Positive news to report!

First of all I have learned so much about myself and PN in such a short period of time thanks to the members of this board. Less than 3 months ago I was seriously considering suicide. I was in so much pain in such a short period of time with constantly changing and unexplained pain. Truthfully if things stayed on that path I wouldn't have wanted to live. If you kept up with this thread you'd have an idea of what I've been going through.

I wish I could pinpoint what has helped the most but it's been such a shotgun approach to improvement and once again it's all been stated before. But what I haven't discussed much is my improvement. The past 3 weeks have been somewhat of a revelation and it's only after stringing together multiple "good days" that I've truly been able to evaluate my improvement.

I went from not even being able to be on my feet enough to go grocery shopping, too several occasions in which I have left my house to run errands and spend quality time with my family. Not without some discomfort, but the pain was in the back of my mind rather than at the fore front.

The burning/cold sensations which caused severe psychological distress is now felt maybe 1-2 times per week and relatively mild compared to before. The achiness in my feet has subsided enough that I can do chores around the house and make it through work without shedding tears.

The feeling of on sandpaper and steel wool has subsided enough that I'm starting to feel the carpet beneath my feet and I can feel the cotton in my socks.

The feeling of my "rawness" on the soles of my feet is felt much less and comes less often and less severe with the occasional exertional flare up.

The hypersensitivity in my feet and lower legs is still present but to a much lesser extent that sometimes if I'm preoccupied I can go hours without giving it much notice.

I've had maybe 2-3 instances of "electric shocks" in the past month which is once again much less than before.

I'm still bothered by the sensation of walking on rocks or glass in my toes on the right foot and ball of the left foot, but it is less intense if I had to give it an honest assessment.

By no means am I cured, nor has any symptom completely been relieved. What I can say is that I have a significant and noticeable decrease in all symptoms. I'll get a brief flare for a few hours here and there, usually with exertion and it'll cause some anxiety. I just remind myself to stay calm and weather the storm until it subsides. And once the flare passes I start feeling like I'm healing.

In my estimation I still have a long way to go in this journey with PN. And maybe I'll never be completely healed, but I feel like I'm on the right track towards getting my life back. The people on this board who have followed my journey and responded with advice and encouragement deserve some of the credit for me not ending my life when things were at their worst. And this board deserves 100% of the credit for giving me the tools to make educated and informed choices about treating my body right, mentally coping with the burden of chronic neuropathy pain, and providing me with inspiration that under the right circumstances I can get better. I can't say enough about how much of a mental boost this place has provided when things seemed so bleak.

I will continue to track my journey and progress in this thread. I hope it stays positive but am aware that it can go south again at any time. I am thankful with each step I can take without being in excruciating pain and reminded of the fragile nature of the human body with each flare up.

-160 days since Left foot symptoms
-113 days since right foot symptoms
-88 days on Nortiptyline (30mg)
-82 days on Supplements
-42 days on gabapentin (600mg x 3)