Although I'm not a doc, it does sound very much like it's PN. The odd thing is that binge drinking is actually harder on the body than chronic drinking (I forgot why).


Congrats on staying away from the booze. It may not immediately help with your symptoms - there is some healing, but it takes time - but at least it won't make it much worse. Plus your liver bounced back almost immediately which is a very good thing. They are tough buggers until they aren't anymore.



Cholesterol is not that important when it comes to PN, but avoiding sugar (both processed & natural) may help ease the pain. And with a decent diet it will come down anyway (I have 1/3rd of the LDL levels I had when I was still drinking, my GP was quite amazed)


Stay the course, and try not to stress too much about it. Stress will definitely make things much worse. You took a great first step, now you can work your way back to being functional - with some bad days in between. Patience is a good friend too.


To give you an idea, in my case, it took me a year of sobriety before my symptoms eased up on me.


Good luck, keep doing what you are doing, and keep checking in. It helps being accountable to a bunch of strangers who went through the same thing.

I echo this statement. It took about the same (maybe a little longer) for my symptoms to subside to "normal".

It's amazing (and shocking too) how much damage the alcohol does to the body and how much it can tolerate.

Thanks for the support and advice guys. A year gives me a clear target to aim for. In keeping with the thread, I'll report back my progress from time to time.

A

2900 days. In 22 days it will be 8 years.



I was not doing well these last 3 months. I tumbled into a depression around February. Not entirely sure why, it's the first time in my life, but it was overwhelming, scary, and nasty. Waking up with deep dark thoughts, no longer eating, lost about 12kg, no energy to do anything at all. Still tried to force myself to be productive, but that only made things worse. Nothing mattered anymore, and I felt like my life was over. Useless. Failed.



Time to call for help.



I was lucky to get the right med first time around. Although there were serious side effects, I bounced back pretty quickly, and I'm currently feeling fine. (despite all the doom & gloom in the world). Found my energy and bounce again, and most importantly, my sense of humor and self-worth.


Surprisingly - or not? - I did not long for a drink during those darkest hours. I actually didn't even think about it, it was more in hindsight that I noticed "hey, somehow that self-destructive behaviour did not come up as an option in my brain." Needless to say I was/am very pleased with that.


At first, I did not want to share this, as it feels very personal; but then I gathered it might potentially help someone else. So yeah, it is possible to get sober in such a way that even during a depression you no longer see alcohol as a viable option. As a "way out". More than that, I didn't even think about it. There are two cupboards full of booze in our house, and I never even looked at them.


Some day science will be able to explain how it works. How you can turn off that switch. I wished I could tell you how I did it, but I don't know. I only know it's possible - and many others have found that switch too. So, if you ever wonder "can I really get rid of my urge to drink", the answer is: yup.

Sorry to hear that you had to go through this "low" time, but glad you could prevail and come out ahead of it!

I don't deal with alcohol induced neuropathy, but do from a hip surgery mess.

Grew up in a alcoholic home, father, and couldn't wait to get out. Sad reason for wanting to leave the home.

Anyway, I see depression mentioned here, and I went thru 10 yrs of A/D drugs and doctors dismissed the thyroid possibility....it took 10 yrs to find the right doctor to get my sluggish thyroid working and rid of the depression. Depression is a major issue for hypoT issues, and the labs are not gospel, believe me, I"ve been that route too long. A D.O. helped me with getting "fixed".

And be wise, and don't support the tobacco and alcohol industries. I feel sad for those who never feel what it's like to be free of these 2....my dad was one. Hang in, hang on and do the good work.

3227 days sober.

Not much to report, just checking in (or Wide-O gets on my case)