Some days I have some slight numbness in my fingers, like they are sleeping a little bit. Not enough to really bother with playing the piano or guitar, but it's there. I think I just stopped drinking before I ruined my hands as well. (Eric Clapton did damage his hands through drinking BTW)



As for my feet, all the pain is now in the outer half of my feet - say the ball of my feet + the toes. The big toes are the most painful. When I started out, it was from the ankles downwards, so there has been some significant progress/healing.

Nope, I do them when I get bored or when I can't ride the bike.

2618 days sober.

Not much to report...carry on. Next month will be a good one though.

Great work. I'm on 2304. (and 1732 as for the smokes)


Had a crazy summer, and I'm trying to adjust to being at home again. And the grey skies.


That said, a ray of sunshine happened last week. I was paying for my shopping at the local supermarket, and the (new) young lady said, after I paid:



"Sir, can I say something?"

"Sure!"
"The leather jacket you are wearing is totally awesome."


I blushed, smiled, and walked away - trying to look as cool as possible.


Vanity, vanity ...

Great work everyone.

I just past the 6 month mark since my last drop of alcohol. That was something that I wouldn't have believed possible early on into recovery.

As for the not drinking things have gotten easier. AA has been very helpful and time away from a drink to give myself a break and do some soul searching has given me a completely new perspective on life in general.

So now that I gotten this far this next phase I'm ready to focus on improving my health in general. Diet, exercise, and getting off of my gabapentin dependency are my 3 goals. I look forward to tracking my progress.

My feet continue to be a burden, was waiting in line at a store the other day and after a few minutes the reality hit me that this is not something I can do any more with how I feel for long period of times. It's a weird realization to experience at my age but I try to shift those thoughts to things that can motivate me. Thanks again to all that participate in this thread. It continues to inspire and encourage me on the day to day.

Well done Freeway !

Hi All,

Just wanted to check in to share some developments to which seem to be helping with my pain. I recently changed my eating habits. I never was much of a diet person, drinking always got in the way, but I was for the most part in the past 6 months eating healthy in my eyes. I figured I could lose some weight and that could help so a friend suggested a Keto diet or Keto esque diet which included reducing carb and sugar intake. I dropped a few pounds right away and figured wow this is helping but the more I thought about it I felt it had to be more than just the weight.

After reaching out to folks on reddit in the Neuropathy subreddit, it has been suggested that the reduction in sugar and carbs could be directly related to the reduced pain I am experiencing. Much more so than any therapy or medication I have tried over the past 2.5 + years.

I dont know the science behind it fully, but there seems to be a consistent trend in it helping other people out there who have neuropathy pain from diabetes. And it seems like this could be helpful because that condition requires strict eating habits and people practicing them seem to be on top of their sh** with understanding what helps and hurts them. I will continue to pass along any helpful info. Maybe this has been discussed in previous discussions but I either forgot it was or missed it. Hope everyone is doing well.

I agree that cutting back on sugar-enriched foods and drinks is a good idea. This is because consuming sugar-rich foods and drinks leads to a "spike" of insulin release; this can lead to what is called insulin resistance which is a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes.

I am less sure about carbohydrate-rich foods as a group. In some of them (eg, white bread) the sugar in them is released rapidly during digestion; they are called "high GI" foods - this can lead to insulin resistance.

In other carbohydrate-rich foods (eg, wholemeal bread, brown rice, legumes and vegetables) the sugar in them is released slowly during digestion; they are called "low GI" foods. They are good sources of many nutrients as well as fibre which is protective against cardiovascular disease and colon cancer.

2649 days sober

Not much to report, but I will have a ton of stuff next month....I am on a roll here lately!

2337 days and proud owner of a new multi-focal lens (Intra Ocular Lens, or IOL, which means they surgically removed the old one and put a new one in place) to cure a very sudden onset cataract.


I was pretty nervous, but the procedure takes about 15 minutes (prep not included). No pain afterwards, no swelling or redness. Can already read my PC screen again (after 16 hours) with that eye, but still need glasses at the moment; in the best case scenario I'll no longer need those in about a month.


I have a patch, but it is transparent, so no great pirate pics with Oscar on my shoulder coming up.