help with walking?

[JemmAus]

My balance problem is  pretty bad, to the point where my son is embarrassed when we're out because I walk like a drunk. It's ok when he is being my support (he offers his arm). But he is still embarrassed (he's only 13, poor love). He actually wants a T-shirt that says, "She's not drunk - she has MS" with an arrow pointing at me!

Anyway, short of buying a walking frame thingo, does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this? It's always better when i have a supermarket trolley to lean on, but of course that isn't always available or practical.

I find I have to walk so slowly, and I walk really close to walls and shop windows, which just makes me feel more secure..

Any hints would be appreciated...

Jemm (who hasn't had any alcohol this millenium )

[Inny2009]

Im 22 and Im realized a couple days ago I might need a cane eventually because i just cant move and almost fell over. I use my sons stroller for support when my sister in law and them want to go shopping. I hate to say no even though i really dont want to go so I always make sure im the one pushing my son and i just sit out on the bench while my husband takes my son inside to look. Im 22 years old and i might need a walker.

this embarresses me. People laugh sometimes because i have found that if i lower my back its harder to fall..i guess a lower the center of gravity is the less likely to fall reason. However then my back gets stiff and i get stuck like that.

Ive had many people laugh at me or stare for being 22 stuck in an 80 yr olds body! So I guess I should just swallow my pride and perhaps get one!

[willowwoman7]

Thank you for the good laugh. I needed that feeling crummy from the solu medrol. I felt guilty and embarrassed when I started using the cane, but grew out of it. I use scooters in the stores, swim when I can and do all I can to make my life productive. Not easy, but I try. Right now in exacerbation and solu medrol making me fee miserable. one dose down 2 to go. People got used to it, though and are very understanding and root me on in my exercise and trying to maintain. Even my neuro and I compare weight watchers notes! and root each other on. My cane is just a necessity that I have to use. I had to go to court on someone's behalf and the bailiff knew me and said, just go around, I don't think you plan to shoot me. My wonderful 20 year old all athlete stepson college varsity football player told me he doesn't care what I need to use to get to one of games as long as I get there.

Try the funky walking stick and if that doesn't work, try dressing up a quad cane, or personalizing it. Sounds like my daughter (26) when I started using a cane. Before I did she would get embarrassed when I would grab her shoulder as I stumbled. She was much better when I actually got a cane and didn't do that nearly as often :)

[Mand125]

I had a look at that site and it sells the same range as the ones I bought. Oh dear now I have gone and ordered another one.

You know how some people buy lots of shoes, I think I am going to be like that with sticks!

I have also ordered the thingy for attatching your stick (cane) to a table top, I think you can get it free on the site you mentioned as some sort of promotion. I do find where to put my stick a problem when I am out for lunch/coffee so this might help.

I used to feel old when out with a cane - then I was on the bus one day and got chatting to a lady, after a while she asked me why I used a cane, that was the biggest  compliment she could have paid me, I had thought that people automatically thought I used one because of my age.

Mand

[Csativa]

Hi Jemm,

Sorry you have to deal with poor ballance issues.  I can certainly "relate" to the image portrayed of that of someone who is intoxicated.  BTW, my best friends and greatest love's in the world, besides my wife of course,  seem to be the walls I run into and the floors onto which I continually fall.  But instead of love bites, I have to deal with rug burns!!

Poor ballance is what got me dismissed from my last and final job.  Employers frowned upon my alcohol and Oxycontin lunches.  In reality, I had become too much of a liability.

Hoping you find a way to deal with this.

Frank

The best thing that works for me, although I hate it with a passion, is my walker.  However, previous experience with several broken bones has made me love it with each passing day.

[JemmAus]

I'll try a cane, thanks everyone. I found this cool site, a local Australian one, which has funky canes/walking sticks.

I might be nearly 50, but my brain still believes I am 18, so it HAs to be a cool one!

http://www.swankywalkingsticks.com.au/page/18730708


Oh, and I was talking to my MS nurse last week, discussing this issue,a nd saying how I dread falling over in a mall. She said one of the MS society members DID fall over in a mall once, and when the mall staff came to see if she was ok, she slurred,
"More vodka".... HAHAH.

Not sure if they got the joke or if she put them straight afterwards, but it's a funny story...

[addicted2harleys]

I, too, am a sober drunk.  I got a cane way back when all of my problems started.  But, I was too embarrassed to use it.  I was 35.  I also tend to stay close to walls and feel the need to touch them when walking, just in case I need it....which I usually do.  Or, my daughters shoulder.

I now have a walker, manual wheelchair and a scooter.  I am always asking my 14 year old daughter if I embarrass her.  She says no and I believe her.

I have come to the realization that it is all me.  I am the one embarrassed about having to use any kind of aid.  ;0/  I am perfectly fine using any aids at home...my problem is in the public eye.  Pretty sad, huh?  lol

I say get the cane.  

