Hi everyone. This is my first time starting a new discussion. I have been a member for a few weeks and have been reading through old posts and other resources available on this site. I must say that this is one of the most informative sites that I have found so far.
My question for everyone is pertaining to balance. I walk with a cane daily because of the pain in my legs and I often get numbness in my right lower leg and foot. (I had an EMG done which i believe the doctor said is showing minimal nerve compression or something....) anyway, over the last 2 months I have been experiencing lots of falls. I think i have fallen about about 18 times or so. I have gotten black eyes, bruises, and scrapes but am terrified of a worse injury if the falls continue. I feel as though I am losing my balance. It has occurred several times in the shower so my husband bought me a shower seat. I told the doctor about this and she told me to stop taking Savella for a few weeks to see if this made a difference as this is the only new med i started within the last 4 months. I did and am not noticing and difference. Do others have major problems with balance or am I the only one? I havent driven for the last year because of the pain n numbness in my legs, but the balance issue has me dreading even leaving the house. I would be horrified if it fell in public. Does anyone have any input or suggestions?
Hello Tammy and welcome to the site! I'm glad you've decided to join us and wrote an excellent first post. And boy, am I sorry for what you're going through!
First off, yes, I have terrible balance. I can't tell you how many times I've fallen and hit my head. And how I managed to end up planted in the garden one day from one of my falls. Like you, I get dizzy and often use a cane for support. However, I don't have the level of falls that you have. Have had a concussion but never got the black eyes. I do very much relate to what you're going through with your falls though.
I don't get the numbness but I do get the pain in my knees and it's horrid! I can totally understand why you need your cane, between the pain and loss of balance.
I want to make sure that I clarify that I'm not trying to make any kind of medical judgment here. I don't know if what you and I are experiencing is fibro or not, although it's my guess that it is.
Getting a shower chair was a GREAT idea. It'll keep you from falling when trying to get in and out of the shower, plus taking one. I've thought of getting one too. And your cane is another great idea. Anything we can do to prevent a fall is in our favor.
I can't give you any tips on balance, unfortunately since I use my cane for my balance issues. Have you had any testing done neurologically? It might be worth looking into if you haven't.
I really feel for you and wish you safe passage when you're out and about. I think you're doing the right thing with the precautions you're taking.
I also use a cane for balance, and get very dizzy. I have only fallen 5 times, but still worry. I told my doc and she had me laying down, standing up, kept taking my bp. Turns out when eer I'm standing my bp drops, nd goes back to normal when I sit. Maybe this will help. But you need to get after your doc to find out what it is, before you hurt something seriously. Good luck :)
Sure seems like a drop in bp when you're standing could make you dizzy and cause you to fall. Are you on something to stabilize your bp? That seems like a good starting point, I would think, but I'm no doctor.
And thanks for your help, Charlie. I try to minimize the dizziness but it can be a real bear on some days.
Hi,Tambina. I also have balance issues. I’m currently not taking any meds so I chalk it up as just another of the plethora of fibro symptoms. It feels like I’m constantly trying to balance on a tightrope when I walk & I often bump into things,walls,etc.
David do you currently have access to a doctor? If so, it'd be worthwhile to see one just to be sure that nothing else is causing your balance issues. But I know what you mean because at times it's just how I feel. Fibro can sure mess with your sense of "up from down." My favorite is stairs. I can find ways to trip UP them. I'm tired of tripping up stairs. It's embarrassing.
Lisa, this is such a good posting! I'm glad that you mentioned these possibilities, as we always accept that it's our fibro and don't always look into other options. It's easy to get lulled into the "oh but it's fibro" perspective but we all do need to keep our eyes and ears open to be sure we're not missing something else.
LOL, well, I feel some better knowing this because you don't look clumsyish from your photo. You look nice and graceful. So you have a nice, graceful looking photo that will hide the clumsy!
I was starting to think that UP actually means DOWN and my feet have gotten confused.
The drop in BP when standing sounds like POTS to this non doctor. There is a test to determine if that is the case and medication to treat it. Please get it checked out.i was in a very serious car accident AND I fell off a balcony due to sudden drops in my BP. POTS falls under the Dysautonomia diagnosis, as does vaso-vagal syncope (sudden drops in BP that causes passing out). And there have been studies that show. Link between fibro and dysautonomia. There are some other discussions on here regarding this. Just search dysautonomia. And please, please talk to your doc about this.
Tambina, I don’t have balance issues, but I know some do, my concern for you, is have you had an MRI on your back ? I know that numbness in your leg or foot can cause an imbalance, my mother had back surgery and her feet are always numb … Thus not being able to feel her feet she is always walking as if she has had a few drinks, it’s not funny… , but because she starts laughing when she almost falls over, it does actually look like she had a few 2 many. Also it’s important to rule out MS, as falling, stumbling and feeling of clumsiness are symptoms of MS.
I’m so sorry for your not being able to drive. And the pain in our legs can certainly be fibro,
I’m so glad you have decided to post, please let us know how you are
Hugs & blessings
The first thing I looked for was Neurontin or Lyrica, the Neurontin made me feel like I was inside a spinning top, so you may want to get together with your Dr or pharmacist. What I never thought of is that when clinical trials are done, they are not tested with different combinations of drugs, these things are found out the hard way, through our trial and error.
I also had vertigo after my last car accident, my DC was able to get me through that. And those tick bites are tough to deal with, so many layers of things involved there. There is a new group here on BF, for Lyme disease, all tick borne illnesses are addressed on this site, lots of good info, if you are interested you can find the list of groups on the bottom right on the discussions page, just click!