I could have sworn I wrote this discussion already but I guess I didn't ..damn brain fog..lol. Anyways I am wondering if any of you fall down alot. Just recently its been happening to me alot...I also walk into walls...so far tho..I have fallen down the stairs twice...I hurt my hips and legs, and I have a bruise the size of China on my one ass cheek..looks horrible...then I fell down before I even got my feet out the front door..and landed exactly horizontal on the cement hurting my right knee bad...I can't even touch it without almost passing out...there feels like there is a small chip of a bone floating around in there..thank god I see my Dr. tomorrow...I should have gone for xrays at the hospital awhile ago..since its been 3 weeks since I fell..but I hate the hospital..I hate the way they treat me as if I am faking Fibro...and am a drug addict..as if...do they think I enjoy laying around at home all the time...damn..I used to be out all the time...hanging with friends...going on small roadtrips...tons of stuff...why would anyone fake having Fibromyalgia..its a damn nightmare....as far as I am concerned...so I stay away from those rude Doctors and Nurses...no one can possibly understand unless they get Fibro..and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy...its robbed me of my life...the real me...but this year I am determined to do all I can to get me back...if I can...I'm worried about this falling down business tho...so do any of you have this problem?
This might be due to weakness. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when you’re extra-weak when you’re ALWAYS weak to some degree. Have you had an illness recently? In May I caught a virus that seemed to attack my legs and I fell a lot. Also, vertigo could be causing the instability. I walk into things or fall out of my chair sometimes due to vertigo especially when I’m having sinus issues. I’m about to “exercise” now to hopefully help my weakness in the long run. Hope you feel more stable soon
I am also having the same problums I go to my dr on the 7th and hope to mabey find out y but if u find out let me know what they said it was or might be
Hi Jesse.....I sure do know how you feel about this dang Fibro robbing you of your life.....me too!! And how many of the medical professionals treat us....grrrr. I walk into walls and fall down also BUT it seems to happen when I'm having a flare-up and am in the Fibro Fog. My Dr. sent me to a neurologist who did some tests on my legs to see if I had nerve damage that might explain the falling down. Nope...tests came back normal BUT he suggested that I try to exercise my legs with 'perhaps' a stationery bike. His thoughts were because we Fibro people are always sooooo tired & lie around too much that we lose muscle strength in our legs. Maybe he's right but that doesn't explain walking into walls (in my opinion).
I'm glad to hear you are going to the Dr. & hope you get that knee x-rayed.
You say 'you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy'.....well that's where I differ with you. For a couple people in my life who have accused me of being just lazy and a hypochondriac....Then I wish this horrid condition would be contagious!!!!
That's my 2 cents worth and I hope u get China off your butt soon.
Hi Jesse! I have motor coordination issues, too. From what I have read elsewhere, Fibro affects our brains in many ways including coordination. When I used to be a baker, I started burning my arms on the open oven doors, the pans, and the oven racks. Eventually my poor brain fogged mind decided that I should wear long sleeve shirts. That really helped, but it didn't stop me from always banging every counter and table I walked by. I always had bruises on my hips. I no longer bake due to allergies, but I still bump into things; especially when I am tired. I am so grateful that my house has rounded walls so I don't bruise when I walk into them as I turn a corner. Gratefully, I do not fall, but I do stumble easily.
Since I work with the public now, I have developed a new image along with a sense of humor so that I am "cute." I apologize a lot and make jokes and I do my best to turn attention to my customers or play off my oddities as being artistic or mystic. I don't believe that I will ever be my "old" self, so I embrace a new self by exploring other untapped aspects of my personality. Do I miss that old self? The one that holds 2 BAs in psychology and religious studies and is a powerhouse of energy, activity, and attitude...you bet! I was independent and unstoppable! Now I really rely on the kindness of others and I stay quiet and out of the way as much as possible. I have learned a new way of "being"
I wish you luck in resolving this issue and that you embrace your new you with compassion and humor. ***
I haven't had any falls in the last few years since I started going barefoot or wearing very thin, light shoes so I can actually FEEL where my feet are. Devin Starlanyl's manual explains that fibro can mess seriously with our proprioception -i.e., our body sense that tells us where, say, our arm is even when we're not paying attention to it. Goes for your feet, too.
She says that most of us lose at least some of our depth perception too.
Almost 400 pages of information. I just looked at the used versions. You can get one for ~9.00 or so.
IIRC she has balance exercises in there. Which all of us need: was ever a group of patients so likely to stumble around??
Of course, not everything is fibro so it could be some other neurological condition. However, balance impairment is so common that it could be the middle name of Fibro...as in FibroCallMeClumsyMyalgia.
There have been times in the grocery store where I'm sure ppl around me wondered if I was "on something"...
oops - "IIRC" is If I remember correctly.
Funny how I can remember T3XT message short cuts when I can't remember most ppl's names. Guess my associative memory still works even tho my short-term memory has been eaten by my hippocampus.
I started with that falling at age 36. I became too clumsy to use a cane, so I use a rollator walker with a seat on it. We have trigger points iternally as well as externally, and I have one on my labyrinth, inner ear, that has to do with balance. We also get much weaker, so when we start to fall, it's not as easy for our muscles to stabilize us anymore. Meds don't help the situation either.
Do you use a cane? I have them stashed all around the house for quick access. One moment I'm fine, the next moment I'm walking like a gyroscope with no balance. Canes help a lot!!! They also lend credibility to the balance issue. When I go somewhere, I also switch to a walker because it gives me somewhere to sit if my blood pressure suddenly drops.
Also, do you have a rheumatologist? One that believes that fibromyalgia is real? That helps other doctors realize that you are not faking fibromyalgia. When you get your xray, if they ask about balance, tell them that balance issues often come with fibromyalgia.