I have thought of the t-shirt idea myself!  I wanted one for me that said "I am not drunk, I have MS".  Even though I am not diagnosed, it is easier than saying "I am not drunk, I have neurological problems that doctors can't seem to find the answers for!"  lol

Addi (hasn't drank in this millennium either but she sure wishes she could!!)

[moose28]

Hi there,
I too have issues with my balance and I feel I am swaying a lot when I am walking - I am considering a cane - husband suggested it - I am the one who feels quite embarrassed to have to use it - I have to get over the thought of using a cane at 31. Really hard to come to terms with sometimes isn't it.

Perhaps a cane would help you with your issues and make you more independent as well?
Good luck with whatever you decide and I am sorry you are having to deal with any of this.

[JemmAus]

willowwoman7  I had a husband like that. Note "had". Got rid of him a decade ago. But he said to my son just last year, "she's attention seeking".  Vile smirking git.

At times like that I feel like using the knowledge I gained while vet nursing and removing his bits.

Essdipity: trolley = cart yes. You know stupid thing you put your food in, which men have not been able to perfect despite being able to put another man on the moon. Universally kown for having wonky wheels.

Frame/walker? Umm I think the frame has no wheels. Walker does?

Cane = walking stick, yes.

Crutches are those stick things you hold under your arms when you have a broken leg, to help you hop everywhere. They are also those body parts between legs :P

Rollator I think sounds like a walker? Got me there..

3 or 4 pronged thingy? I think it's known internationally as a thingy. LOL Hang on I'll look..............*googles*....oh it's a "quad cane" according to this:

http://www.cpls.com.au/products/Walking+Aids/

I might try a funky cane for a bit to see if that'll help.

[essdipity]

Well now, 99.9% of the time those of us who are native speakers of English but from different countries have no trouble understanding one another, at least in print.  ;-)

Here might be the exception, so p'raps we need a few definitions.

A supermarket trolley and a supernarket cart are the same thing, no?

What's the difference betw. a walking frame and a walker, if any?

Is a cane the same as a walking stick?

What are crutches, to you?

Is a rollator a walker with wheels, and maybe a seat?

What's the name of the thingy that's like a cane but has a square bottom with 3 or 4 prongs?

Other?

-------------------------------------------------

When I had foot surgery 2 years ago I rented a 'rollabout' which is rather like a scooter except the seat part is high, allowing the shin to rest on it. That was great, but it's not an MS 'toy.'

ess, who was told recently by her neuro NP that her gait is slow and unsteady. Boo!!!

[willowwoman7]

How about husbands? Mine told me when I started using a cane (I got tired of falling down) that I looked like an old woman and he was embarrassed. Now, he has CHF and has to use a cane/wheel chair! Just started solu medrol today 3 day 500 mg IV no taper. He told me yesterday (my balance has gotten reaally bad and I'm reaaallly dizzy) that I'm faking it for the attention. So, it's not just teenagers and tough on them all! We're the ones that have tolive and deal with this. (phphlat)

[LATW]

I am so sorry!  My son is 13 also.  I have a scooter I use or I use the store ride on carts.
My son thinks it is cool and wants to ride one too! Silly boy!

The ones who are embarrased are my adult children.  I wanted to go to the mall with them one time before I had my own scooter.  

In order to do that I would need one of them to push me in one of the mall wheel chairs.  

They would not do it so I did not get to go.  They do not get that I have MS and my legs are weak, I can not walk far.  

It is difficult.  I am lucky that I do not have to live with anyone who is embarassed.  That would be so hard.

My heart goes out to you with this issue.  MS is difficult enough.

LA

[RedFlame]

Hi Jemm,  I know exactly what you mean.  I run into walls and corners all the time.  I did an 8 week stint in PT that helped with some of the pain and taught me different stretching techniques.  

As far as the walking, I have a rollator that I really like.  It still takes me a really long time to get anywhere but I have support.  Mine comes with an emergency seat so I can sit before a fall hopefully.  

I still walk into things with my walker though.  I would get one if I were you.  Then your son wouldn't have to wear his t-shirt.  :-)

[Mand125]

Hi Jemm

I can so relate when you say about walking close to walls and shop windows, it isn't that I think they would be something to lean on if I start to fall, for me it's some sort of psychological help knowing they are there - impossible to explain really. I would not be able to walk very well in a really open space.

I also walk easier with a supermarket trolley, I have joked that I should borrow a baby so that I can permantly have a pushchair to push. :)

Anyway after a couple of years walking "like a drunk" I finally gave in and got a cane, it really helps me, I got the funkiest looking ones I could find. (I only use one but got 2 so I can choose depending on how I feel that day)

I have also made enquiries today about Neuro physiotherapy. I had put this off for a while because of the cost but I think I remember people on this site saying that it helps. I have e-mailed a couple of places and am waiting to hear back. I will let you know if this helps - or even if they feel they can help me.

My problems are mainly balance, for instance if I am walking with someone there is no way I could turn to speak to them and walk at the same time, I'm sure I would fall over!

Mand (who hasn't had any alcohol this week!)