I would say it is unlikely, but the alcohol may have brought something else that is usually dormant to the forefront.

Some research suggests that the amount required to sustain nerve damage is the equivalent of 3 beers daily for 5 years. Using this benchmark, I know personally hundreds of people who qualify, and indeed, most people are asymptomatic, they show deficits on nerve function tests but have no symptoms.

On Saturday I hiked 1.5 miles up a mountain, thought I was going to die, then hiked 1.5 miles down... :yahoo:

Not bad for a guy that used to be in a wheelchair. :D

1369 days sober.

I have fully recovered from the 3 mile hike up and down the mountain, but now my better half thinks we she should do that every weekend. I don't see her and I as a long-term thing....HAHA (kidding).

Anyway, I have been taking almost monthly trips to North Carolina delivering alcoholics to an 18 month program....what a fulfilling feeling to be able to give back to those that are just like me.

But, I have noticed lately that a slight numbness has been returning sporadically in my right pinky finger (I know, sounds minuscule) so I started watching my sugar intake again and eating more vegetables and meats. No more numbness for the past week. I am still thinking about this fish oil thing....

80F and sunny today....lets get outside!!

584 days sober
 

584 days sober! I have made a over a complete year of all holidays, etc. I have a birthday this month, so I can say I never had a drink at the age of 46! Small goals and stuff like that work for me. I am on 450 mg of lyrica daily, plus hydrocodone as needed. I recently went down to 300 mg of lyrica and that didn't work at all. I could only stand for a 10-15 minutes. I take 500mcg of b-12. Hopefully I can decrease the lyrica some day. I have regular checks of my blood sugar as well, so I keep tabs on that.

My neurological said the nerves heal at 1mm / day, so 3.5 years is what I am looking at.

Buying shoes is certainly an adventure. Zappos must hate me. I have googled, tried on many, etc.

I have dumped BP medication, cholesterol medication and gout medication. It's not all bad!

Scientists have studied this in depth, and concluded that thinking about fish oil does not increase health. ;):D

But on a serious note: I had slacked in my diet, started it up again in February, and I really do feel a lot better again. I don't know if it's the oil, the lack of sugar, the vitamins, or a combination of those, but it does work.

The diet slacking went very gradually. It's weird, you don't pay attention, and suddenly you realize a year has gone by and your diet was just not good at all and was becoming worse still. I can totally see how that could be the case with alcohol as well... you start of having one or two on occasion, and before you know it you are back to full blown drinking. It was a good reminder on how easy it is to slide into bad habits again.

That's fantastic! :) Also, this way you've had all the weird dates (year end, birthdays etc) sober so it becomes a lot easier the next year around.

I'm looking at 1058 days now, and next month will be three years. I must say we are racking up some pretty solid sober time in this thread. :cool: I'm spending a lot of time playing my piano these days, even the classical stuff (The Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven has an almost mathematical beauty to it). I love the instrument and the different types of music you can play on it.

The fact that it was paid for with money that didn't go to alcohol makes it double sweet.

In regards to fish oil.... Many studies, are done on nutrients and are poorly designed or looking for the wrong results.

The latest in fish oil failures is one recently that said fish oil failed to PREVENT heart disease.

But this is very difficult to prove anyway. Did they screen all participants for the DNA MTHFR mutation? I doubt it. This is a huge factor in many studies. And there are studies of severe head trauma responding to high fish oil treatments, recently.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential, meaning we cannot live without them. If you don't eat them you have to supplement them. No ifs ands or buts. Fish oil is anti-inflammatory too, which is a good thing for your whole being, not just your heart.

Wow, I just read my post. I was very distracted and didn't see the edit button.

Wide-O, that's a great way to think about this thread, racking up sober time. ��

@okone1
If you were taking statins for cholesterol? You need to supplement CoQ-10 when using those. Statins cause nerve damage in some people. Some find that permanent. The CoQ-10 is to replace what the statin destroys in your own body. A new form that is more absorbable is available now...
Qunol. You can take 100mg a day of this new one... available on discount at Costco and Amazon. I'd take the CoQ-10 for a few months until your body recovers somewhat.

Just to be clear: I hope you noticed my play of words there ;). I am absolutely convinced about the effects of omega3 - especially as I have avoided fish my whole life due to a serious allergy (a real one, not something I invented; my throat completely closes up and I get a horrible rash inside my mouth minutes after eating some types of fish).

A good read for me was "The Queen of Fats". It made me understand that it's about more than just fish consumption. I don't think it's a cure for all, but I do think that our diets are lacking in a number of ingredients (omega3, magnesium, B12 for many etc) that can be supplemented in a safe and relatively cheap way (although good fish oil is rather expensive).

But just thinking about omega 3 will not be enough. ;)