HaPpY BiRtHdAy! You will be hearing from me tomorrow!

2588 days sober.

Where did everybody go?

Beats me! :lookaround:

You stink of pasta and I stink of lobster....we forced them all away! ;)

:D
Reminds me of:

New here. Thanks so much to the folks who have contributed to this thread. I have been searching for 2 + years for info like this.

Little background. Heavy drinker for 25 + years. The last 10 being extremely bad, round the clock drinking for the most part. Im a 41 year old male.

Diagnosed with Nephropathy in Aug of 2016. Continued to drink until April of 18 with periods of 30-60 days here and there over 2 + years.

Havent touched a drop of alcohol in 5 months.

I noticed I had pain in my feet leading up to my first attempt at sobriety but as I was numbing myself I didnt understand really what I was feeling.

When I got sober, I noticed the numbness, pins and needles, feeling like I was getting poked with a hot iron sticker, and electric shocks.

The treatment center put me on gabapentin, and I was told to see a DR which I did when i got out. The Dr did a round of tests and all things pointed that I had nephropathy, but I needed to confirm with an EMG test. Those results confirmed that I did indeed have it.

I was struggling with addiction and lets say things didnt set in so here I am. It's a daily battle for me. My days start off good. The mornings are when my feet and lower legs are at their best. I have strength and I can lay comfortably. I've been blessed with the ability to work out of a home office. So without a morning commute, I am able to enjoy my morning.

Things are usually good as long as I keep busy all day. By 4 pm, it starts to kick in. By bedtime, I am clenching my muscles bracing for pain. Pain is compacted by anxiety.

I am currently on a high dose of gabapentin. I was also on amitriptyline but that stuff almost made me mad. I have avoided opiates at all costs. No plans on trying them now.

When I went to treatment in April, I made a decision to lower my gaba intake to try and get what my baseline is. The pain became crazy to deal with so I settled in at 1200 mg a day.

I have no idea how neuropathy lines up against any other chronic pain that people deal with. Id say that it's manageable in my current situation but it has diminished my quality of life compared to living without it thats for sure. I'm unable to do any athletic activities that rely on me being on my two feet with the exception of riding a bike. Even that though there is an impact.

The hours of 6 until I sleep are usually troublesome. I struggle to be comfortable as a result of the pain, so social activities are a chore.

It's not the end of the world. I have to remain positive that I will recover. I have this thread to thank for giving me hope. I remain committed to staying away from a drink, I can even say that dealing with this is helping in that area but I sure wish I wasnt dealing with it. I cant dwell on things. There is work to do and if I could help someone along the way, I need to push on through and remain positive.

I got myself on the vitamin regiment that you folks followed. I will continue to check in. I cant say I've seen any improvement at all thus far. Only thing that I have improved are cooping skills and planning my day accordingly. Despite that though I am positive that there will be improvements over time.

Thanks again to everyone that has contributed. This has been better than any medical advice from the professionals out there.

Thanks for stopping in! Did you read ALL of "Part 1" too? If so, that's a feat, and you should have a good handle on us by now....

As you know, it's time, patience and a whole lot of sobriety in this game.

Hang in there....we are with you.

Thanks! I did read most of it. I was pretty motivated after two years of frustration lol.

Appreciate that and the support. Will check in with my progress. As of 5 months a few weeks, mainly what I've accomplished is just getting used to living with pain, weakness, and the lack of balance in my feet and lower legs.

With time, I hope I will see some improvements, although I have come to accept my current state.

Welcome Freeway :).

Well done on not drinking for 5 months!

If you do slip up (it happens...) please don't beat yourself up about it. It will help to remember the wise words of my clinical psychologist "It is just a lapse, it is not a relapse".

Sorry that I have been AWOL.

I celebrated the arrival of spring with a lousy cold (not man-flu).

Now back in action.

Welcome here. Accepting is a good step. You will see improvements, and/or better ways to cope or work "around" your condition.


As you may have read I saw big improvements. A few weeks ago I drove 1.100 km in one day (my wife did the other 350), even though 5 years ago I couldn't even drive to she nearby shop. Mind you, I do take painkilling meds, and I have to recover a few days after such a feat, so I'm far from cured or fully functional, but it's quite the difference from where I started.


The last 2 weeks I'm in pain again, but it doesn't drag me down anymore, as I know there will be good weeks as well. The condition does influence my life, but it no longer defines it.


