Balance and unsteadyness

[pollyanna76]

Hi does amd affect balance and cause general unsteadiness.?

[arwmd]

You know what pollyanna78, I haven't a clue but I do know that I am shaky and unsteady on my feet too but then I am 88 so it probably goes with the turf. To combat it though I stand on a balance board every day. Some days I can do it for 30 seconds, other days only a few maybe 7 to 10. My younger friends can do it for as long as a minute! I'm impressed. The main thing is, I think, to do anything I can to keep from falling so Practice, practice, practice. (PS. the balance board is about 1 1/2" off the floor.)

[pollyanna76 in reply to arwmd]

Thankyou arwmd I will give it a try.

[ironbrain]

If you've lost all or a considerable amount of central vision in one eye, then the answer is very probably yes. Certainly I, with next to no central vision in my left eye, am finding it more difficult to keep my balance – getting dressed standing on one leg, for example, or doing exercises. I mean, it may be part of increasing age (otoconia loss) in my case too (I'm 67) although I still have good hearing, but generally loss of vision in one eye will lead to balance problems:

youtube.com/watch?v=ETy6wM5...(Not working as expected?)

[MikeG1944 in reply to ironbrain]

Thanks for that video, very interesting.

[Chickiepoos81]

It may be vertigo which is what I have

[pollyanna76 in reply to Chickiepoos81]

Thankyou for you reply.how do you cope with your vertigo ?

[eesnapal]

I don't think so. I believe them to be unrelated although I have had both. Just age seems to bring both on. How severe is your loss of balance? If it is bad you should have it checked desperately.

[pollyanna76]

I will get it checked.I have been anaemic and low on bit b12 and been treated for that..I probably will have to get one of those adult baby walkers and I certainly don't relish that thought.!

[JimGlanDwr]

I think so as I'm able to walk OK but find sometimes I'm not steady, I've given up doing a wild plant survey in a fairly remote area because I've fallen over twice, yet I've always been active and sure footed. I can't stand on one foot either.

My wife who can, goes to balance class (falls prevention) organised by the NHS in a local hall, the participants are given exercises to practice at home. If you're interested you could see if there are any in your area. You have to be referred by a health professional so your GP or local health centre would be a good starting point.

[pollyanna76 in reply to JimGlanDwr]

Thankyou for your reply and good advice which I will certainly follow up.

[Chickiepoos81]

If it's vertigo your doc will tell you and you can do lots of things to help.

I just move very slowly when getting up from a lying down position and gradually it goes.

Wish you well

[pollyanna76 in reply to Chickiepoos81]

Thankyou for your reply.it is great to be part of this forum which offers so much support and good advice.

[XX1122]

My balance problem started very soon after I was diagnosed with AMD. It got so bad that I had to use my stick and hang onto the furniture to get around. I had prefect balance before AMD. The problem seemed worse outside in open spaces. I did not see a Doc as I knew it would mean a round of tests and possibly no real conclusion.

I have been researching as much as I can but did not find much on the subject. However I read somewhere that the brain adapts to the loss of full vision and makes adjustments. I have AMD in my left eye. After a year I did notice that my balance is a bit better, don't have to hang on as much. I think it is amazing how the body adapts to what it has. I hope my brain is still working on it.

Another symptom is that in a car park with lines I find I always seem to end up closer to the Right Side of the space instead of in the middle. I think this is part of the same problem.

[pollyanna76 in reply to XX1122]

Good evening,my wet amd is also in my left eye.I agree that over time maybe we will adapt and cope better with losing some of our vision.thankyou for your reply.

[Qashqai-2015_]

I suffer bad balance so it’s hard to know what caused what. Don’t read everything as I have not wanted to know what is next. I may be in denial but I’m 56 and alone so until my sight changes I am living one day at a time or will go nuts lol.

[pollyanna76 in reply to Qashqai-2015_]

Hi sorry you suffer with balance problems.reading lots of the post about this it appears we are not the only ones.as far as I am aware amd just means blurry central vision not total sight loss.just keep going ! That's all we can do.

[tc68]

I've been getting injections for wet AMD for about 5 years now - I have been getting what I call "woozy spells" a lot more over the past year. Not bad enough to fall - but never connected it with the AMD. I'm 76 and also have bad hearing loss but I don't think it's from that - it's a different kind of dizziness. My eye has gotten worse and worse in spite of the injections so I decided to quit a couple of months ago and see what happens. I already couldn't read with that eye the lines of print are wavy top and bottom and center is a blur. I actually see much better not using that eye at all - but wearing an eye patch is so uncomfortable - so will put of doing that till things get a lot worse.

[pollyanna76]

I thought having injections would slow down amd as they are meant to.I also have hearing problems.I guess balance must be affected by these problems.all we can do is keep doing what we think is best for us.thankyou for your reply.

[StokeySue]

I have MMD, not AMD

I don't think MD affects my balance directly, but I am pretty sure that sharp changes in my vision and lack of depth perception affect my movement, as I have some difficulty in navigating a 3 dimensional environment, and this can affect proprioception i.e. the ability to know were your body is relative to the environment. Like a lot of peopel with quite sudden sight loss when I had my first bleeds I slowed right down and became over-conscious of where I was placing my feet.

To be honest this has much the same effect as a vertigo, but it is different I think, and I have found that I can to some extent train myself back to a more normal and confident movement, some physio or the balance classes might help with that I suppose.. The poor depth perception, particularly in a poor light is always an issue though, I find that I do feel my way down steps and kerbs, though on a good day I can run up a flight of stairs if I can hit a cadence

It looks as if the excellent Crabb Lab are doing some work on mobility in AMD, focusing on anxiety

staff.city.ac.uk/crabblab/#...

[pollyanna76]

Thankyou. I will look up crabb lab website.

[Rosalyn-helpline Partner]

Hello pollyanna76,

Sight loss can impact on depth perception, which can therefore potentially impact on an individuals feelings of steadiness. However, it may be wise to check with the GP in case there is anything else which could also be impacting on this.

Kind regards,

Macular Society Advice and Information Service

0300 3030 111

[e-mail]