Hi,

I read that the peripheral nerves transmit signals between the body, the spinal cord, and the brain. Thiamine, folate, niacin and vitamin B6 and B12 and vitamin E are all needed for proper nerve function. And drinking too much can alter levels of these nutrients and affect the spread of alcoholic neuropathy.

Things that are in moderation are just fine but we all know that everything that is too much is bad. Hope this could help.

Taurine...I'm going to go buy some of that this afternoon!

My supplements regime is similar if not slightly developed from an earlier post about it. However, I have been reducing my intake of B vitamins here and there because I've read excess of B12 can cause nerve issues.

My neuropathy is in a new and fairly consistent state, which is:

Walking, running, and day to day life I no longer have any symptoms.

However, when laid flat I get a numb pain and some slight tingling in the end of my feet. It's not enough to disrupt sleep. It's similar in the morning, but after moving around it goes. On holiday recently I fell to sleep in a hammock with my legs raised above my body...and found my feet to be completely numb for about 10 minutes. And every time I raised my legs up they started to go very numb. Prior to suffering from neuropathy this never happened.

If I drink more than 1 weak coffee a day I get the tingling feeling back until I've not drank coffee for 24-36 hours.

The more I exercise the better they are, and the more water I drink and the less sugar I intake. Basically, I know that if I limit myself to 3 english breakfast teas a day, with a low sugar / carbohydrate diet, LOTS of water and I exercise for at least an hour, I'm almost certain to have a symptomless day.

I've been running some 10km races recently. My times have been 57m, 55m, 52m and 51m 30s, for any runners out there!

My brother and I went to watch a big boxing show last night in a stadium in UK. I'm at 6 1/2 months sober and he's about 9 1/2 months. Needless to say everyone else was very drunk. Had a great time, didn't talk about alcohol the whole night until on the way back we agreed how much better it was not drinking. Couldn't help but notice a few things about how we've changed. We were probably the two best presented in our stand...and that's coming from a couple of serious slobs in our worst drinking days.

An update from little old me. Almost done with my decompression and laser therapy. It helped with the pain but not so much the numbness. They had also put me on the usual vitamin B complex, and handed me jugs of alkaline water to drink constantly throughout my regimen. Also was administered oxygen during the decompression therapy. I turned 47 recently and realized that since my neuropathy started (exactly 4 years ago), I have a new tolerance for pain that I never had before. I have constant pain from my right elbow to the wrist, acid reflux and allergies to the point that I throw up phlegm almost every morning, if not that, then I just have a rotten stomach ache until noon. I should say that this coincided with the start of the decompression therapy (the machine runs up and down your midsection, which probably isn't conducive to proper digestion).

Anyway, as much of a wimp I have been all my life, it's amazing how the new pains I have developed now are so secondary to my PN. I feel like I am 67, not 47!

I believe you are confusing B12 with B6. Excess B6 does impact some people, but still one has to consume huge amounts daily.

B12 taken orally is poorly absorbed and hence only a few micrograms are absorbed. This is why it needs to be taken orally daily. A 1000mcg dose leads to only 13 micrograms optimally absorbed if taken on an empty stomach. It was long thought to not work orally but a recent experiment on volunteers showed enough can be absorbed this way to help with low levels.

You can get tested for B12 to see if you maintain a level of 1000pg/ml. Lab ranges for B12 go way too low and haven't yet been modified to match the current studies. The current suggested low is 400pg/ml today. Discontinue B12 oral for several days to a week before any testing to arrive at more accurate values.

If you have the link (s) to any discussion of B12 causing "nerve issues in excess", please post them here.

It's also worth noting that in case of smoke poisoning, patients are given up to 15 grams of B12, intravenous, without any known side effects (obviously, if you are not allergic to B12, that is).

That is one million times more than what we get from the supplements we are talking about, in a single day.

| Cyanokit

2131 days sober.

I turn 44 this month, almost 6 years since I last had a sip of alcohol. I had a neat conversation with a young lady a couple days ago about how we have to "prune the herd" of friends that drag us down.

That got be thinking of the "friends" I had in my drinking years that have fallen by the wayside of my life and how much more positive my life is now in sobriety.

Tomorrow I climb a mountain (literally)...so if you don't hear from me in a couple days then I have gone off the grid and become a hippy.

Groovy man, groovy! And congrats.

Good job Icehouse!

Enjoy your mountain climb .

3,800ft above sea level....4 hour hike...then spent the afternoon in a lake doing NOTHING but floating and frolicking.

I will not become a hippy, the thought of dreadlocks and patchouli does not appeal to me (but I do own a VW Bus so I am on the verge).

Let's see if I can move in the morning....

My neuropathy began almost 6 years ago and it began with the pins and needles which got progressively worst, then the debilitating weakness followed by the burning.

As you know I struggle but I was hopeful that in time I might see some improvement. My thought was because the burning started last, I might have a chance of recovering from that. I have ups and downs but some days the burning is quite tolerable.

What I wanted to share though was that two days ago the pins and needles were only below the knees, and yesterday evening they were completely gone! It has been 6 years and miraculously they disappeared! While they are back today in full force, I am more optimistic than ever. I am hopeful that I too may be climbing a mountain top some day.

Stay well my friends.