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1948410 tn?1324724251

A cripple for 3 steps then ok

After sitting a while, I have a hard time getting up. people offer to assist me. I use a cane and the chair back to get standing. then I wobble walking the next 3 steps. After the 4th step I can walk a full stride. A couple more steps and I can play a round of golf!.

   My doctors have run all appropriate tests and find all ok. They cite my peripherial neuropathy damage as the cause.
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1948410 tn?1324724251
I see I am not alone, but you top me.  My uroligst was setting me up for a biopsy, but ran a PSA test first, when i got a 3.5, he made my next appointment 8 months away.
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Avatar universal
Claude, Well, one thing I didn't mention that I thought I might, since I read it was the sulfa drugs that goofed you up, is while I already had peripheral neuropathy in my lower legs and feet from the car wreck, the numbness and pain was relatively tolerable with help of drugs, BUT I got cancer and had to take chemotherapy, and WOW, it zoomed up the level of my numbness in my feet fifty times.  However, and this is also why I mention this, once the drug started to leave my system, so too did the worsening numbness.  I STILL have it, it's been nearly a year since the chemo, but it's much more tolerable, but my understanding is it's as good as it will get.  And I was lurching before and after it, too.  

I had some rolfing done, too, at one point a number of years back, I could hardly walk becuz my muscles were overly tight all over from my back beginning to worsen, and it got me "unstuck."  But later the problems came back... I really need to go back pretty soon, to ANY massage person, they say Swedish massage is deep, too, but not quite as radical.  But I'm waiting to get an MRI for my neurologist before I do ANYthing to my back, I'm concerned it will just haul off and collapse one day.  Well, enuff about me.  As for me and your doc saying "getting older" is partly to blame, you know, it's kind of funny for ANYone to say about you, becuz you are in tip-top shape in my book, you just have an odd way of getting up!  Smile.  Best wishes, GG
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1948410 tn?1324724251
Great! response!  We share the same problem. My neuropathy was cause  by Slufa drugs taken for prostititus. I did have some back pain, but that was cured by my rolfer. .I have no pain nor back related problems anymore.
  Thank you for the response. I see I am not alone with this problem. One doctor has said getting older has had its affect. But I can't complain, at 86 I still play golf
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Avatar universal
Yes, it is partly the peripheral neuropathy causing this awkward few moments when you stand up.  I have it and I lurch around like a drunk when I get up off the couch, and I haven't had a drink for 25+ years!  My feet are rather numb, so that's part of it.  Plus I have some small fractures in my feet themselves, it was picked up on a scan, so I suspect that doesn't help, and I have a limp from it.  My neuropathy is caused by a car accident I was in years ago that goofed up my whole back.  As I aged (I'm 61 now), I started to have problems with my lower legs, I have spasms and I don't feel the pinprick thing and I have no reflexes, and then later I began feeling sharp nerve pain coming out to the side of my lumbosacral spine.  I take Lyrica for that pain, and a codeine opiate for my lower leg and feet pain.  But still, my rear hurts a lot, and I have to shift around in a chair a lot whilst sitting, and when I get up, I give it a go, and then I have to sit back down and try again, and then when I finally stand, my feet don't grip very well, so I kind of stagger.  So, I'm a lot like you.

My thoughts on your situation are based on my experiences and what I've learned over the years about back problems and neuropathy and so forth.  You know, sometimes it's just plain getting older, and the back settles and winds up pinching some nerves, and the muscles in some places -.especially the tummy - don't work as well as they used to.  I would suggest, therefore, that you do some stomach crunches to tighten up those muscles a little better, and also do some deep knee bends to tighten the calves and the other muscles that pull you upright.  In addition, doublecheck the shoes you wear, they should be supportive like running shoes or specially designed regular shoes that have lots of support, padding, and arch/heel cushions.  And of course you can practice the art of getting up in a smooth motion, figure out where your feet should be for best balance, what muscles you should engage to best lift yourself, with your cane being a great idea.

I think you COULD go to a sports doctor, it IS possible that since you enjoy golf a lot, you have managed to wrench up your lower back just enough to where it's hard to manuever yourself out of a sitting position... you may have a disc bulge that is trapping some nerves, that is not only causing your neuropathy, but also making it hard for you to stand up easily.  You say your docs have run all the tests, so if you've already had a scan of your lower back, then you COULD go see this sports doc, they can call the office where the scan is and have the pictures put on a disc and the radiology report sent to them in advance of your appointment, and just let him have a look at you, to make sure nothing was missed.  Sports docs are very good at diagnosing.

It may be that some massage therapy is in order, which you could go a few times within a couple weeks, just see if it helps, and if it does, you could go back every few months or so.  See, circulation can sometimes cause neuropathy, to where you need to make sure the blood is not being cut off and is getting into your feet real good.  At home, you can rub your own feet, put some lotion on them to make it easier to push and squeeze on them.  In addition to those couple exercises I said try, you can also do some stretching, and if you DO have a lower back that bothers you sometimes, a trick I learned is laying flat on my back on the floor, with my legs/feet up in a chair or on the couch, and roll yourself back slowly and let your arms fall out to the sides.  (If you have a dog, he will LOVE this...smile.)  Anything to unkink your back and feet would be good for you.  I also put a heating pad on my lower back when I watch TV... but I have back pain, so if you don't, it probably won't help.

But I'm telling you, the way I am, I just hate getting up off the couch most of all.  There's no arm to push myself up, it's kind of deep as compared to a chair, and no matter what shoes I have on, how much I massage my feet, what stretching or exercises I do, I still fall all over the place when I have to get up.  SIGH.  Better pain control is about the only thing that helps me thru all this.  Now, there are other causes of neuropathy besides what I'm talking about, which I only really know about the back being the cause.  Diabetes can cause it, it can cause that circulation thing I mentioned before, but you've had tests, so presumably your sugars are okay.  There are other causes you can look up, but I imagine your docs got you covered.

Those would be my thoughts about you.  Mainly try exercises to strengthen your getting-up muscles and your stomach, massage your feet, avoid sitting on people's couches, do some stretching and laying flat.  Perhaps visit a sports doc... see, could be, since you golf, one of those docs will know immediately what is going on, as he may have seen lots of golfers in his practice that also have problems moving their legs and feet properly, and he'll have access to physical therapists he can direct on what sorts of things they can do for you, to make it easier for you to get up.  But in general, if you have peripheral neuropathy, it really takes a little while to "warm up," to where your lower body finally can maneuver around just fine.
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