Yeah, I get what you're saying, and you're right, I have lots of friends who have been daily drinkers even longer than I have (20+ years, I'm sure). One of them in particular told me "Oh, just see a doctor and they'll fix it." She's in denial!

1492 days sober.

Well, it has come to the point where I don't even bother with the numbers anymore, except when to post on the 2nd of the month, right here.

I am dealing with a woman right now who had over a year sobriety, but felt that her "Higher Power" had removed her addiction. So, she had just one beer.

Now, she is back living on the streets, lying, stealing and slandering those who helped her back up the last time. It is our fault she relapsed of course. We in recovery know that when you relapse you fall harder and farther than the last time.

I don't know how many more falls she can take before death.

But, on a good note, I am now employed FT as an Employment Specialist working with ex-offenders. :)

See, sobriety pays off!

Congrats on the job Icehouse, that's a great step forward!

As for the other story... less so. Tragic and sadly all too common. It doesn't work like that, the addiction doesn't go away. Deep down, she must have known that, no?

Nobody ever goes "OK, I'm no longer addicted, so I'll start with what some non-alcoholics do, and not have a drink for a year or two".

That is awesome Icehouse - congratulations on both 1492 days and your job :)!

This is not her first date with relapse, so I am pretty sure that deep down she knew.

When she comes back to the Centre I am going to see if she will accept a mental health evaluation.

Uh Oh...One Vodka Later...Now What To Do?
 

Well, it has been a year since I even had a sip of alcohol. I have been feeling better so decided to "test" the waters with one vodka soda last night. Here I am at 6:30am and my feet and legs are tingling and heavy. I feel lousy. I am constipated, bloated, sick to my stomach, dizzy, and extremely fatigued.

What is the best thing to do now besides not even try to have one drink anymore? I need to function! Dumb, dumb, dumb. Of course I doubled up on my vitamin cocktails this morning, especially the Bs. I will hydrate heavily.

Any other ideas? Will this take another year for me to be back at the same level of healing?

Thank you all

I very much doubt one drink will have any lasting effects. You may well feel bad for a week or so, but I don't see any mechanism whereby a short exposure to alcohol could erase all the progress you made. So, not repeating the experiment would be the best bet, but I think you already know that.

Try not to stress about it too much either, as that would only make things worse (the effect stress has on my PN is staggering). You tried, it didn't work out, dust off and keep going. :)

Any other health problems?
 

Did anyone have other health problems related to alcohol that resulted in the discovery of alcoholic neuropathy? I had pancreatitis and severe alcohol withdrawals. I was in the hospital for 15 days, 7 in ICU. It was not until I left the hospital and quit drinking that I noticed the symptoms that turned out to be PN. Do you really think alcohol kept me from having any symptoms? I wonder. It would be treated the same and I can't have alcohol nor do I want it, so I am not sure it really matters. I haven't had any improvement and I am closing in on two years without alcohol. I had every test possible and nothing was found. It's frustrating and sometimes it makes me wonder if there is something else I am missing or should do beside just quitting alcohol and adding a few supplements. Tired of the pain, but really enjoy being sober!

Hi cat1234

A year alcohol-free is a great achievement - well done :D !

Apart from that, I agree with what Wide-O wrote.

While I was spared the additional symptoms you had Okone, I also have had no improvement with nearly two years of (mostly) abstinence. I did quite knowingly drink beer for a time at the one year mark, but returned to abstinence as my symptoms just continued to degrade gradually. It is indeed frustrating and I think it is important to keep up the sobriety and be glad for the good health we otherwise have. I admire reports I see of progress, but it is important to note that response to sobriety and abstinence is highly variable. I also keep an eye on the encouraging research being done on this condition. But there is nothing on the near term horizon (as far as I know) so I try my best to live a full life and not think about this crap any more than necessary.