That is great Icehouse :)

We do, and always welcome. We are used to having a friend "from your region" over here - he calls it couch-surfing. :cool:

Sounds exciting!

Can I come too if I promise not to whine?

Wide-O, out of curiosity, how far are you from Brussels? That is a place I always wanted to see. Is it all that?

SecondChances, I have been to Brussels a couple of times.

I enjoyed my trips; they do yummy chips and mussels as well as beer (not any more for me of course).

If you promise to feed the pets. ;):D

I live about 35 km/22 miles out of Brussels. Don't forget, Belgium is so small, the longest drive you can possibly take from the North Sea coast to the Germany/Luxembourg border is about 270km/167miles.

If you are into architecture, Brussels is indeed a fabulous city to visit. There is so much history there. Museums a plenty as well, as is good food. I've lived there for 7 years as a student and I loved it. It's a very international place given that it's the seat of the EU and most European institutions. Yet it's a lot smaller than you would imagine if you are from the US. They have about 1.2 million inhabitants, which would make it a tiny city in the US.

There is a unique Facebook group - I don't even think you have to be a member - about the history of Brussels, with old pictures, paintings, maps... you can spend hours just browsing through them. Link is: Bruxelles autrefois, Bruxelles disparu - Home | Facebook

Before that I lived in Mechelen (18km/11miles from Brussels), which used to be the capital of Europe in the Middle Ages. Again, if you are into history and old buildings, a fascinating place to wander around.

After the UK, the first ever railroad built on the mainland was between Brussels & Mechelen.

Also, given that just about every other country in the world has invaded Belgium ;) there's a lot of military history too. A visit to Flanders Fields, and all those mass cemeteries is sure to make you see your own life into perspective...

And from Brussels, it takes you 1h50min* by (high speed) train to get to Amsterdam, 1h22min to London and 1h50mins to Paris, so it's quite a good base camp if you want to see a few European cities.

* when all tracks are finished, these times will even drop to about 1 hour in the near future...

Yeah, I left that part out. :D Inbev - the largest brewer in the world - has its roots in (and is still partly owned by) Belgium.

I just want to drive on the Autobahn....

It's fun. And pretty safe. Mind you: when they say 120 km/h (not all stretches are unlimited) you better stick to it, as the German police does not play around.

My car goes to 274km/h (true measuring - 285 on speedo) FWIW.

Also fun while you are there: a trip to the Nurburgring. It's a public toll road with no speed restrictions. Best to keep it easy at first though, it's rather...um ... unforgiving.

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Been there about 15 times. 300 meters height difference from highest to lowest point. Quite the roller-coaster. Bit of a hate love relation as it's absolutely the nicest track you can ever drive, but also lost a friend there, and many friends totaled their cars there too. And when you crash, you also have to pay for the damage to the armco... Ask me how I know. ;)

I have driven the autobahn but was not impressed. I guess that is a guy thing. It is the history, architecture, and museums of Brussels that appeal to me. Perhaps someday.
Wide-O, sounds like you live in a truly lovely area with much culture and natural beauty. You are fortunate indeed.

Well, no. One of the fastest women on that track - she was born inside it - is Sabine Schmitz. Sabine Schmitz - Wikipedia. Lovely lady, great sense of humor. She drives the “Ring Taxi” where you can sit in her car for a lap. She’s always giggling, talking, steering with one hand and goes incredibly fast. Many people leave her car looking a bit green (or have thrown up.:D)


Absolutely, never complained about being born here. Most of us learn 3 to 4 languages as a kid (we have 3 official languages) which gives you access to a lot of different cultures. Hope you get to see Brussels one day - something to look/work forward to!

I have seen her on Top Gear :D

Exactly! :D

It would lead me too far off topic but I have pictures of her in Scottish outfit pretty drunk with my other Scottish friends & me. Anyway, ahem. The foolish things you do.... go out in her bar (she used to have one, her parents still have a hotel over there) until 6 AM, and be at the Ring entrance at 9 AM, not entirely sober, for an early lap. In hindsight it gives me the creeps...

