TOPIC of the MONTH AUGUST 2014~~Balance

[selmaS]

Hi all we all tend to have issues with balance whether it is from feeling dizzy , vertigo, or just unstable feet and legs.....

In doing some research I found for toddlers learning to walk, many pediatricians suggest they go barefoot to be able to find their own footing...then use a soft flexible shoe one that gives as opposed to one that is stiff and unyeilding to the movement of the foot....so there is more rocking and tipping over then walking and the movement is all in the legs and not the foot as it should be.

I decided to try this...and got myself some softer soled shoes....Go Walk are great I can now walk on grass....I was wondering if others have attempted to try different things to help with balance?

[selmaS]

  Hi...are you aware if you have any related condition to Chiari that may be causing some of these symptoms to  continue?

Also, how long since your last surgery? It can take time to heal...up to 2 yrs for the nerves.....we tend to go by how the incision site looks and think, ok we are all healed when in fact healing has just begun inside.....

Sounds like you may have ICP or POTS....a change in pressure with the position you are in.....

You will want a Dr to test you for these issues.

[Resa181]

Again, all of your comments have confirmed unspecified symptoms I have daily after 2 Chiari decomp surgeries.  The 2 much sensory input / stimulation is driving me crazy.  My husband is a local elected official & I retired lately from our Congressman's Office so we are (or I was) active in the area.  Now going to activities REALLY bothers me... speeches, band music, crowds, fireworks, any loud noises or bright lights bother me and will bring on a migraine.  Going to the grocery store is all but impossible w/o help, I can't lift a gallon of milk w/o pain & pushing a cart full of groceries bring on yet another migraine.  Dizziness is also a problem & it is getting worse even tho I have been decompressed X2.  I have never had good balance even as a kid, but now I cant walk across the floor w or w/o shoes w/o staggering.  Laying down in bed  or rising from my recliner makes be dizzy and the dizziness always starts in the occipital (back) part of my head.

[AZHR]

Bless your heart!  I, too am influenced by what is going on around me, but I only get nauseous. When in PT after surgery, I could not not face another person on the bars because their movements made me sick.  For a very long time I kept my eyes closed in therapy. My therapist said he'd never seen someone experience this.
I wonder if what we all seem to have is Central Vertigo as opposed to the Vertigo commonly called BPPV?  Central Vertigo is caused by a Central Nervous System disorder, i.e. Chiari.  Interesting reading.  This is what my doc says I have and the VNG test determines this.
I also have problems with too much sensory input: high noise level, much movement around me, the necessity to turn my head or look up & down any extended periods of time, needing to make multiple decisions, in other words the dreaded grocery shopping.  I am not yet comfortable, heck, I just want to run away, even in Church.  I cannot imagine trying to work as I did B4CM surgery.
Please correct my grammar & punctuation!

[Elisaandbucky]

Remember that I said that flip-flops were high heels? The highest my heels ever get are as thick as the soles of my tennis shoes. I wear flip-flops on the beach; sadly, I live about six hours inland from the North Carolina coast. My real foot wardrobe staple are what I hear called "practical, sensible shoes." I am sure my wise cracking students call them "orthopedic." But I go to class everyday - with the assigned reading prepared! Ha!

The landscape of the campus where I teach my class is relatively flat. The only thing I have to do is climb two flights of steps to my classroom. I just climb slowly, the knuckles of my right hand white on the railing from my grip. For some reason, my falls are always on the way up stairs - probably because I try to go too fast.

As far as the issue of balance in walking, I struggle, but mostly, I just go slowly. My challenge is when I am riding in a car - when I look at any image outside the window, moving by, i get dizzy. I am not sure if it is my equilibrium that is bothered by movement.

Now that I have a diagnosis, I know that one of the first things those with Chiari are cautioned about is riding roller coasters. When I read about this, it came as a relief because I don't get laughed at when I only go on the "baby rides."

I still think that my biggest challenge is my pathological terror of vomiting- because it has overcome me in so many places. It is not a queasy feeling like I think most people get, it's the result of images moving past me. I would be ever so grateful to anyone who has a remedy for this. A girl can only drink so much ginger ale.

[selmaS]

  Flip flops were the death of my summer footware...My feet would slide all around on them...and I felt they were not safe to continue wearing...I just tried them again this weekend and found they still do not work for me....and I love and miss them ....lol...right after my surgery I got a pair of "boys sandels" yup from the boys department as my feet are small,,,lol..and the womans dept did not have what I was looking for...I wanted a sturdy sole, and I wanted my foot to be held into the shoe...I got that ,with open air ( like my flip flops) but I wondered if the very stiff sole was hurting me more then helping as I walked on uneven surfaces I tended to teeter a bit more then on a flat surface...such as a lawn I felt I would fall at any moment...last yr I got the Go Walks and found I can navigate the lawn areas easier with this more flexible sole....only problem is mine are a closed shoe and not the open air shoe I want for summer...

[Elisaandbucky]

Flip flops are the high heels that southern girls wear! Not only are they soft soled but they can be quite stylish as well. Plus, you can get them in every color in the rainbow, at some places for under $10.

But to seriously answer this month's post, I can contribute this fact: not a day goes by that I don't trip walking up the steps. And every set of steps, anywhere, trips me. When I come down, I hold on to the railing really tightly.

I am not sure this is a balance issue - and I hope you all can forgive me for the bluntness. Sometimes, while I am driving my own car, myself, I get a sudden bit of nausea and immediately vomit. This occurs in traffic at points that I do not always have the opportunity to pull the car over. I have learned to carry those small white airline barf bags.

Another balance-related issue that I struggle with is, when I am a passenger, not being able to turn my head to look at trees and flowers. As the car is speeding on, and if I do turn my head, I get nauseous. Now that is probably more related to issues of vertigo. Overall, I have always been awkward and klutzy (the words of my dear mother), so I just lump all these little quirky things as just the way I move around on this earth. As rod44 enjoys here on earth, when I go to heaven I will not worry - I'll just use my wings to get around.