700 days sober.

Just got back from a week in south Florida where I accomplished yet another goal. Read above to see that I was in a wheelchair not long ago. Abstinence, proper vitamins and exercise have brought me out of the chair and I have now gone months without even my cane. I went bowling a couple months back, that was a miracle.

Anyway, while in Florida I walked the beach about 3 miles daily (no cane, on sand and totally sober). I was a little sore after the first day, but by the end of the week I was keeping up with my partner with no problems.

Praise God for sobriety! I have my health back!!

Wonderful news! Thank you so much for sharing!

That is fantastic. :cool:

Congrats!!..And it keeps getting better, no matter what

400 days here.

While not 700, it's, well... 400, innit! ;)

It's harder than you think, and yet, easier than I ever would have imagined 400 days ago.

Symptoms are down to sore feet after a day of running around, cooking dinner, and working in the garden. There's also less me, as I went from 128kg to 108kg in the last 3,5 months.

I had forgotten how it felt to be euphoric, now I remember.

Excellent news to hear!

One YEAR at a time....
 

Today marks my 2nd full year of sobriety.

On this date in 2011 I woke up in jail after 20+ years of abusing alcohol. I had lost everything I owned and also my family.

Two years later I have rebuilt my life, remained sober and have helped many others that struggle just like me.

One day at a time, now its one year at a time.

Peace.

This is my first post , and I am not sure I am doing this right, but you guys are an inspiration. I have read your posts, Icehouse, with great interest. Long term drinker has hope.

Keep us up to date on how you go forward Newstown!

Thank you Icehouse. I will. I hope I do as well as you and others are doing. I know all have posted several times about your supplements....benfothiamine, alpha lipoic acid, and so on. Would you mind posting which ones you think are most helpful? I know that is a difficult question since we don't always know. Thank you!

Hey, this is what I was taking. I have cut it down to just the Centrum after a full year and feel great!

Centrum Men Under 50, Multivitamin, 200-Count Bottle
Doctor's Best Benfotiamine (150 mg), Vegetable Capsules, 120-Count
Jarrow Formulations Jarrow B-right Complex, 100 Capsules

Of course, this is just ME and your mileage may vary.

Thanks Icehouse!! I notice no Alpha Lipoic Acid. I am giving that a shot in additon to what you listed. I will keep all posted.

Since I have only been a member here a few days, I thought I would provide a few details so I (and anyone else) can track my progress, if any, as I will post my results. I was diagnosed with "mild peripheral neuropathy probably due to alcohol use" in February , 2013. I was advised to "limit drinking" or to avoid alcohol completely. I continued to drink, tho not quite as much, and my symptoms are somewhat worse now. So I have embraced ABSTINENCE for the umpteenth time. I don't "limit drinking" real well, I "avoid drinking" better.

(Although, I did read somewhere that PN typically gets worse before it gets better because the dymyelinating process continues for a time. I have no idea where exactly I read that, and don't know if it's true. Does anyone have a take on that? In any event, it is Abstinence for this guy, and posting here will help with that.)

My major complaint is numbness in the feet, and fatigue. I feel best in the morning up awakening, when the numbness is usually limited to the soles of my feet. But it doesn't take much time and much movement for the numbness to spread throughout my feet and up the lower leg. Some days, especially if my day at work has been full of stress, my upper legs are very "uncomfortable", but I wouldn't exactly call it pain. More like "discomfort." I find it somewhat difficult to explain. I take Ibuprofen but am concerned about the effects that has on my stomach. Fortunately, I don't have any serious, debilitating pain and I am not limited much in movement. Less than a year ago I actually participated in a Zumba class tho I doubt if I could do that now. At the present time, it is not uncommon for me to come home from work and collapse on the couch, sleep a few hours, and then go to bed. I try to walk for exercise, but frankly, it seems that actually makes me more fatigued. I walk a flight of about 20 stairs many times a day at work, and that may be all the exercise I need at the moment.

I have started to take Doctor's Best Benfotiamine, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Co-Q10, and Turmeric. Any and all thoughts will be appreciated.

I love the similarities between you and I. Not really pain, but discomfort, fatigue, slow progress, abstinence.

Keep up the walking, keep off the booze if you can and if you are anything like me then it WILL get better.

There sure do seem to be similarities, and I especially hope that applies to it all getting better, Icehouse. !!