Over here we have a cold snap - late and unusual - but it does not seem to affect my PN. On the contrary, my wife and I were talking about feet & socks & stuff last night and I noticed that I could once again fully bend & stretch my big toes, several times, with no problem. Big deal, you'd say, but 4 years ago one of them wouldn't even move: it would curl/cramp upwards sometimes (very painful) and that's it. The other one would bend down about 3mm (with lots of effort and pain). For me personally proof that there is still some nerve healing going on after more than 5 years.(!)

When you wear slippers, you often "control" them with your big toes, to prevent them from falling off when you sit down (try it). First 2 to 3 years it was "plunk" all the time - shoe dropped. ;)

Finally, my adventures in the non-profit world went from 0 to 60 mph very fast; sometimes one phone call IS enough to open up a world of opportunities. I'll give some more details in a few weeks, but it's big, and it's going to help a lot of people struggling with addiction with no idea how to get out of it. I'm knee deep in it, and for the long haul, that's for sure. I've had to practice saying "no" quite a few times already - as I also don't want to overdo it.

As much as I didn't mind being the "houseman", it is extremely satisfying to have a purpose outside of your home again, especially when you know it can/will make a difference for a few (or many) people. The fact that it doesn't come with a salary (yet) is a detail in the grand scheme of things.

Wide-O, thank you for sharing about your PN progress. Yes, sometimes it is the simple things that can bring such joy and they are the things we use to take for granted. I often stand on my patio and watch, with envy, people walk by so effortlessly. When I go out I wonder if I look normal to the outsiders or if they can tell how much effort it takes just to stand.
Sounds like you may well have found your purpose in life. Kindly share as your plans develop.

As to me I am not well and I am having issues now with my hands. For years my glucose levels have been rising but because sugar levels are associated with alcohol intake I was hopeful that in abstinence they would come down. For that reason I have continually declined medications and in truth I have never been honest with doctors about my alcohol abuse. Recent testing has shown I am approaching diabetic levels so I have finally agreed to start Metformin. It makes sense that after 30 years of heavy drinking the nerves were very damaged and then add the pre diabetes it is no wonder I am failing.

Icehouse, can you give an update on your PT?

Shoot, I still do that...

Well, PT is going well, they had we walk an obstacle course on Wednesday morning and was all over the place...HAHA....it was fun in a weird kind of way! But, I accepted a new offer of employment and my 1st day is March 7th. I will have to postpone PT for a month or so until my new insurance plan kicks in. I can still do all my at-home stuff though and I think I maintain my current "status" of progress during the lapse.

SecondChances, it is good to read that you are taking steps to deal with your pre-diabetes.

Poorly-managed diabetes can lead to to diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

I certainly will. The foundation I'll work for is in the middle of being registered officially - there's quite a bit of paper work and red tape - but we are already starting our first projects. My agenda is filling up nicely too.

Without wanting to put more pressure on you, it is possible to steer away from diabetes (Type II) by changing your diet. Diabetes is a major cause for PN, and being pre-diabetic might explain (well, not might, probably does) why you are not feeling any progress.

I'll try to find the thread in where I describe the progress I made after switching to a sensible diet (in my case it was the Zone diet, but there are others that are just as helpful). Don't take them as a religion (some people go way overboard and get ridiculous), but if you follow it "mostly", you'd be amazed how much you can change.

I managed to not only half but get my "LDL/bad cholesterol" (a discussion in itself) to 1/3rd (into "healthy territory) in about 8 months. My doctor couldn't believe it, but the blood tests did not lie. As soon as I started eating sensibly (i.e. a diet with a low glycemic load/index), my PN started to improve, and that was no coincidence. Alcohol is just one of the sources of glucose problems: you can get diabetes and PN from drinking too much fruit juice (yes, even fresh, home made etc.)

Have a read here: Glycemic index diet: What's behind the claims - Mayo Clinic I'm not a doctor, but I would prefer giving this a serious try over taking medication.

Wahey! So you got the job? Awesome! :cool:

Worth repeating, and the reverse is true too. Type II can be treated very well, and sometimes completely reversed. And you don't have to go hungry or eat bland food for that either.

Even my wife, who doesn't weigh a kg too much, felt much better and energetic during the time I prepared the food that was suggested by the diet. She didn't lose weight, I lost 28kg... I had first switched from booze to high sugar soda/fruit juices and sugary snacks, and that was the main reason I saw no progress in my PN. These days I'm not as "strict" anymore, but we do eat healthy 90% of the time, and that does the trick.

