Neuropathy in Feet

My uncle was just diagnosed with neuropathy in feet. He is now paying the price of years of alcohol abuse. He was an alcoholic ever since I can remember. His alcoholism probably started more than 20 years ago. It is only now that he is openly admitting both his alcoholism and he also admitted that he developed neuropathy in feet.

He shared that at first, he thought it was just bacteria or fungi attacking the toes and balls of his feet. Months before, he noticed that the tingling sensation on his feet doesn’t go away even if he applied anti-fungal creams and kept his feet clean and shoes clean all the time.

After some months, my uncle said that the tingling sensation developed into pain. It feels as if he is being electrocuted suddenly. The shooting pain distracts him from his work. He is a mechanic who is good with car repairs. His productivity suffered because of the pain. Thinking that it was just rheumatism, my uncle said that he took pain killers and the pain went away after a while. But the pain always comes back.

After a few more weeks, my uncle noticed that the pain becomes more intense. It was too painful and sensitive that even if he barely touched the skin on his feet, he will feel unbearable pain. After a few more weeks, he asked for help. He went to the doctor and the doctor finally told him that he had neuropathy in feet.

My uncle’s doctor told him that he needs to manage or stop his intake of alcoholism. He was given anti-seizure drugs to help make the pain tolerable. My uncle finds it hard to stop drinking alcohol so I wonder what will happen to him.