Problems with balance

[merril]

Will my balance ever improve if PMR confirmed and I am on meds?

[SheffieldJane]

What does your doctor say? I imagine that if PMR has led to your balance problems, then it will recede with treatment. My balance seems to come and go in severity. My diagnosis is GCA.

[merril in reply to SheffieldJane]

Hi SheffieldJane. At the moment I suspect I also have GCA . I will discuss this when I next talk to my GP. It would be helpful if you would discuss GCA since I wouldn't have to ask (what I thought were daft questions).lol

[SheffieldJane in reply to merril]

No question on here is daft. Not many of us have heard of these diseases before we’re diagnosed and then many of our doctors don’t know the answers to our questions. What makes you think that your condition is GCA?The common symptoms tend to be headaches, usually in the temple region but mine were at the back of my head. The are quite severe for some people. Then there is the jaw claudication ( a peculiar symptom that often points to the diagnosis). This is pain in the jaw whilst chewing. People do experience double vision and other eye symptoms. This means you have to act fast as sight can be lost with GCA. GCA needs to be treated as an emergency, so if you experience one or more of the symptoms, you should go to the emergency department of your nearest hospital. My PMR developed into GCA and luckily I was given an Ultrasound Scan with a specially trained technician who found the evidence in my armpit. I am sure you have many more questions and there are plenty experienced people who are happy to answer them.

You can private message forum members by tapping on their names, if you feel better asking in private at first. I would be fine with that. Our questions often help others though.🙂

[123-go]

Hi Merril. My balance certainly improved. Once the Prednisolone had taken effect and I was virtually pain free but still very stiff and wobbly, I made an appointment to see a physiotherapist who understood PMR. She gave me gentle exercises which included some for balance. She never pushed me to do more than I was comfortable with and over not too many weeks she added exercises and my balance and general mobility improved immensely. I was conscientious about doing the exercises at home and I was able to discontinue the appointments. I was so grateful for her help and gentle encouragement. There is hope if you find the right physiotherapist.

[merril in reply to 123-go]

Hi 123-go. I have a very clued up physio who I usually see privately because of a back problem related to a herniated disc. This time, my surgery gave me 12 free credits and it was the physio who queried PMR. As a result I seem to have been taken seriously and as a result I am waiting for my bloods booked for 9th December. Balance was never a problem when dealing with disc problem only. Last year at this time I was preparing to spend Xmas in the States (and I had a great time). I am learning so much from being here and so glad to have found you all and thanks to Heart Matters mag for giving the charity a plug

[Constance13]

Others will be along to answer this post merril. Just wanted to advise you to put more info in your profile - illnesses, medicines, where you live etc etc (people in your area would be able to point you to local places where you can find help/answers).

👵🏻

[merril in reply to Constance13]

Morning Constance. I thought I had done this already, but perhaps it has all gone into the ether lol. I do value your help and maybe if this brain fog lifts I'll try again. Hope you have a good day. Our lockdown ends on Tuesday so perhaps she can take me for a little drive round.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It should do - especially if you do balance exercises to help things along. But as I keep trying to explain to my husband - you don;t do them for a couple of weeks and stop, you need to do them regularly!

You may have put information onto the HU page but most of that is not visible to us. You need to add it to the profile bit where you say "Hi, I' Merril"

[jinasc]

Just in case you missed this:

Patient Reported Involvement in 8th Cranial Nerve.

This was only issued in 2019 and most of us will not have read it and neither will most of the medics...............so take time and read it, especially in relation to diagnosis and what you call tell you Medic.

link.springer.com/epdf/10.1...

[merril in reply to jinasc]

Thank you so much! I am going to print out the article and take it to my GP, if that's OK with you? Now I know why I hear bells in my ears!!

[jinasc in reply to merril]

The research article is in the public domain so no worries so no-one needs permission to print it .

It is a good idea to print it out and take it, you could just have given the link.......but paper means the percentage of chance ( of them reading it are) are higher.

[merril]

That's a good idea, I'll try that.👍