Hi Everyone. Just wanted to check in to see how everyone is doing.

Spring is moving along here in NYC and with that we have had some consistently cloudy / rainy days. Does anyone's pain increase along with this type of weather? Mine sure seems to.

Have had a few other accomplishments / milestones recently. I came up on a year without alcohol in April and I have to say it, when I first tried getting sober in 2016 it was never something I thought I would reach. Just didnt think a life without alcohol would be something that I would enjoy, and it was too complicated to keep relationships in tact with family and friends and be able to abstain. Turns out that is not the case at all. This year has been very fulfilling and I have learned a different way of living.

My wife and I took a trip to Puerto Rico in late March and I can report that I spent two weeks surfing. This was not something I could even fathom doing a year ago. A year ago I weighed 45lbs more than I do now, could barely stand for more than minutes at a time, and had next to no balance left. After a lot of hard work and focus, I have made some great progress. I want to thank the folks in this thread for inspiration to keep up the fight on a daily basis.

While my neuropathy has showed improvement at times, I think it's important to note that that isnt necessarily why my life has improved or why I have been able to incorporate new physical activities into my life. What I believe is also happening is that my body / mind is making adjustments and with those adjustments my quality of life has improved.

While on the trip in PR we went on a adventure hike of sorts and it was advertised as a cave tubing / zip line adventure. Turns out it was a 8 mile hike through pretty treacherous terrain. If I knew in advance what we were getting into I would have never done it as it was risky and breaking an ankle is not something that I would have wanted to do as it would have ruined our trip. But we got into it and I I pushed myself and it was amazing to not only get through it but to actually do really well on the hike. Make no mistake it was dangerous as hell with the lack of feeling in my feet and the limited balance as well as just general weakness but you would be amazed at what your body can do when it's pushed. It's hard to put to words what it felt like getting through it, or what it was like to be able to stand up on a wave in such a beautiful setting. Both were spiritual experiences that just give me more motivation to take it a step further.

My journey started around a year ago and I was beaten down and hopeless. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually in rough shape. I had a glimmer of hope, got a bike, and started slowly. Small achievements lead to bigger goals.

I still struggle here and there. Can't deny that. But I try not to let it get me down. I had hopes of the pain really reducing instead of me just making adjustments. I still have hope that I will "heal", but my latest EMG didnt show any improvements really. Well, improvements and also a set back. When i read up on Alcoholic Neuropathy, some say that it can be reversed but also permanent. I am a year in, maybe I see improvements next year, or the year after. I'm still fairly young, and I can improve my physical self even further which I plan on doing. It will no doubt improve my overall quality of life.

The one thing that does bother me is the dependency on Gabapentin. I am currently on 1800 mg a day. One 600 pill in the morning and 2 at night. It does have an impact on my ability to think and my memory. Maybe that is just the long term alcohol use though. I dont really have a way of knowing as when I try to cut down on it the pain gets way too intense. I used marijuana at night to sleep but I have cut that out the last month as I will need to take a test for a new job. It can be a concern for people that have addiction issues so I would suggest seeing a DR which is what I did. I have no desire to use it during waking hours. And there is a considerable difference in my sleeping as a result of cutting it out. Getting a lot less which is impacting my day to day which is what it is as of now. Will see how it goes.

Hope everyone is keeping up the fight. Remaining positive, and listening to others success stories have really helped me along the way. So thanks everyone who contributes to this board.