Not easy. The first time I quit in Januari 2012 my symptoms improved at first and then got pretty bad after 2 months. I used that as an excuse to relapse. And yes, as long as I drank enough to go through the pain barrier, I was OK until the next morning when the pain came screaming back, worse than before. So I checked myself into rehab in June 2012 and never looked back. (nor am I going to).

It's always difficult to "diagnose" someone on the internet, only you know how much you drank, how easy it was to abstain, etc. Purely from a scientific POV, metabolizing alcohol creates all kinds of aldehydes that are pretty toxic, especially to nerves. While drinking a couple of nights in moderation might not have caused PN, nor made it "worse" clinically, it may well trigger some serious pain, I can totally see that.

Also: in many cases our fat cells are used to "store" toxins out of harms way, but if you are very skinny, you may be much more prone to the toxic effect of alcohol metabolization (not the "may"). But in the end we all are affected by alcohol in the long run.

Also: although our body does heal when we stay abstinent, serious damage can be done if we pick up again after a period of abstinence. It is well known and well documented; our body heals (slowly) but also loses it's tolerance. If I would drink - right now - the same volume as I usually did up until 2 years ago, I would go in a coma and die after a couple of hours. If you know Amy Winehouse; that's exactly how she died.

So no, while I do not think that those couple of glasses have caused any additional damage to your nerves, I do believe it is enough of a shock for your body to get thrown back into pain and discomfort. I did read your other thread, but I'm always careful not to comment if I'm not absolutely sure I can contribute something useful.

In this thread however I would say: remove the variable alcohol from the list of potential triggers, and do so for a longer time - with that I mean: at least a year. Yes, it can make you feel like you give up a lot, but don't forget that for most of us in this thread stopping alcohol intake probably meant we got our life back (warts and all).

I am sorry to read you are feeling so bad - I have been there. Tramadol can work, but the nausea is exactly what I had the first 3 weeks. Then I got used to it, but it did suppress my appetite. If you are anorexic or borderline anorexic, you might want to discuss this with your doc who might consider other pain medication (like amitryptiline that normally tends to make people gain weight, but is hit and miss when it comes to pain relief).

Important: I am not a doctor! All the above is just my experience combined with informed speculation. So please discuss this with your doc. But I can say with some authority that alcohol really should be avoided at all costs right now. It can be done, as in the end, it does very little for us, and can bring the best of us down. Hope this helps a bit?

Can I get an AMEN??

Thank you-yes it does help especially the part about shocking my body by reintroducing even a small quantity of alcohol. What I don't understand is the extreme nausea and diarrhea for the past five days. It must be an unrelated stomach virus on top of the PN. I saw my GP today and that was her diagnosis-along with some laughs when I asked if it was related to the drinking. She is a family practice doctor with little in depth experience with PN so I always take those insights at face value. I still wonder if there are any out there who have had stomach virus symptoms after having two drinks over the span of a few days....

Interesting about the Tramadol. I will definitely bring it up with my neurologist and nutritionist. Perhaps because I take it as needed this was not apparent to them-plus the whole ED road is new and my neurologist still labels me as idiopathic. I was recently put on 10mg of Amitriptyline so waiting to see if it works. So far all it does is help me sleep at night.

In conclusion, the risk of alcohol being toxic to my nerves is definitely not worth it as you said. It's better to avoid it completely and have a better quality of life in the end. You and Icehouse are a testament that you can improve this condition through abstinence and I am ready to do whatever it takes!!!

Hi I'm new to the forum and have took some encouragement from what I have read here.

However I know I'm at the start of a long journey. I was diagnosed with NP two years ago and have tried to ignore it and carried on drinking as before. However I have got to the stage where I wont be able to walk soon if I don't do something!

My symptoms are

Tingling in hands and feet, severe cramp in feet up to waste, cramps and spasm in hands, severe weakness in legs and back, unable to stand any longer than a few minutes some days and muscle wastage in legs.

I have played sport all my life from Rugby to Triathlon but have allowed drink to rob me of all that with my last bike ride being 6 months ago.

I'm 53 years old so would expect to be less active but I have to change to save my life. My brother died at 53 basically from alcohol abuse so I know what's coming.

I stopped drinking 2 days ago and feel better for that but let the battle commence.

Welcome ALee!

I can relate to your story, far more than I care to admit, and we are here to help you through the hardest part of this.

You can do this!

Thank you Icehouse

Will keep u posted! I know the next few weeks are going to be hard but you guys have done it so why not me.

hi all: i've had PN (or CIDP, depending on the doc) for 15 years. idiopathic, but i drink like a fish. last night for the first night in a long time, i went without. until i got here, my plan was to stop drinking at home and only drink when i go out, which i don't do often. but i suppose even that much will be too much. so ... well, anyway. i went back through 11 pages of this thread, looking for a list of helpful vits and only came across this:
"300mg Benfotiamine, 200mg, r-Lipoc, a B complex (Jarrow's B-Right), 4000mcg Methyl B-12. Then a standard Centrum & Fish-oil."
does that sound about right for a 59 yr old guy, 170 lbs?

Thanks to everyone for all the time you have spent sharing your stories. It really helps to read all the positive things happening as a result of things we can control.

I have been diagnosed with PN as a result of alcohol abuse. I was a heavy drinker for many years. I stopped the night I went to the hospital with pancreatitis. It almost killed me. 7 days in ICU, tubes everywhere. Insane hallucinations continued almost 15 days, just before I went home. My BAC that night was .342. I carried on normal conversations at that level even with family members. My tolerance was really high. My body finally gave up. I am really doing well now except for the PN. I have hope it will be reversible and will be following the vitamin advice along with 0 alcohol. I am on 300 mg of lyrica and tramadol prn. I also take simvastatin because of a celiac artery stenosis. The doctor would like me to stay on it for now. I do take coq10 with it. My PN is getting better after just 2 months of treatment. Because of these post and the information in this forum, I have hopes it will continue to get better which is a wonderful motivator to abstain from alcohol and enjoy this new life I have.

When I reach my one year anniversary, (currently 209 days since I quit), I plan to come back and buy everyone a new car!!

mrsD is the resident "expert" on this, I hope she will chime in

I recommend abstaining from alcohol if you can, but I know it's hard, real hard.

Proud of you for your 209 days! By now you have surely noticed an increased ease of staying off the liquid. It really does get easier, but there will always be triggers and lingering thoughts. You can do this!

Proud of you!

PS: I like German cars, so please do not buy me a Land Rover (I have been down that road)