What to do when you add more pain to yourself

[jamlws]

Hello everyone I hope your doing well and had a good weekend. We moved into our first house at the end of December so we haven't been here that long, I LOVE everything about this house and I love having a home of our own that we don't have to ask if we can do this and that. But I HATE the stairs, I don't mind walking up and down them but it does cause more pain to my face but I am use to that. The problem is I have falling down them 5 times and they all have been when I first wake up and walk down them with my socks on. I have been VERY lucky so far now to really hurt myself. So now I take my shoes upstairs at night so I won't fall in the morning. But I fell pretty good on Friday. We have a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs so the dogs can't get up there. Well I started to fall half way down and when I got the bottom my foot got stuck at the bottom of the bar on the gate. I have a good mark on it but my foot is only sore my problem is the back of my knee hurts so bad that when I get up from sitting I don't want to walk it hurts or when I am doing to much walking it hurts. then today when I got up my back has been hurting. I don't want to go to the dr I want to wait it out and see if it heals on its own. I am not sure what I did to it but  the front of my knee don't hurt. Any ideas on how to control this pain? I have tried hot and cold and it don't work. I have never had a injury like this. I will go to the dr if it isn't any better by the end of the week. I just hope this isn't a long time pain that I have to live with that is what scares the crap out of me.
Thanks,
Jamie

[geminigirl1963]

Please be careful on the stairs - take a few minutes (or longer if you need to) before you start down to make sure you are fully awake - and also be sure to either wear your shoes or like I suggested in my earlier post - some of those slipper sock type things with the non-slid tread on them.

Here's hoping you've only got a bad bruise and pulled muscles......  you may have irritated the sciatica nerve also, and that could possibly account for the shooting pains down your leg.

I'm glad you were able to get an appointment with your doctor - even if you're feeling a little better by then, it's probably still a good idea to get checked out - not only to rule out a bad injury from your fall/s, but also maybe to see if there is, in fact, something else going on that is making you more prone to falling (more than just being sleepy and having slippery socks on)

keep us posted on how you're doing.  Feel better!

[jamlws]

I have a appt with my family dr on Friday and if it gets better by then I will cancel it but I don't think it will. I am now getting really sharp pains shooting down my leg and it feels like it is in the bone when it shoots down. So I think I really screwed it up this time so i will see her friday. It still hurts really bad when I get up from sitting down and if I walk to much. Oh pain is just part of my life and I guess I will just have to deal with it. Our stairs is carpet and only time I fall is when I am half asleep with no shoes on. And I have high blood pressure everytime I see the dr but I can't go by what it is like when I see any dr cause pain makes it go up and I think that is my problem with the blood pressure being high. The stairs to the basement is wood and I never have problems with them so I know it is the carpet and being half asleep and no shoes on.
Thanks
Jamie

[geminigirl1963]

I most certainly agree with getting some xrays done to make sure you haven't done serious damage in the fall.  You may even want to see about a CT scan or an MRI - they will be more apt to show soft tissue damage than an x-ray would - and x-ray would show injury to the bone.  From the sound of what you're describing, it sounds more like a soft tissue injury rather than a break in the bone.

I also think that you need to check in with your doctor to have them see if they can determine why you keep falling.  You say that it has always been first thing in the morning when you are coming down the stairs in your socks.  The thing I'm concerned with is whether it is really because of you walking in your socks on the stairs or whether there is something else going on that is causing you problems, such as possibly blood pressure problems or other issues?

Are your stairs carpeted or wood?  Another option other than taking your shoes upstairs with you at night would be to get a couple of pairs of those like slipper sock type things - like what they give you in the hospital to put on your tootsies -- they have non-slide strips on the bottom of them that could give you more traction than just plain socks.  However, be careful with them if your stairs are carpeted - sometimes the non-slide treads on the socks can actually cause your foot to kind of stick to the carpeting a little and could lead to a fall.  DEFINITELY use the handrail on your staircases whenever you are on the stairs - either going up or down.

Please be careful and keep us posted on how you're doing.  And congrats on the new house!

[sandee1818]

it would really be best to have the test done such as x-rays to see if you have injured yourself. I am so sorry your dealing with more pain now. it is hard enough dealing with the current problem without adding more I am sure.
Call your doctor's office and explain what happened and make an appointment. They may have you go on to the ER and have x-rays done right away.
I hope your feeling better real soon:)