Okay, my new friends, I could use a little help. I've started falling. I'm hoping the steroid infusions I'm now getting will stop that (on day 2 of 3!) but I've found this morning that I still need to be really careful. I've almost fallen several times today already (it's only 7:18 AM here!) and I'm very weak and wobbly feeling. I fell 2 times in 24 hours as of yesterday. My poor left side can't take much more!
So, what do you do to help prevent falls, or help you get around without fear of falling? I'm so weak, I'm not sure a cane/walking stick would help, I just don't have the power to lean and hold myself up on one side. And once you've fallen (if you do) what do you do to take care of the pain from it? My whole left side hurts and aches from how I fell on it. I think a nice Epsoms salts bath would help, but heat is not good, and getting out of the tub is difficult.
On the bright side, the steroid infusion has already given me more energy! I know that is a side effect of the steroid and can't expect it to last past the steroids being in my system, but it feels wonderful to have just the tiniest bit more energy! Today when I get home from my infusion, I'm hoping to do some yoga on the MSAA site. Start slowly becoming more active!😀
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MSFlea
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If it was me, I'd send hubby and the kids on a scavenger hunt to the local thrift stores. I'd suggest a folding cane, a rollator, and a simple transport wheelchair. You'd be amazed at what can be found at Goodwill for a few bucks.
I've used canes off and on for years, and yes, sometimes they're difficult to use if I'm going through a bad spell. Walmart and Amazon sell them for under $20, usually in black but available in a variety of colors and patterns. I have several now that I match with my outfit. 🙂
A rollator with a seat is an enormous help, assuming you have fairly smooth floors at home and wide walkways. They start at around $63 new. I rarely use mine, but when I need it, I need it. Unfortunately, my house is so small that it's not very practical to use unless I'm out in public.
Since you're having so much weakness on one side, a simple transport wheelchair might be your best bet at this time, as long as hubby or the kids can push you around. New ones start at around $110, but our local Goodwill frequently has them for $5-$10.
In between bad spells, my wheelchair lives in the garage, the rollator in a closet, and I keep the canes beside every outside door with a spare in the car. At this point in time, you don't need fancy and expensive; you just need something to help you until you figure out the new normal.
The only other thing I can suggest is to have the family rearrange all the furniture so that you can hang onto things as you walk. I've had many times when the only way I could get around the house was by leaning on the various chairs and tables as I moved along.
Thank you for the suggestions. I think the rollator would be my best bet at this time... I'm not sure. I have a cane, it's pink with flowers 😀 from when I was having bad back problems. I'll get it out and see if it helps. I had not thought of trying to find things at thrift stores, thank you for the idea!
I live for thrift stores! It was pure luck the day I noticed a $5 wheelchair right after my daughter suggested I get one. I'd never paid much attention to the "junk" section of the store, but now it's the first part I look at. Found a brand new bedside commode a couple months ago, tags still attached, also for $5. I don't need one yet, but you better believe it came home with me!
I'm so sorry your going through this! Do you have anyone to help you get around right now? I hate to tell you, but patience is the only thing that is going to help right now. You have to give the steroids time to work and your body to rest. 🤗💕🌠
I do have my hubby to help me get around, I hang on his arm when we go out, so I don't wobble all over the place. I really hope the steroids work well. I'm very hopeful. Trying to keep a positive outlook on all this. I'm not very good at being patient 😂But this flare is teaching me how to be!
This is your 1st flare? With a recent diagnosis of MS? 🤔 And your 1st 3day steroid? Be patient 🙂 and rest. I know how hard it is 🤣 but your body is going through a lot right now 🤗 I got a cane off of Amazon and also bought a small stand for it... almost like a hurrycane... 🤗💕🌠
I don't think this is my first flare, I've had symptoms and stuff going on for 5 years or more. But this is my first really bad one that led to me getting the tests done for getting the diagnosis. Yes, my first steroid infusion, and I was diagnosed on the 2nd of this month. I'm shiny new, 🤣I picked some cool looking cane's off Amazon and put them in a wishlist. I have 1 from when I was having severe back pain, but I'm not sure which closet it is in, 😁I'll have to find it, for just in cases. And until I can get a rollator for bad days.
