Loss of balance

[Dizzie14]

Hi I haven’t been on for a while as my husband hasn’t been well. He had fluid drained because of ascites and had a week stay in hospital for my birthday week. He has been out for 3 weeks and he is finally getting his appetite back. However I am very worried because he looses his balance and falls backwards. Does anyone else have experience of this.

[Dizzie14]

Thank you very much. I have got him an alarm to wear that will alert me if he has a fall but I need to be there to catch him so this course looks interesting if you have any details.

Di

[alfredthegreat]

Hi Dizzie

I'm similar to Miles. Since having 2 episodes of HE before transplant my balance has been affected. I'm 14 months post transplant too. I have to be careful looking up and in the dark and on stairs etc.

I have been taking some downlights out of the bathroom ceiling very recently and because it involves step ladders and looking upwards my wife has had to hold me on the step ladders while I do it.

I'm not supposed to carry anything up or downstairs either, it's hands on rails for me.

My balance has improved since those HE episodes but it is still suspect and I have to be careful.

Your hubby's might be just a temporary thing but it is as well to be aware of the dangers to try to keep him safe from injuries from falling which unfortunately I have suffered from.

Best wishes to you both.

Alf.

[Laura009]

Hi Dizzie. Yes my hubby suffered with poor balance too. Suggested he went up and downstairs on his bum

Laura

[alfredthegreat]

Hi Ofeckman.

My legs are stronger now, but I still manage to catch the bottom lip of double glazed doors with boring regularity. My wife is forever telling me to pick my feet up! Takes me back to my childhood! LOL

[Hidden]

Hi

Yes, I have balance issues which I need to mention to my Dr next week. I can stand up and suddenly fall back down in to my seat and also wht I'm walking. I've got my 3 wheeled walker with seat which is great. Love and hugs Lynne xxxx

[alfredthegreat]

Hi Lynne, I do that too

[Dizzie14]

Thank you all for your responses. It sounds like another problem that comes with liver damage and he will just have to do a risk assessment everytime he stands.

[davianne]

Hi Di, sorry a bit late in replying.

All I can do is agree with all the previous posts. I had blackouts before diagnosis....just dropped like a log, a lot. It was my GP at consultation that referred me to the liver team, and that was the start of my journey. I don't have blackouts anymore, but have problems with balance all the time. I do differ from Miles and Alf in that I have not had a TP. I think my balance problems might be exacerbated by wearing varifocal glasses, so as my eyesight had recently seen a rapid decline, on my next opticians test, I will just get single focus lenses for distance. My near sight is mostly OK.

David

[1football]

Hi Dizzie

I never had HE pre transplant and in fact was fortunate enough to be pretty well up to transplant except for my tumours, but since then 18 months now I’ve suffered with balance issues I actually sway when I walk and when I move off after standing still it’s almost like I trip over myself

All the best

Huw

[Hidden]

Good morning Dizzie14,

As you can see many of our lovley forum members have also suffered with poor balance and offer helpful tips.

It is always important that if symptoms are new that you discuss it with your own doctors as they are best placed to discuss appropriate management for your husbands individual case.

Best wishes,

Trust9

[Dizzie14 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you but I have found our gp and consultants useless because he has alcoholic cirrhosis they seem to have written him off and give no answers or support not like all these guys and dolls who have also experienced it and have found some reason to it. Sorry bad day as he really is not well today, lots of nurturing required.

[Hidden in reply to Dizzie14]

So sorry to hear this.

If you are finding the doctors unhelpful you can always contact Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) as no-one should feel 'written off'

nhs.uk/common-health-questi...

- I appreciate that may just feel like another mountain to climb but they should be able to help.

I hope you are taking good care of yourself too, and I am really glad that the forum members are giving you the support you are looking for .

Best wishes

Trust9

[feline14]

Hi Dizzie my husband has really bad balance problems always put it down to his having had a major stroke which has weakened all his left side. Did not know that this could also be down to his liver problems.

Love to you x

[purple64]

Could this be why my husband shuffles when he walks? New to this group.

[purple64]

Thanks will mention it at next appointment

[davianne]

Hi Miles,

Because my consultant won't prescribe anything more effective. The GP gave me codeine, only to discover it was not suitable for people with liver disease, and tramadol is the same. My problem is that as I'm unlikely to receive a TP due to my age, I have to really nurse the liver I have, even though it's shot. That's why I am trying to get an opinion on CBD oil........last chance saloon 🤠🤠🤠

[davianne]

Miles, I do have a trapped sciatic nerve in my lower spine (old Rugby injury) and use a heat pad and TENS machine for that, but nothing I can safely take seems to touch my 24/7 capsule pain.

[Hidden in reply to davianne]

Hi,

Have you asked your doctor about gabapentin? My doctor recommended it for nerve pain - a pinched nerve in my neck that affected my arm so severely that I had to stop taking walks. A weird set up - am - afternoon- evening and start on a five day schedule sort of.

I take it along with Tylenol [paracetamol - in the UK, I think]. Hubby is the one with cirrhosis so his pain meds are limited - but Tylenol is ok by his liver doc, but only so much in 24 hrs and less than the amount on the bottles.