SecondChances, I think that Wide-O has offered you some great ideas.

Adding to them:

I know some of the people in the Sydney University GI project mentioned in the link. While their work is generally sound the subjects that they use to measure GI values are non-obese Uni students in their late teens/early 20s. The GI values that they get from them may not be typical of other people. I tried, with limited success, to discuss this and other aspects of the project with them.

There is an increasing consensus that Type 2 diabetes (with its associated PN risk) is a metabolic disease.

What that means is that there is a rapid release of insulin whenever somebody drinks a sugar-rich soft drink and also when somebody eats high GI foods like white bread or rice.

These insulin spikes can lead to what is called insulin resistance which, through some complicated mechanisms, can cause destruction of the beta-cells in the pancreas (they produce insulin).

In summary, as Wide-O wrote, it is probable that eating in a healthy way (minimal intake of sugar-rich drinks and high GI foods) can reverse pre-diabetes, preventing it from progression to Type 2 diabetes, without pharmaceutical intervention.

I had been trying to control the diabetes thru diet but it did not help, in fact I was losing too much weight which was not good. I am still careful but not terribly strict. Clearly the fact that I am so inactive is a factor.

If you were losing weight, you were not eating enough protein and/or fat. One of the funny things is that (healthy) fats don't really make you fat. Glucose does. And even things like "diet drinks" makes your pancreas and other glands produce too much insulin. Insulin helps store glucose into fat cells, and diabetes just means you have exhausted that process so you can no longer make insulin (or your body can't use it properly anymore).

Being active or inactive does not have a big influence on diabetes, oddly enough. There are construction workers or very active people with diabetes. It really is (mostly) down to your diet.

Maybe it's the word diet that bothers you? The idea is not to lose weight (although losing fat is never a bad thing - up to a point), but to give your hormones a rest, which also gives your body the chance to heal your nerve endings.

I would still advise (I'm stubborn too ;) ) to read up on this. There is a direct link between diabetes and PN, and you can't "fix" PN if you are still in pre-diabetic territory.

Metformin-induced vitamin B12 deficiency presenting as a peripheral neuropathy. - PubMed - NCBI

Maybe MrsD. can chime in, but medication like Metformin can actually make your PN worse. I'm not a doctor, but I have often discussed this with my GP, and she fully agrees with me on this.

Wide-O, thanks for the input. My diet was few if any sweets and only allowed myself a teaspoon of sugar in my morning coffee. I like my fresh fruits but even cut back and I stopped drinking my fruit juices. I love my pasta but gave that up as well as potatoes and white bread and rice. The weight loss was a real issue so now I am doing everything in moderation. I have cut back on my carbs but won't deprive myself either.

I was aware that Metformin can deplete the body of B-12 and called this to my doctor's attention. She was unaware of that fact but said we could periodically test the B-12 levels. Currently they are good. After careful consideration I believe this to be the best path going forward.

New Beginnings..
 

2404 days sober..

70 KMh (45mph) winds today so this will be good test of my balance! There is a good chance I will fall on my ***** today...HAHAHA

And today is my LAST day at work. I negotiated an extra day off so that I will have a 4 day weekend before I start on the 7th.

Have a good day friends!!

60 mph winds here. Fun!
Icehouse, enjoy the weekend and wishing you much success in your new job.

I am still awaiting the promises and gifts that sobriety will bring but mostly it has been sheer torture. I had been struggling more than I should be at this point and thought it could be that I am not doing meetings, working the steps and instead doing it on my own, but miraculously this last week the overwhelming compulsion to drink has faded seemingly overnight. I can honestly say this whole week the compulsion has been lifted. Yah! I still think about alcohol when I pass a liquor store, watch a TV show and see them with a drink or as I think about PN but it is different and have had no desire to part take. It is truly a blessing and a beautiful gift and only hope it continues.

Stay well my friends.

Over here it's the last day of winter (hopefully), after a week of record negative temps for our region this time of year. This morning looks like...

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2089 days, but I noticed I stopped watching that number every day, and had to look it up. Been knee-deep into the non-profit project, very interesting, meeting all kinds of new people, each with their own specific problems (autism & alcohol for example).

I will start a thread (in this same section) about that shortly, maybe Icehouse will chime in too, specifically about recovery, and aimed at a "broader" public than just our group of people who suffer from PN.