And I still think getting sober was one of the smartest things I ever did in my entire life. Your mileage will not vary. ;)

It sounds like your mind is in a good place. It is not easy to stay positive with all of this. Not letting chronic pain define you is not small feet.

Staying sober has been pretty wild. I miss having drinks, but staying sober is much more manageable than i could have imagined when I was first trying 2.5 years ago. It took a lot of work but it is paying off. The life I was living was just craziness. The drinking I miss, is what I was doing 10 years ago. The past 10 years ago I was just barely existing though.

Not sure how it is with you guys but for me my pain goes from being not too bad to just brutal. I notice interaction with people gets my endorphins going and that can help turn a bad day into a good one. I am on a high dose of gabapentin and am looking to get some help from the CBD area cause I am sick of being on meds that have bad side effects. I will report back to the group next month as I will be starting in a few weeks. I have low expectations but my neurologist is very much pushing me to drop the gaba for CBD. Thinks I should be able to have a trade off one for the other.

Also, I saw a chiropractor the other week. He was suggesting 3 weeks of therapy 2 X a week. Then evaluate if it is helping. What he did to me the first time was definitely painful. It was the first time I had anyone touching my feet and yikes. But I know there are millions of people that have to go through PT to get results every day. Waiting for me schedule to free up next month so that I can commit to the PT.

I am also trying to start to eat healthier this week. I lost a ton of weight since I stopped drinking but have put some back on. Sweets are doing it to me but I was told not to worry about them in my first year of sobriety. That makes sense for most people but with PN, i cant imagine being overweight is a good thing. Logically it would help to remove the need to support extra mass. So that's kind of the next thing to tackle.

Just tossing out random stuff here as I'm scatter brained from a heavy work day. I am very lucky to work from home. My wife last night asked me about having to go into the office and it's just not a good idea right now. Living in New York City i have lots of options transportation wise but 2 hours a day on subways is just an unnecessary challenge at this time.

Does anyone else experience restless leg type symptoms at night? That on top of the pain is really maddening.

Hope everyone is doing as well as the can be. Stay positive. Grateful that this thread exists.

Has anyone been officially diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy from a skin biopsy? Mine just came back positive. I also have moments where pain is manageable, but it seems to be progressing rapidly over the past 2 months. My legs and feet go from hot, to cold to just painful and I'm getting hot/cold sensations in other areas of my body. Anyone else experiencing these symptoms? Any recommendations for relief?

No, in my case the diagnose was done with a nerve conduction velocity test - they send electrical signals through your nerves and measure the delay.


There are many types of neuropathy, and your symptoms sound very different from mine, so I'm not really sure what to recommend beyond the standard vitamin and nutrition tips. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

Thanks, but it's almost a way of survival I suppose. I also suffer from tinnitus, another life-long condition that can drive you mad if you give in to it. Being stubborn can be bad, in in this case it's a life saver. I force my brain to ignore it (most of the time). Don't ask me how that works, if I knew I'd be rich!

A very good point. Although I feel good about having escaped the madness, I'll never forget that a big part of the motivation was because drinking just didn't work anymore... So yeah, the "10 years ago" touches the right snare for me. There was this short period of time when it was fun, when it didn't go too far, when it had no direct consequences. Luckily, I know there's no going back there; starting again would be where I left off + worse.


I hope it works for you. I have experimented with it - high quality CBD oil - and sadly it didn't do much for me. Maybe I should have given it a longer try, but in the weeks that I took it I felt no difference. (then again, neither did gaba)


I also experimented with different kinds of weed & hash (legal-ish over here). I did notice that different strains have very different effects, and one of them indeed did temporarily reduce the pain to almost zero. Problem is: it was temporarily, and I wouldn't want to go through life "baked", nor do I want to replace one addiction for another one.

But, I guess I'm trying to say that there are many types of weed and oils, and it may be a case of finding the right one. Some of the weed just made me feel sleepy, others made me feel agitated and paranoid, and even the one that works against the pain made me feel uneasy. I just don't want to take any chances anymore, and value feeling "clear" over not feeling any pain. However, I would urge you to try it for yourself and give it a real shot. I know that for some people it's a half miracle, so just take my info as "n=1".

Eating healthy and losing weight (after 6 years I weigh 32kg less...from 128 to 96 being 6'7") worked very well for me, and seriously reduced the pain. But I only started tackling my weight after 9 months sober and feeling "solid" about sobriety. There's only so much we can do at the same time. But if you feel up for it; yeah, it works.

Not anymore, but I did have that for 2 years before it turned into PN.