A rollator with seat would be a good start. Most local St Vincent DePaul or Salvation Army stores have a medical device loan program where you can borrow such items for as long as you need. Give them a call
Also MSAA has a free equipment distribution program where you may qualify for a free rollator
Regarding rollators: They are great, but are to be used for walking. Do not try to use a rollator as a wheelchair because you can have a bad fall. In addition to getting a rollator, you should get a transport chair or a wheelchair where you can use your feet for locomotion.
Steroids can cause dizziness, and I think sometimes staying well hydrated with electrolytes can help prevent this. For the bath, body temp water is when your pores will allow magnesium absorption, so very hot isn't ideal anyway. 20min should be enough, and I would have someone help me in and out. There's a pain gel roll on stick thing at CVS over the counter that helps and does not stink. I kept crutches forever just in case I needed them...but I'm good at crutches. Use whatever you're good at, and keep it handy.
Use whatever you're good at, and keep it handy. This! Some people have better luck using 2 canes or 2 walking poles. Some prefer what I think we Americans call "Canadian crutches", the kind that you used to see for polio (my age is showing 🤪). Just experiment with whatever's available to you and then give yourself time to adapt.
🤣🤣🤣 Probably not, but please record their reaction! I'm sorry I wasn't more specific, and I tried to google it but couldn't find it. It has lidocaine, so probably icy hot, but I remember odorless being the reason I picked it (pregnancy nausea). Worked great for my feet!
I'm laughing too hard at both of you, but I think I might have found it: Icy-Hot Vanishing Scent Gel. Except what I'm seeing isn't a roll on. I wish I'd known this even existed! Icy-Hot's my go-to when I get twitchy and achy, but the smell means I can't leave the house for 24 hours or so.
Yes, that's it! It's like a tube with a foam pad at the end, and you squish to get the gel out and smear on. It's a smear on 🤣 It does stink, but only for a bit.
Thank you 😵💫🤣 I'm glad you figured out what I was trying to say!
My go to for aches and pains is Aspercreme. There's a creme for pain relief which is odor free, and they make a roll-on with 4% lidocaine which is odor free too. The stuff works great! The lidocaine really works in minutes, and with no smell, you can leave the house! 😂🤗
Just wanted to pass this on - for a great odorless roll-on with lidocaine, I use Aspercreme with 4% lidocaine and it's completely odorless! Works great! I use it on my lower back and it works like a charm! 🤗
If you are having weakness on one side, I recommend a rollator or walker until things improve. You need bilateral support and you'll feel more secure with two hands holding on tight to something. It may take a while to feel steady again. I have had balance issues for a long time, and a cane just made it worse - I kept tripping over it! I have a rollator with a nice padded comfy seat to rest whenever I need to.
A quick laugh to share: I once mentioned falling down my stairs to a friend and her great advice was "that sounds dangerous-don't do that!!!" 🤣🤣🤣
hi! I’m sorry you’re having difficulties! Please be careful! (I know easier said than done). I usually depend on rollator (with a seat). But now I have to use a wheelchair, cause I broke my leg. Please don’t have something catastrophic happen to you! This more than sucks! I have my usual MS pain and now this pain! I am in a cast from my toes to my hip! All because I wanted to pick up a fuzzy! So not worth it! I wish and hope you the best! I do recommend a rollator or wheelchair. I too am very wobbly and have crawled! But that gets old. Depend on a device! Much easier!
I'm so sorry to hear about your leg! I've been very careful since the last falling episode, but I am very wobbly. Rollator seems to be what everyone recommends, so I'm researching a good folding one that can go in the boot/trunk and doesn't weigh too much for hubby to lift when we go places. I feel awful having to use one, but... I'd rather use one than fall and hurt myself again!