In my case, yes. I hope the same for you.

761 days sober or 26 months or 2 years +

1) Its wonderful
2) I have found love again, someone who accepts me just the way I am.
3) After 4 years, my kids *may* be back in my life.
4) Walked the entire Charlotte airport with my luggage and NO CANE!!!

This is totally awesome!

30 days sober
 

and congrats to you Icehouse!!

As noted above, I was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy earlier in the year--alcohol related. At 30 days sober, I can say that I have some modest improvement in my symptoms. I have a little less numbness and what little pain I had --an occasional "stabbing" sensation--has not made an appearance in a couple of weeks. I still have fatigue though not quite as much.

I don't know how much of this modest improvement is actually reversal of PN or just the benefits of getting booze out of my system, but I grateful either way. From what I have read, it takes a long time to reverse PN.

I take alpha lipoic acid, doctor's best benfotiamine, co enzyme 10, and tumeric.

Good for you!

judi

It is wonderful to return from a long vacation and see new
successes on this thread! Congrats to all who are doing so well!

Excellent report! And I think I would concur that it takes time. Time for the body to get used to not having alcohol in it, and time for it to regenerate.

It took me a full year before I felt "normal". I hope your time frame is faster.

What a nice pic MrsD. The eagle doesn't look too interested in sharing. :winky:

Great work newstown! (and Icehouse ;)). Sure, it takes time, and that time will depend - as you can imagine - on quite a few things, but you will get there, and sooner than you think.

Let's make this a trend, eh. :cool:

Well Icehouse, just letting you know you've got another convert. I'm just out of rehab and 40 days sober, just starting on the recommended vitamins. While you weren't the sole reason I decided to get help, this thread and your story and the hope that my own pn might get better did indeed factor into my decision to seek treatment. So here's to you and the others in this threat who've beaten alcohol!

PB, this is the reason I stick around, in the hope that I will make even the slightest impression on anyone that may be debating their life with alcohol. Now, I am a firm believer that you can't "beat" alcoholism, but you certainly can control it. Keep up the sobriety and I will be here if you have any questions!

yes, "beaten" is the wrong word. Chosen recovery perhaps. I'm under no illusion that this will be easy and rehab was the easy part. I do know it was the right thing to do and I feel fantastic.

Ok folks, 793 days sober. Spent a little time in Charleston, SC (what a fantastic piece of history) walking for miles on ancient sidewalks and beaches. A little tiring but gelato makes all troubles go away....LOL.

At dinner I was surprised to find 'sherry' in my crab soup, but fortunately it did not trigger any old thoughts or urges.

WE can do this!!!

60 Days Sober Report
 

I posted previously that I was diagnosed with PN, alcohol related, earlier in the year. At 60 days without alcohol, I can report some continuing, slow, modest improvement. I don't have as much fatigue as a month ago, and can climb stairs much easier. My feet are a little less numb, but no dramatic improvement. However, I do notice that my feet, for example, feel more normal on the gas and brake pedals in the car. A month ago I still had some issues with that.

I eat a lot of ice cream. Gotta stop that. I have quit drinking for a few months in the past, and don't remember these cravings for ice cream and sweets, but oh well, I haven't gained any weight, in fact I have lost by eliminating all the beer. Still, I gotta get the diet straightened out. But all in all, I am sloooowly getting better, and grateful for it.

Good Job Newstown!! Proud of YOU for hitting 60 days. I would not advise losing all the devices at the same time, ween yourself slowly :)

But, keep at it, keep busy and try and be accountable to somebody you trust.

You CAN do this.....

Thanks Icehouse!! I am glad you are on here. It helps a lot.

What Icehouse said: you can deal with that later.

When I quit I had a terrible craving for all things sugary, and I indulged. I did gain weight - quite a lot - but it helped enormously.

After 9 months I adjusted my diet because I found it it didn't exactly help with my PN, and since then I lost a lot of weight. But I doubt I could have done it if it wasn't for the ice cream, cookies, etc. Or maybe I could have, but it made it a damn lot easier. Which means I'm now at day 480, and I really feel I can keep this up!

Well done on your 60 days BTW! :cool:

Thanks Wide-O! I know what you mean about the ice cream and stuff. I just love it. I dont remember that from any other time I tried to quit. Weird. But oh well, it's good stuff! ;)

I'm going to cheat one day (at a time ;)) and call this my 500th day of living sober.