Don't worry about the scatterbrain thing BTW, most of us have been there. PN messes with your life, and getting sober is also a huge thing, so feel free to keep asking questions. Talking about it, and knowing there are others who deal with this helps. At least, it did for me!

Did the nerve conduction pick up large fiber neuropathy in your case? My NCS & EMG were clean, the skin biopsy found small fiber damage.

Yes, it did. In both legs it started about 10 cm below the knee right down to my toes. The doc was like "uh oh, almost no connection at all there sir". I know from reading here that in a way I was "lucky", as it's not as clear with most people - and with some even the skin biopsy doesn't show anything, and yet they do have all the symptoms of PN.


Yet I'm able to walk without anyone noticing. Don't ask me how that works, it beats me.

That is still my biggest gripe. I still walk with a bit of a gait (I walk on my heels). Even after all that dabbling in PT, balance exercises, etc....:mad:

Glad to hear you are doing better these days. Did you ever have pain or symptoms outside of your legs/feet? Sounds like for the most part your feet pain has decreased?

I can imagine how that is not fun at all to live with. You probably - from previous conversations - have less pain than I have, but I can at least "hide" the whole thing to outsiders. (except when I have break-through pain, then I walk like a 104 year old...)



Did you completely stop the balance exercises?

Some days I have some slight numbness in my fingers, like they are sleeping a little bit. Not enough to really bother with playing the piano or guitar, but it's there. I think I just stopped drinking before I ruined my hands as well. (Eric Clapton did damage his hands through drinking BTW)



As for my feet, all the pain is now in the outer half of my feet - say the ball of my feet + the toes. The big toes are the most painful. When I started out, it was from the ankles downwards, so there has been some significant progress/healing.

Nope, I do them when I get bored or when I can't ride the bike.

2618 days sober.

Not much to report...carry on. Next month will be a good one though.

Great work. I'm on 2304. (and 1732 as for the smokes)


Had a crazy summer, and I'm trying to adjust to being at home again. And the grey skies.


That said, a ray of sunshine happened last week. I was paying for my shopping at the local supermarket, and the (new) young lady said, after I paid:



"Sir, can I say something?"

"Sure!"
"The leather jacket you are wearing is totally awesome."


I blushed, smiled, and walked away - trying to look as cool as possible. :D:D


Vanity, vanity ... ;)

Great work everyone.

I just past the 6 month mark since my last drop of alcohol. That was something that I wouldn't have believed possible early on into recovery.

As for the not drinking things have gotten easier. AA has been very helpful and time away from a drink to give myself a break and do some soul searching has given me a completely new perspective on life in general.

So now that I gotten this far this next phase I'm ready to focus on improving my health in general. Diet, exercise, and getting off of my gabapentin dependency are my 3 goals. I look forward to tracking my progress.

My feet continue to be a burden, was waiting in line at a store the other day and after a few minutes the reality hit me that this is not something I can do any more with how I feel for long period of times. It's a weird realization to experience at my age but I try to shift those thoughts to things that can motivate me. Thanks again to all that participate in this thread. It continues to inspire and encourage me on the day to day.

Well done Freeway :) !

Hi All,

Just wanted to check in to share some developments to which seem to be helping with my pain. I recently changed my eating habits. I never was much of a diet person, drinking always got in the way, but I was for the most part in the past 6 months eating healthy in my eyes. I figured I could lose some weight and that could help so a friend suggested a Keto diet or Keto esque diet which included reducing carb and sugar intake. I dropped a few pounds right away and figured wow this is helping but the more I thought about it I felt it had to be more than just the weight.

After reaching out to folks on reddit in the Neuropathy subreddit, it has been suggested that the reduction in sugar and carbs could be directly related to the reduced pain I am experiencing. Much more so than any therapy or medication I have tried over the past 2.5 + years.

I dont know the science behind it fully, but there seems to be a consistent trend in it helping other people out there who have neuropathy pain from diabetes. And it seems like this could be helpful because that condition requires strict eating habits and people practicing them seem to be on top of their sh** with understanding what helps and hurts them. I will continue to pass along any helpful info. Maybe this has been discussed in previous discussions but I either forgot it was or missed it. Hope everyone is doing well.

I agree that cutting back on sugar-enriched foods and drinks is a good idea. This is because consuming sugar-rich foods and drinks leads to a "spike" of insulin release; this can lead to what is called insulin resistance which is a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes.

I am less sure about carbohydrate-rich foods as a group. In some of them (eg, white bread) the sugar in them is released rapidly during digestion; they are called "high GI" foods - this can lead to insulin resistance.

