor said to come down off it and then maybe after a few months try to introduce it again in the hope that I get the benefit again after a 'drug holiday'!

All I keep hearing from the pain doctors is that nerve damage is one of the most difficult pains to keep under control. This is scary as it is still progressing and the diagnosis is still 'idiopathic' - there must be something causing it!

I WILL not have any wine tonight but will prepare to walk the house rubbing and ouching until exhaustion knocks me out!

Thanks again guys.

[gambles]

Since you are after sleep to escape the pain, I assume you have tried all the things that could knock you out to give you a break?? I just wanted to make sure you have at least tried that route. Sometimes the med that works for sleep is off label so it can take a while to find the right one.

I'm sure this is a redundant question, but I just had to ask. I hate the thought of you walking around in pain when you just want to sleep.

Since you felt the alcohol could become a real problem, I strongly applaud you for acknowledging it and working it out "on paper"

Suzanne

[Mark N]

Pinandneedles, Suzanne brought up a couple of good points that I don't want you to miss. First, how about a sleeping aid just to get some relief while you sleep? The second on was her congratulations of your efforts to stop alcohol, it is good you recognize it and step away from it.

Sorry to hear the Cymbalta was hard on your kidneys. I know my wife had to stop because urination became very difficult to start. I haven't had any problems with it, other than weight gain, but 60mg really reduced my nerve pain. Do you thin k you could reduce the dosage and gain some relief without the SE?. It gets difficult trying all kinds of meds to gain relief but you never know what will work. Suzanne has had good results with Lyrica but it may be something you have already tried.

[911]

Pin's iand see how this could happen , being a recovering alcoholic am really sorry i understand , being a recovering alcoholic myself perhaps you should try an AA meeting they are everywhere and usually meetings are held a several days a week just look up aa in your area on the web of in the phone book, I wont tell you to stop you already know that but what i will tell you is that if you are now craving and or have to have that next drink then you need some sort of help , AA is a great first step place to look for help , i hope this helps , again i am sorry your going thru this it also sounds like it's time for a new , caring doc ,,,,, I am also a chronic pain sufferer and recovering alcoholic , it's a fine line i walk everyday to not abuse med's that i have but with help i manage everyday so i am sure with help you can and will get better ,,,, god bless and good luck ,,,,911 aka Dave

[Boxerlover]

Pins, I can relate. I have had 3 good nite's sleep in 20 years. Oops I mean 2 nites and 1 nap. I am so sorry. Not sleeping makes everything worse. Hopefully you can find some other options

Take care
Melissa

[BrokenBladder]

Pins,

I too can relate to the problems with sleep. I'm glad that you've decided that drinking isn't the way to solve this.

I have personally tried many sleep meds that were prescribed to me and haven't had much luck. They would last for a week and then stop working altogether.

I really do understand why the wine is so tempting since it enables you to escape from the pain for a while, but in the long run it will do more damage than good.

Welcome to the board and please feel free to post about how you feel and what you're going through. Chances are most of us have been there.

[simby]

hi pins,
I was on cymbalta for my depression. My doc and i hoped it would help the nerve pains.
It was great for the depression but, sadly, i got an elevated liver read so had to come off it before i even had a chance to see if it helped the pain.

I was switched to effexor, which is very like cymbalta. Its working great and so far the liver is back to normal.
I do think it is helping with the nerve pain, too. Maybe this would be a good alternative for you.

hugs,
sims

[tenesma]

have you thought of lidocaine infusions, mexiletine - etc..??

and by the way, alcohol can accelerate or worsen peripheral neuropathy (think of it as basically drying out already damaged nerve endings)... in fact chronic alcoholism can actually induce neuropathy in otherwise healthy people...

[Pinsandneedles]

Thanks to all who have posted to encourage me to find an alternative to the wine. By no means am I alcoholic as I doubt that at most 2 glasses of wine would count as alcoholism but I am definitely using alcohol as a crutch and a pain reliever amd not what it is meant to be - enjoyed.

I am going to have another go at Cymbalta as that helped the most with the pain but also caused sleeplessness for a while. My doctors have also been talking about something called a Ketamine Infusion - anyone heard of this?

Thanks a bunch. Pauline

[Sara1979]

I also have a very hard time sleeping. I have tried all the prescription sleeping pills but they either don't work or I adjust to them quickly. My Mom was shocked I could take a 12.5mg dose of Ambien CR and not fall asleep.

Anyhow, ironically Melatonin is what works really well for me. Gaia Herbs also has a vitamin called Sound Sleep that is great. I switch between that and LunaSom PM. Of course, the general check with your Doc for medication interactions.

Good Luck in finding something that works for you.