LOL! I get that. When I felt pretty good I started slacking as well. Then it became slightly worse so I'm on them again. :D

Despite moderate pain I'm currently remodeling my attic into a library/reading room. Full drywall/floors/electricity etc. job. I'm lucky in that I seem to forget any pain as long as I'm really busy. Pay for it as soon as I sit down though.

Day 874 here. Staying sober is getting easier still. Sobriety is like a muscle that gets a good workout it seems.

I have alcoholic peripheral neuropathy. 404 days ago, I went to the hospital with pancreatitis. Because of alcohol withdrawals, there were complications. I spent 7 days in the ICU and 7 more days in the hospital. Feeding tube, ventilator, everything. I was having normal conversations with a .34 BAC. I had an enormous tolerance and problem. So, after a few months, I discovered I had large fiber peripheral neuropathy in both feet, a pinched nerve in my back, and a torn labrum in my shoulder requiring surgery. Vodka kept the pain at bay, so I didn't discover all these problems until I quit drinking. I also was anemic. People asked me if I felt better after I quit, when in fact I didn't. I could feel pain! But I hung in there. 404 days later, surgery, EMG, NCV, colonoscopy, endoscopy, lumbar injections, 2 MRIs, Bone scan, multiple cat scans and X-rays, and a ton of blood tests, here I am....all done alcohol free. If I can do it, anyone can. It doesn't matter what the situation is in your life. Alcohol does not relieve stress, it is a source of stress and destruction when abused.

I continue to improve. It will take a lot of patients and time, but I am determined. I have been reading this thread and thought I would say hello. Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories. It has really helped me through some dark times. It's nice to know you aren't alone.

Welcome Okone1. :Wave-Hello:

Wow, another incredible story - thank you for sharing, Okone1. At the risk of repeating myself, it's incredible to me that this condition has not been SHOUTED FROM THE ROOFTOPS for years now, being that so many of us suffer from it. Good God, if I had known I'd be feeling like this (numb feet continuing up the legs, numb fingers, weakness, balance problems, occasional pain), I would NEVER have drunk as much alcohol as I have across the years. I honestly don't crave it, it's just a habit and "the thing you do" when you're with friends. When life handed me a bunch of crap, my drinking rose exponentially, which I am sure led to my condition.

I knew what I was doing might harm my health, but when I was drinking almost nonstop daily, the worst thing I thought would happen would be liver disease or the like...I would check for the symptoms - yellowing of the eyes, etc. - never had it, never had any other symptoms at all, felt fine, so I figured, the worst thing would be a hangover. And I don't get those, either! Just this DAMNED neuropathy. Again, if I had known, I would N-E-V-E-R have consumed so much alcohol. I had actually never heard of neuropathy until I went onto WebMD a couple years ago when my feet started getting numb and tingly.

You know... maybe you need to think this through again. It's never exactly been a secret that alcohol abuse is horrible to the body. It is neurotoxic in larger doses, it destroys quite a few internal organs, and it leads to dramas at home and on the roads. It's not like we didn't know drinking in excess was bad for us.

Oddly enough, the last place you'd feel any pain is in your liver. That's because there are no nerve endings in the liver - so it's not exactly a good idea to drink until you feel pain there.

This thread is mainly uplifting, it's about people who have seen the error of their ways, and in many cases see improvement in their neuropathy. Which in a way is unfair to the vast amount of users here that have neuropathy because of 99 other reasons. People who did nothing wrong, but received the wrong medication, are forced on statins, have to undergo chemotherapy, or are simply born with the disease. They can do very little about it but hope, and learn to live with the pain. We on the other hand can take the decision to stop drinking, and are very very lucky that the disease can be reversed (or at least not get any worse) for many of us.

I'm sorry to pick on you, but your post screams of "it's so unfair to me, why did nobody warn me" and it rubs me the wrong way.

Let's focus on getting better, and on doing everything we can to avoid falling in the alcohol trap again, and give hope to others who consider taking that step. Let's not blame others, society, the world, for what went wrong: let's find joy and support in reading other people here who managed to turn their life around, and share their story with us.

Oh, believe me, I take full responsibility. As I said, I knew what I was doing was harming me. (Frankly, I didn't care if I lived or died.) My point is, out of all the warnings that have been given for abusing alcohol, why is peripheral neuropathy not one of them? Is it just in recent years that the medical community discovered that alcohol abuse causes it? If so, OK...then let's get the word out going forward! As you said, you can stop it, unlike those who suffer from the condition because of chemo, diabetes, etc.

Maybe because PN is not life-threatening? I am not 100% sure of that, more of a big PITA (or limbs for that matter)...HAHA

On Tuesday I am going to do something that would never have crossed my mind a couple years ago. With all the numbness and tingling in my hands I was lucky to be able to hold a pen. Now, I am taking guitar lessons :)

Awesome! And finally something where I have more days than you. ;)

Mind you, after installing laminate flooring all weekend, it feels like a steam roller passed over my fingers, so not many guitars will be touched this week. :eek:

Good luck and keep it up. There will be ups and downs while learning, but every time you get to that next step you will feel very happy and proud. The key is to keep doing it no matter what, even when (especially when) it feels like you are not making progress. Because suddenly ... it works, and you are making music. :cool:

I am going to give it a shot for sure, but I am NOT musically inclined (but I did play the piano as a kid) so this will be a challenge. I have a great teacher and access to more instruments than I can shake a stick at. So, no excuses!

Throwaway post: I have the flu (even worse, the man-flu!). It occured to me that it feels very much like... hangovers as I remember them. Ironically, I also don't feel my feet in this situation (I would give it a 1 on the pain scale). Rather odd, as it seems to amplify other niggles.

Anyway, I can live with feeling crappy for 3 days. I don't think, nah, make that: I'm very sure I don't, could ever again live with feeling like this every morning. On topic after all. ;)