Dry January

Hello @trimomlewis, Thanks for starting this discussion that I think may benefit a lot of folks who may not have heard of it like myself. I totally quit alcohol back in 2016 when I was diagnosed with neuropathy and when my PMR was in remission the first time. My second time with PMR started in late 2016 but it only took me a year and half to taper off of prednisone and for my PMR to go in remission vs the 3 and half years the first time. I'm not sure quitting alcohol played any part of the shorter time to remission but I'm guessing it helped some. I did find some interesting research on the topic.

--- Dry January Participants Tend to Face Lasting Benefits, Study Finds: https://www.prevention.com/health/health-conditions/a42420472/dry-january-lasting-health-benefits/
--- Short- and Longer-Term Benefits of Temporary Alcohol Abstinence During 'Dry January' Are Not Also Observed Among Adult Drinkers in the General Population: Prospective Cohort Study:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32391879/

John, I have a question for you. Facebook has this video running and of course are selling a product called Nerve Shield Pro. It claims to help so many symptoms brought on by Neuropathy. I, of course like so many of us, am leery about spending money on these unknown capsules. They also talk about the benefits of Lions Mane which is a component of their product along with other things too. Do you have any knowledge about this. My numbness in my hands and feet are beginning to affect me mentally and are becoming more debilitating for me. I have been searching, like so many others, for an answer to this horrible condition. Thanks for all the support you give to so many of us struggling with this illness.

I'm in a dry January because I take methotrexate and it has caused my liver enzymes to be elevated. When I went on it my rheumatologist asked me about drinking. I told him I liked a daily IPA, never more than one. He said that was OK. I did some reading and found a survey of rheumatologists about mixing alcohol and methotrexate. The biggest share, around 50% recommended no more than 3 drinks a week, though a significant number thought less than that was best. I cut to 3 drinks a week. Liver enzymes on a lowered dose of methotrexate are down but still elevated so I've cut out alcohol. From what I gather alcoholics have severe inflammation and no level of alcohol is completely safe, though risk is much reduced at lower consumption levels. It seems to me that alcohol is probably worse for people with PMR than most foods that are considered inflammatory. I read a New York Times article about the dangers of alcohol and enjoyed one of the entries in the comment section : " If 4 drinks a week is moderate drinking, what is light drinking? licking the side of a can of beer?"

I have switched over to non alcoholic beers for 6 months. Alcohol is not included in most anti inflammatory diet styles. Trader Joe’s NA is good!
It does have a tiny amount of glycerol as do many foods. Brooklyn NA IPA
Is very pleasing as well with more carbs. BUD zero is my mainstay.NA drinks have less than .5 psrcent alcohol. My favorite mocktail is pomegranate juice and equal parts agave sweetened tonic. Doing dry January along with you.
Canadian guidelines on alcohol were a wake-up for me. I was drinking
frequently when autoimmunity symptoms showed up.

Hi @tessie63 , I hope you don’t mind me chiming in but I was dealing with persistent tingling in my hands and arms when I was advised to add 600 mg of Alpha lipoic acid to my daily supplements and have experienced substantial improvement with no side effects. I am not familiar with the supplement you mentioned but I hope the information is helpful. Blessings!
Sandi

Thank you Sandi for the reply to my question. I have tried the ALA and I did not see a difference in my numbness but maybe I need to try it again but for a longer time. How long did you use it before you noticed some improvement?

I quit drinking the minute I had my first, devastating flare.

Alcohol is highly inflammatory and not worth the pain. It's been 2 months since I've had a drink, and I don't miss it at all.

PMR is an inflammatory disease and alcohol can increase inflammation. I am newly diagnosed, quit drinking and have adopted an anti inflammatory diet in hopes that it will help. I do believe that diet plays a big role in our overall health.

Sandiw77 thank you for the reply. I will try using the ALA again with a dosage of 600 mg and see if it helps me. This time I will try it for a longer period of time.

Fingers crossed! ❤️