I can not stress enough how happy I feel compared to 500 days ago. It is simply amazing.

I also saved me 10,000 USD in whisky purchases. Well, it's virtual saving (d'oh!) but still, it's quite an impressive amount. :eek:

As for the PN: I just finished redecorating our main room; cleaning it out, move old stuff to the attic, remove floor, put in new floor, repair walls, put in new doors, even out walls around doors, 3 layers of paint (35 liters of paint in total), new lighting, put in new furniture... not bad for someone with PN. Some pain in the evening which is completely under control with medication, but then again, I suppose any 51 year old would feel a bit rough after this madness.

Weight also dropped to 94 kg now, which is scarily skinny. Can't remember ever being this skinny actually. Ho hum. Energy levels are through the roof.

Anyway: if you ever wonder if it's worth it to quit the booze: hell yes!

A very encouraging post Wide O, congrats on Day 500. I am at day 79 and love to read posts from those of you farther down the road. The numbness in my feet seemed a little worse that usual when i woke up just now, but your post put it all in perspective for me. thanks!

There will be days like that Newstown. Live didn't turn into a rose garden, but it's a damn sight easier dealing with the weed. ;)

I still have days that are a bit less, I'm not into games. PN is a serious thing, and it still reminds me now & then that it's there. But the difference between now and 6 months ago is just... crazy. 9 days out of 10 I'm just not bothered by it.

I'll celebrate your 80 days and my 500 days with a good espresso tomorrow. :cool:

We will ALL celebrate any day that is sober. I am at 814 today (according to my phone), and I will lift an iced tea to both of you!!!

90 Day Report
 

Well, if I had posted a 75 day report it would have been a little more upbeat. The past 2 weeks I have experienced some increase in my PN symptoms, I am not back to Day 1 by any means but I do have more numbness, more often. I also have the difficult to describe feelings of discomfort in my upper legs that I had assumed were a thing of the past. I know it is a slow process of nerve regeneration but I guess I wasn't quite prepared for it to be a 3 steps forward, 2 back kind of thing. My docs seemed quite sure that my PN was most likely the result of years of heavy drinking, but now I find myself second guessing them. I have little interest in returning to alcohol, but now i wonder if the PN is related to something else. I can drive myself crazy thinking about this stuff so I will stop. It's great to have this forum and you nice folks here.

I dont have any of the 'stabbing' pain, and little fatigue. So I am doing ok, it's just a bit disappointing. Was it like this for any of you?

It was very much like that (except I had stabbing pains, burning soles, muscle cramps, the feeling like someone was squeezing off my big toes with a nut cracker, and rocks under my feet as well).

The first time I quit I relapsed after 45 days because the pain came back worse than ever.

The second time (this one) I did manage to stay the course, but the pain - as documented in the PN subforum - came back and became worse & worse for the first 8 months. Oh joy...

Like you, I have long searched for other reasons apart from the alcohol (can you say "co-morbid"? ...), and I guess there were. Low B12 may have also be caused by taking antacids (Pariet) for years on end - it's a known side effect.

But.

In the end, I realized that everything had one primal cause: stress. I was doing too much, working too hard, and that set of a lot of things like reflux, drinking, anxiety, hyperventilation, and then some. And they all nicely enforced each other.

I'm not saying that as an excuse, because I have no doubt when it comes to the PN, it was mostly if not exclusively the alcohol. Put another way; I wouldn't be where I am today (yesterday I knocked down a brick wall, today I'm doing drywall and electricity) if I hadn't stopped drinking. I could also be slightly dead by now. ;)

So yeah, it is a tedious process, often disappointing, and it never hurts to check all factors that can contribute to your PN, but, if you find something, don't let it fool you/trick you in trying to become a "moderate drinker" etc. You, me, Icehouce, we passed that station IMHO.

You'll get there, hang on.

Thanks so much Wide O. I was hoping you would provide a post on your experience. Very much appreciated.

Whoa, I forgot to post my 11.1.2013 update! I must be feeling good!

So, I am at 832 days sober today. I dont remember the last time I used my cane (6 months ago now?), I have no pain, and my girlfriend (a runner) is determined to get me jogging. I have not ran in years and this scares the crap out of me, but if I can conquer that then I will be just giggly all over!

Keep it up folks!!!