In other carbohydrate-rich foods (eg, wholemeal bread, brown rice, legumes and vegetables) the sugar in them is released slowly during digestion; they are called "low GI" foods. They are good sources of many nutrients as well as fibre which is protective against cardiovascular disease and colon cancer.

2649 days sober

Not much to report, but I will have a ton of stuff next month....I am on a roll here lately!

2337 days and proud owner of a new multi-focal lens (Intra Ocular Lens, or IOL, which means they surgically removed the old one and put a new one in place) to cure a very sudden onset cataract.


I was pretty nervous, but the procedure takes about 15 minutes (prep not included). No pain afterwards, no swelling or redness. Can already read my PC screen again (after 16 hours) with that eye, but still need glasses at the moment; in the best case scenario I'll no longer need those in about a month.


I have a patch, but it is transparent, so no great pirate pics with Oscar on my shoulder coming up. :( ;)

Hi Guys,

It's been awhile since I posted! And I had an incident occur recently which made me think to post...

I'm almost 2 years sober, dropped 24kg, my life is going so much better (not perfect, but better). The one reminder I have of my previous bad living is occaional neuropathy. I have identified very clear signs in my own experience, which I've touched upon a few times. But now it's very clear.

If I take supplementation aimed at helping myelin regeneration and general health; drink exclusively water and eat a Keto diet - I have no symptoms of neuropathy. Supplement wise, I effectively just follow this website - 27 Proven Ways to Promote the Regeneration of Myelin — Optimal Living Dynamics. In addition to everything in that list, I've found CBD Oil to be very helpful.

Negative Triggers:
aspartame is a huge trigger for me. Recently I thought that I had 'fully repaired' myself...began drinking a few diet cokes a day, chewing gum and my limbs started to burn!
Excess cafeeine. I can seem to drink tea, but coffee will cause numbness and burning.
I don't drink any form of alcohol but I'm guessing so.
Painkillers - I have noticed a correlation between these too.
Excess sugar causes me to feel numbness but it's fleeting.
Cold weather - I run a lot now...I find it's a huge help for everything. I LOVE the feeling of running a marathon, recently completed one in 3 hours 27 mins. I remember struggling to put my own shoes on! But...the cold weather really does make my symptoms worse...my legs become very numb in the cold.

A friend sent me this about the affect of aspartame on the nervous system - Effect of long term-administration of aspartame on the ultrastructure of sciatic nerve - ScienceDirect

I just thought I'd share and see if this could help anyone. If I regularly drank coffee and had aspartame based drinks...I'd be in constant pain and would most likely be unable to run. Maybe these are specific to me....and the only thing you can take from it is that there could be 1 or 2 factors in your diet aggravating your systems, or maybe the aim is to help regrow the myelin covers and anything which is negative to that should be avoided.

Has anyone tried / asked about / been prescribed Growth Hormone?

2679 days sober

Well, things are looking up! I bought a house this month and I landed a job with the State of Virginia so my future is now secure! Woohoo!

I jogged a bit by mistake a couple days ago (deer scared the crap outta me) and it was a refreshing shock to know I can still move quickly....LOL....

Anyone heard from SecondChances???

Ice out.

Great stuff, that all sounds good (except for the deer ;) )


Haven't seen SC around lately, no. Last seen in May. :(

Dang, I hate when people just "disappear"...usually not a good sign.

I hear you. I hope it's not something truly bad, and I also hope it's not shame or anything like that. If it's a relapse - and this is important for everyone: they happen, and there's nothing to be ashamed about. That is the moment to reach out and talk. Nobody here is going to point fingers, on the contrary.

True. And I want to emphasize that in BOLD....

Hey folks, a late/timely/early Happy New Year! :grouphug::cool:

HaPpY NeW YeAr!!!

2709 days sober tomorrow!

I start this year with a new job, a new(ish) car, a new house (well, built in 1880) and I hope to embark on the "right" relationship to round out this sober dude's world....

In a few hours I'll have 2400 days, and a few hours ago I got to 5 years smoke-free.


Also just passed the €70,000 mark in savings from both. (that's $80,000) Sure, it's virtual money, but still.


However, not dying from an alcohol related illness - say 2 to 3 years ago - is also a plus, and rather tangible. ;)

Nice!

I quit the cigs in April and I dropped my vape in a lake in New Hampshire months ago...

I just did the math and I am at $58,000 USD saved....

Woohoo!!