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.

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!!!

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!!!

852 days sober.

Have not ran yet, she tried her best this weekend but I was stubborn and let my procrastination step in.

But, here is the good news. After 4 years, I will travelling to see my kids for the first time in 4 years in about three weeks.

See? Sobriety does pay off.

On a PN note, somebody commented the other day that if they didnt know already, they would have no clue I have PN (or had?). Apparently the catch in my gait is barely noticeable.

Woohoo!

Keep up the good work folks!