I have the feeling we are a shop with an "opens soon" sign, yet there are already 50 people waiting at the door for us to start. :D No pressure, surely. ;)

That is great news SecondChances :).

Wide-O, your idea of the new thread is a good one. Maybe ask somebody (Chemar?) to make it a sticky thread so visitors can find it quickly?

Oooh dang....he catching up! Ditto on the remark, that is why I have to have an app on my iPhone to count the days for me.... :D

It's been quiet here. I guess you all are busy with all your new and exciting endeavors.

OK, just checking in. Nothing good or bad here. No improvement in the PN but no worse. All in all I am status quo and still working on acceptance and gratitude.

Peace,

Today was my "official" first day at the new job. I was in training last week in the State capitol and I hit the road today with my first client.

We got our 2nd snow of the year and it immobilized the City (3 inches will do that), but I was out in my wagon doing donuts and fishtails with a big ole grin on my face :)

Nothing much to report here.

It has got cooler so the PN in my hands has subsided.

There was some good rain last week (100 mm over a couple of days) which my garden appreciated.

Icehouse, that sounds great about your new job :).

I'm just working my behind off lately. ;) Sat through a 3 hour meeting last Friday without thinking of my PN once - so I am getting more "confident" in going places/leaving the house/being busy. That's relatively new, because there was always this fear of "what if it will start to hurt very badly?"

Will write about what we are up to in the "other thread", but the ball is rolling and gaining steam. Congrats to Icehouse, and you know that thread is yours too, right? :cool:

I am however sad to hear about Mrs. D. and still hope for a small miracle - she is a tough cookie after all - but it's hard to express the appreciation I feel for her after interacting for 5 years now. She has helped so many people here it's hard to get your head around it.

Well, I am back for my weekly ****** session. I had a terrible night PN wise and today is more of the same. Food shopping was on the agenda as I was planning a nice dinner for family and friends come Thursday but looks like I won't be up to getting out today and now fearful I may have to cancel Thursday. This sure does make it difficult to make plans even when I keep things simple. I am sad and discouraged. The pity pot does not help and makes everything worse so best to stay distracted and hope tomorrow will be better.

I too am sorry to hear about MrsD. I know what a driving force she has been on this site and since my medical issues I have great empathy and compassion for those that suffer. I wish her strength, courage and healing thoughts as she forges forward with her rehabilitation. Get well soon MrsD.

Kiwi, I find it odd that your PN flares up in the heat. We are all different but the more common complaint is the cold. Personally I see no difference in any weather conditions or anything I eat or do. It just is.

Why can I not find this "other thread"? I want to see what you guys are up to.:grouphug:

It's in this same section, but this is the direct link: https://www.neurotalk.org/alcoholism...g-forward.html :)

I read something extremely encouraging. I suffer from the burning, pain and strange sensations of PN but what impedes my life most is the alcoholic myopathy, or weakness in my legs. This ncbi gov reports says that with abstinence and proper nutrition up to 85% of patients demonstrate function improvement in muscle strength within the first year of drinking cessation and complete normalization by 5years.

Guys, this offered me much hope at a time when I have been so very depressed and feared I would never be able to have of a normal life. I am very encouraged. :)

Oh never mind....PN can cause the weakness too and apparently the alcoholic myopathy is proximal and PN is distal. My weakness is distal. Crap. :(

I had started magnesium supplements for a short time some time ago and I believed they were helpful. During the insanity of a move the tablets were misplaced and forgotten about. I just found them and have been taking them for three days now. The burning in my lower extremities has subsided. Coincidence? Likely but I certainly will continue.

If it works and is not a "hurting" you in any way then I say it's a good thing!

That sounds good to me SecondChances :).

My attitude is that whatever works works; we are all different.

The brief relief from the burning was not from the magnesium, it was just one of those random times where there seemed to be a bit of improvement so I was trying to figure out why. With me there is never a rhyme or reason it seems. Anyway, burning is back and so it goes.

How's that job going Icehouse?

So far so good! My case load is growing and it's fun being out in the community and not tied to a desk :)

I already have my 40 hours in this week so I'm working a half day (flex time) and then heading to the movies with a friend.

That is good to read Icehouse :).