I know. It stinks needing to have no choice but to depend on devices! Especially when people look at you and think “you look fine”. If they only knew! But I do think it’s important to get a rollator with a chair! You may not need it, but it will prove handy one day! Most have this nifty pouch in them. You can store lots of stuff! (It’s where I sometimes hide my candy). Lol. Thank you about my leg I don’t want anyone to ever have to deal with a mess like this!
Yes, get the rollator, you won’t regret it! I will add to what others said: my mom is nearly 90 yrs old and a bit unsteady and very frail, a real fall risk. She has been using a rollator for years and although she has a cane as well, the rollator is much safer (she recently added a motorized scooter, much easier than a wheelchair but not portable like the rollator). I take her to all of her appointments, shopping, etc, and I have no trouble at all folding up her rollator and putting it into the trunk (boot) of my car. It is surprisingly light and easy to fold. Hers has a padded seat that lifts up and she can store her purse, a sweater, and a bunch of other stuff in there. The seat is sturdy so it comes in handy if she needs to rest for a moment, and it can also hold grocery bags that would be too heavy for her to carry if we have more than I can hold on my own. A fall at her age would be disastrous but even for younger people I think it is a great idea. I also take care of my daughter with MS and fortunately she is young and strong but if she ever starts to lose her balance she will use mobility aids. Best wishes to you!
At my first visit to my Neuro, she asked how many times a month I fall. I answered three to four times a day. She was not happy.. I told her neither were my knees! Second visit, she asked again. I told her not to worry as I was trying to fly but the ground kept getting in the way. She did not find the humor in that.
I rely on hiking sticks, one in each hand. Cheap, collapsible and light make them optimal for me.
I forgot to add that since I started with the Cionic Nerve Sleeve, I don’t fall nearly as much. I shock my dorsal flexors with every step, resolving my foot drop.
I'd never heard of a Cionic Nerve Sleeve before, had to look it up. Now that is neat! I've saved the info with all the other stuff I'm learning about MS. Thank you!
oops. Cionic Neural Sleeve… but obviously you already found that out! It just passed its first year being available. Bioness has an older system but imho expensive and not as effective. Both systems have their positives and negatives. In the end it’s up to the individual as to what is best for them.
Like many in our MS family, I keep a cane in the car and others here and there in the house, I have two rollators (one for indoor, one outdoor), and a walker. Most of the time, they are folded up and tucked away...but when I need them, I need them. And as for a transport wheelchair, I used one for close to 3 months and needed no one to push it. It was light enough for me to navigate even through doorways with only arm power. Falls are dangerous, so think of equipment acquisition as an investment in your safe future!
I'm trying not to be stubborn about it, lol! I am looking for a suitable rollator, and have picked out a few folding canes to have in handy places. I like the canes with fun designs. I like the way you look at it, an investment in your safe future. That makes the necessity a little easier to bear.
I don't like to think of myself as less able, and though I have a handicap placard, I try not to use it all the time, just when I need to. But it and all my canes, my grabbers, my rollators, etc. make me able to live my life -- alone on 4 acres at 84. I need to think of myself as able and independent, while conscious of how MS affects me every single day. When I can no longer take care of myself, my animals, my home, I will not be able to stay here in a place I love.
Get over yourself and set the ego aside. “Fall” is a 4 letter word. A friend of mine fell and ended up needing a complete shoulder replacement. Don’t tempt fate.
I use it walkerwal and a rollator go online and learn how to fall or maybe physical therapy good luck
I have some difficulty with balance and foot drop and was a letter carrier when working so had to keep falls to a minimum, and honestly the only thing that seemed to help was physical therapy, of course slow and pains taking but had wonderful pt who worked with me to address my particular problems
I used Penetrex over the counter cream for back pain when I fell. The first time using it had a huge relief from the pain, but seemed not as much afterwards. It was worth every penny though.
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