Don't delay having the doctor check out your knee. Injuries happen, and need to be taken care of. Have him check it out, and if he wants to do an x-ray, he can give you the referral to get one. That also adds to credibility.
Credibility is a key issue with fibromyalgia, especially now that people are becoming aware of it. Even after year of having fibro, the severity of my fibro is taken much more seriously when I use a walker in public.
Your description sounds just like my late mother-in-law, years ago, long before I knew about this disorder. They thought she'd perhaps had a stroke but no tests were done because she was otherwise "normal". I remember so well when she'd drop a cup of coffee and blame her arthritis. I'd offer to go for a walk with her and she'd refuse: "it's too hard".
I am ashamed to say that I blamed her reclusiveness and isolation and the stumbles on her depression following my f.i.l.'s death. Yeah, I judged her - "if you would only"...
NOW, I'd love to be in the shape she was in back then. That Karma Dude always gets the last laugh. Wherever that wonderful woman is now, I hope she's running and jumping and having a wonderful time...
Jesse, hi I’m totally feeling a lot of what you are saying, I will never understand why some don’t believe us, it boils down to ignorance, and your so right how could any one think we fake this nightmare !!! Sometimes it does seem like a nightmare and I just want to wake up and get ready for work and realize this has all been a bad dream. Then the reality hits … So we learn how to manage, and at times it’s hard, somedays are ok, some even somewhat good, good for us seems like it would be someone else’s bad… Did that make sense?
We have to stay strong, and keep hoping for some miracle treatment.
I have not suffered from falls, or walls, but it seems many do… And it awful how fibro causes such a bizarre variety of symptoms…
It’s always important to r/o MS, as I think falling, stumbling is one of the many key symptoms
I’m sorry you are experiencing these falls, that bruise on your behind sounds awful… Ouch
Hugs & blessings
Yes everything you said makes sense...at times I crave the old me. Learning how to manage is all we can do...and yes its very hard. Ya...some of the symtoms I have had and now are gone were bizarre. My younger sister has MS..and I thought I had it too..because we share so many of the same symptoms..but nope I don't. Thats wild that Fibro is the sister disease to MS. OMG...that bruise was the worst I have ever seen on a body...lol. Thanks for getting back to me...your awesome. HUGS JESSE OXO
THANKS SO MUCH for your reply. I saw my dr. and he told me its my bad leg getting worse...and prob the migraine medication I have been taking..I was getting a migraine daily so I was taking alot and your not suppose to as they do cause my balance to go...so I quit taking them and so far almost 3 weeks and no falls...yippie....your awesome!!!! Jesse oxoxo
No I dont use a cane but I have been thinking of getting one. Yes, I have a very good rheumatologist..and my doctor also believe strongly in Fibromyalgia. I just saw my dr...told him about my falling and he checked out my knee..everything is fine..my knee will take awhile to heal but nothing is broken..just a very badly bruised bone. My balance is from all the migraine meds I was taking cuz I was gettin sometimes 2 migraines a day...he increased my dosage on my betablockers which help migraines and now I rarely get one..hes fantastic. Yes Fibro is finally recgonized as a serious disease. I have had it since 2000...and my god the different symptoms I have gone thru is mind boggling. Thanks so much for your response. Merry Christmas!!!!! Jesse oxo
Wow your falling down sounds like mine..and the walking into walls..but I am glad to say I haven't fallen down in almost a month..and walked into any walls. My Dr. said it was probably the migraine medication doing that to me..so since then he instead increased my other drug called propranolol(I take this for my tremors & to stop my migraines) and my migraines have went down to 5 only so far this mth instead of 28 that I had in November....jeez..I have suffered with those since 12 yrs old, Omg you fell in she shower stall...thats not good...please take care of yourself..yes you are too young for this to be happening to you..I hope you find out what is wrong. Isn't this disease just crazy...damn and when I get bad pain..it does like a rippling effect..starting from my feet all the way up to my head and god its worse that labor pains...ewww..I can't stand FM...the pain I can't even describe it really..its like nothing I have even felt..and if your having a bad day..its bad...some of my family doesn't realize the extend of my disease...they are always saying ~get up early, and go for a hike..you will feel better~ ya right...I wish...the only way they will ever understand is if they get it too...I give up on explaining it to them. Well I hope you have an excellent New Years...and all the best in the new year. Ttys Love ya Jesse oxoxox
I wrote you a whole reply and it didn't work..so here goes again. Awe thats too bad your using a rollator walker..but then what the hell..whatever works. This damn disease. I haven't fallen down now in a month...yahhh!!! My Dr. said it was my migraine medication that was doing that to me..I was taking up to 3 per day...because I was getting a migraine at least twice a day...for the whole mth of November I had a migraine daily...so instead he increased my Pranol which I take for tremors and migraines..and so far only 5 migraines this month...Yes I have all 18 trigger points inflicted with FM...and ya I notice I am alot weaker than what I was. All my new friends know alot more about FM than I do..but my doctor keeps telling me not to google it...just leave things alone. Anyways..I hope you have a happy new year..be safe...love ya Jesse oxoxoxoxoxoxo
I will share a remedy I learned from my Nan to draw the discoloration and soreness out of a bruise. Take a wash cloth, make it wet, then ring it out. Pour some witch hazel in a bowl and get the cloth satruated with the witch hazel, without ringing it out too much, place it on the bruise, either hold it on, wrap yourself in saran wrap to keep it in place, or lay down on a pad or thick towel, so that the cloth is on the bruise. Leave this in place as long as you can, and use it as often as you can until the bruise is gone.
This even helps sometime with my arthritis, helps drawl out some soreness.
Glad to hear this was not a neurological problem, just be careful with this migraine med, you don't need any added pain, sure don't want to be breaking or cracking bones either!
