I’m educating myself on neuropathy. One of my good friends has it and he is still drinking. Instead of asking him a bunch of questions and reading medical diagnosis information I thought I would ask the community if anyone would be willing to share their story with neuropathy.
My buddy says he’s numb from the waist down and has to sit to take a shower.
Since it’s a term that describes a huge spectrum of symptoms irrespective of cause (pretty much anything related to nerve damage or disease), you might get a pretty wide range of answers. One person’s neuropathy may be incredibly different from another’s, particularly if it is caused by different things.
I have mild nerve damage from alcohol abuse. I wouldn’t describe myself as “having neuropathy” because in my case it’s not really a notable feature in its own right, but from a purely technical standpoint in terms of what the words mean, it is neuropathic in nature. So I don’t know if it’s what you are looking for but I don’t mind sharing regardless. Indirectly it’s a good exercise in gratitude for me 
For the most part the damage is quite mild, and limited to my hands and arms. I have a slight tremor and some difficulty with fine motor control, but very manageable. The sad part is that I can’t do some things I used to enjoy, since I can’t hold or maneuver very small/light objects, so things like electronics soldering or anything that involves precision screwdrivers (the screwdrivers are fine, but I can’t hold the screw still to seat it in the threads, and if I drop it it’s game over). I like feeling independent whenever I make an upgrade or rebuild to my computer hardware, and it takes a chunk of the fun out when I can’t screw or unscrew anything properly and need to outsource.
The other symptom is that here and there I will experience a single brief strong jerking motion in an arm, leg, foot, hand, or finger, without warning. It’s usually inconsequential, but it can be annoying, or embarrassing. I might drop something. I might be casually reading a web page, or reading a tooltip, and then out of nowhere my finger slams onto the click button or keyboard in full force. Suddenly I’m navigating to a new web page, closing a window, pressing Enter on a half-typed message, or something like that.
I am thankful my symptoms are very minimal despite very heavy, constant drinking. Not everyone is so lucky.
I’m grateful for you and your openness. Thank you
Everyone’s symptoms is different, mine , I get cold in the hand and feet even it’s very hot weather. I have days where I am numb I don’t feel the cold, then vey cold than normal. I also get pins and Needle itching all over my body and in the middle of my head shooting , very painful. I am seeing a Doctor but I haven’t found any solution, anyone has experienced neuropathy can give us any advice, Thanks
Thank you. It helps to hear personal stories vs symptom lists. I appreciate it!