Walking problems?

[heathera1]

I use a cane or a wheeled walker most of the time. With the walker I have no problems. Sometimes when I am not using it & may or may not be using the cane, I will take a step with my right foot, (which has been tingly and numb-all the way up past my knee for years) but when I try to move my left foot, IT WILL NOT MOVE. I have bursitis on my right hip, in addition to herniated lumbar discs. This is no fun. Suddenly it seems like my brain cannot communicate with the left foot/leg. If I use the walker, no problem! Has anyone else experienced this?

[Sukie427]

My dad passed away from end stage Parkinson's Disease, and when he had this problem, they called it an "ignition" problem. Now I have MS and I have the same thing. My husband takes my wrist 'cause my hand is too numb and gives me a light tug while making sure I don't fall, of course, and it helps get me moving again. Eventually I will be looking for a service dog to do this task. I eventually got told by a PT after a relapse that it could come from serious fatigue and when I feel it to switch from cane to walker.

[SWEETCAT in reply to Sukie427]

Hello Sukie427, Very sorry for your loss. I have to say I use Parkinson as a example sometimes how I feel. I say I feel like I have Parkinsons and I should look like I am jittery. But its all internal and oh my flustered by this terribly. The numbness is so much worse in the cold this Winter then I remember in the past. Well the best to U and this group of all of WARRIORS IS AWESOME!!!

TAKE CARE

[Sukie427 in reply to SWEETCAT]

Thanks, SWEETCAT but it was a long time ago. Still hurts, though....just a sucky part of life! Happy holidayFight on!

[FloGlo79 in reply to SWEETCAT]

Stay strong just like you have been doing. My hands get super cold during this time of your. So I got these gloves from home depot that you can pick hands warmers in. They work too.

[FloGlo79 in reply to FloGlo79]

Excuse the typo' s☺

[Hidden]

Hi heathera1. I experience a similar situation with my legs. My right leg provides the most difficulty, as the muscles from ankle to hip lock tight when I stand up. The thigh and hamstring muscles will not release. The muscles in both legs are numb, more so in the right leg, and the tingling I used to have in both, has now been replaced by a burning sensation. I speculate the "burning sensation" is patches of sensory nerves that are agitated by low fluid level in my body...or some vitamin level that affects the central nervous system. Through heavy consumption of water and orange juice, I'm usually able to lower the burn in an hour. When I sit, or stand, in one place for just a few minutes, my feet turn into cement. It's as if the CNS shut down in my feet. Driving is getting more dangerous for me. Similar to you, I must "tell my brain" to tell my foot to move. Literally, I pick up my foot (left side) and then my right foot, before standing and moving. Sounds normal...but I must think about getting up, before doing so. I've begun trying acupuncture sessions with the hopes that this may "cure" my leg muscle difficulties. You are definitely not alone as regards this situation.

[FloGlo79 in reply to Hidden]

Mine does too! As soon as I stand up, I automatically have to reach for the sky stretching while my right leg just shakes uncontrollably until I'm done stretching. It's the weirdest thing, It just locks like I'm the Tinman or something😂

[erash]

I have days or moments when overheated or fatigued when my brain and legs/feet aren't talking with each other. Increased balance, coordination issues. 🙁

[goatgal]

Hello heathera1, In reading all the replies, you will find lots of company. I'm a hands-on, down on the ground gardener and one of the difficulties I noticed just before diagnosis was that I had to think about how to get up. Movements that had been automatic, suddenly required planning: okay, move this, move that, extend this, retract that... Now I know it is the MS so I use a kneeler when I get down so I can get up again. I seem to have lost my reverse gear unless I do it slowly. Here in So Cal I have just signed up for an 11 week course called Optimal Living with MS. I hope to learn more from the facilitators how best to work with my sputtering machinery!

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador in reply to goatgal]

goatgal you will have to tell us all the helpful hints and tips 😊

[SWEETCAT in reply to goatgal]

Yes please tell us how it goes for U..

[goatgal in reply to SWEETCAT]

Hi sweetcat, As I told Jes, I will do my best. I am optimistic because I assume the PT and OT part of the program will be better than the only advice I've had since diagnosis. I complained to my previous neurologist about getting up from falling down, she sent me to a PT for 30 minutes. He started off by saying "you are doing well for someone your age" (not a helpful remark) told me what to do, showed me two balance exercises and that was it. I assume this will be better.

[Good_enough]

I fell the other day because I turned and my right foot did not follow . I'm wondering if your brain gets used to the mobile routines and expects things to happen while at the same time your nerves have a shortage of communication . An d what I mean is that two different "signals", or something, happen simultaneously .

You know one doesn't always want to use a walker when you don't have to and it's hard to decide when you should. I'm looking for patterns. I ought to force myself to use the walker in the evening when I'm more fatigued.

I hope my line of thinking helps you

[FloGlo79 in reply to Good_enough]

It is confusing at times, its like a short in a extention cord😂. I use crutches when I go out because I can't walk with no cane at all. My right foot just imitates drop foot because my toes don't pull up when I walk. It causes me to trip. I get to see a neurologist in January, so excited to see what's going on. Its been over three years.

[Good_enough in reply to FloGlo79]

Hey, my toes curl too

[FloGlo79]

Mine do to at times, its like my nerve's in my foot don't work but I'm a soldier in this War, only the strong survive! Happy Holidays to you and yours.

[Bygonelines]

This sounds so much like me! I hate when I am walking along and all of a sudden I'm walking but my left leg has decided to take a break. Drives me nuts and I have fallen more than once. I also get this problem in my hands. I can be holding something (plate, glass, etc) and all of a sudden the item is on the floor because my hand decided it was done holding even though the brain said hang on. It's almost like y brain is speaking english and y nerves are speaking Klingon and neither of them has a clue what the other is saying. MS is definitely a roller coaster ride! I finally gave up and use a walker full time now. It is much safer for me.

We must fight on!

Merry Christmas!

Jacqui

[heathera1]

My left leg at times WILL NOT MOVE! It is so weird. If I reach out and touch the counter or a wall or something, it will! I have issues with my right leg being tingly-like it's asleep all the time. Now I have a tendon or ligament problem (stretched) according to PT - right leg of course. I can do leg lifts with no problem. What has the PT puzzled is: Why can't I bend the leg at the knee when I am laying down? Same position to do the leg lifts. He had me doing them with a cord attached to my foot, and me pulling it up from the other end of the cord. Then I proceeded to show him that I did not need the cord as an aid. But, when I tried to bend the leg at the knee when laying on my back, I could not do it. Strange?