Gabapentin has its own issues - so check with your doctor.

Best,

Mary

[davianne in reply to Hidden]

Many thanks Mary, paracetamol is my only choice just now, but not very effective. I've lived with the sciatic nerve pain for 50 years or so, and the TENS machine plus heat pad is really good for that, except when my back muscles go into spasm......then I have to lay up for a couple of days.

I will ask my GP about Gabapentin, or it's UK equivalent, for my capsule pain.

Take care,

David

[Hidden in reply to davianne]

It does make you sleepy, at least at first. the directions I got are unusual and the big take away is that you stop at the level that works for you. So it goes : days 1-5 1 capsule at bedtime, days 6-10 1 capsule in the AM & 1 at bedtime, days 10 -15 1 in AM 1 in the afternoon & 1 at bedtime : days 16 -20 1 in AM & afternoon and 2 at bedtime. This is where I'm at - I tried the next upgrade which is 2 in the AM 1 in afternoon & 2 at bedtime -so what happened for me was that after taking the 2 in the morning - had breakfast and then fell asleep from 9 AM to 1 PM LOL So I'm back to 1-1-2. My Mom was a nurse so I take the pills on her old schedule or close [7-3; 3-11, & 11-7] so 7 AM, 3 PM, & 11 PM.

Hope if you get the go ahead for it that it works well for you.

Best,

Mary

[davianne]

Hi Filis ,

I have tried them for 2 years now. I don't like walking down the road nodding my head so I can see near then distant in focus. The first lenses they gave me had the transition set too high, so, when driving with my head straight the view in front was blurred, so I had to tilt my head down to look out of the very top of the lenses to see clearly.......and these were supposed to be Tailor made for me!!!! The second pair were Ok, but the side vision was swimming. I'll stick to singles from now on.

David

[Hidden]

Hi Dizzie,

My husband has balance problems - however - some of his were caused by a slipped disc in his neck made worse by his undiagnosed cirrhosis.

After neck surgery & his liver failure he did do Physical Therapy for balance. The PT did help, but we added a portable grab bar in the shower because when he closed his eyes he lost his balance - but recently he is now able to take his laundry down the stairs by himself if it isn't too heavy and bring it back up! So the balance does improve - just takes time & possibly some help from suggested exercises. His PT had him walk sideways & backward where he would have something to hold on to so he did it in our kitchen which has a fair amount of counter top & is U-shaped.

Maybe you could check to see if his doctor would prescribe PT & OT for him.

Best wishes to you both,

Mary

[davianne]

Thanks Miles, is it OK for cirrhosis sufferers?

Vidad

[davianne]

Thanks Miles, that's great. I will check with my Hep Doc, and see if he will sanction it, if he ever bothers to reply to my request.

I could do with a bucket load of sleepiness right now😊😊😊

Didav

[J-rod28]

Hi Dizzie,

I can only say what I watched happen with my dad and of course everyone is different, but about a month before he passed he started complaining of balance issues because he was having a hard time with seeing straight. Also his whole left side had decreased feeling and temperature gauge...They confirmed it wasn’t a stroke due to symptoms and tests but he did have a tumor in his brain that grew quickly and caused those symptoms above. He had cirrhosis from Hep C and they found cancer that spread quickly from his liver to other parts of his body...Please be sure that when y’all are being tested that they are checking for masses in the liver every time! He was checked every 6 months via CT scan and ultrasound and according to docs he was clear every year up until his last test. He went into the hospital for a very bad stomach ache one night and that was what prompted more tests.

Ashlee

[Dizzie14 in reply to J-rod28]

Thank you for your reply. He had a scan when he was last in so no problems there. I think it could be a combo of his poor liver, muscle wastage and lack of exercise for which I have a plan B arriving soon.

[Dizzie14]

Thank you. I am going to develop an exercise routine for him.

[Dizzie14]

Hi lovely people thank you for your comments but if you want a banter please can you private message each other. I have 82 unrelated posts clogging up my inbox. Thank you

Dizzie14

[ThreeSmiles in reply to Dizzie14]

That’s what makes this forum so popular Dizzie14. Can you imagine how awful it would be if we were just restricted ourselves to factual posts and did not have some amusement along the way.

Sorry you feel this way. I am not going to change but you can smile happily because I won’t encroach on your posts from now on....

[Dizzie14]

Sorry just can't see the funny side still looking for answers sorry if I offended anyone.

[ThreeSmiles]

You are very fortunate as you have had loads of answers.

Never mind I’ve deleted all my comments so you can relax a bit 👍

[Hidden]

Smile: [noun] a facial expression in which the eyes brighten and the corners of the mouth curve slightly upward and which expresses especially amusement, pleasure, approval, or sometimes Scorn.

Duly deleted.

[Ian57]

Hi whats your husbands condition ive got complex polycystic liver disease, ive also discovered ive got ascites whildt viditing my GP Monday past, she emailed my consultant and he wants to see me this monday coming.