Oh yes, I do get episodes of that and it lasts anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks. I'm just coming out of a fairly continuous week long bout of it; thus the reason I haven't been posting until a couple of days ago.

Even now the feeling and coordination in the fingers are goofy so this is being typed on a standard PC key keyboard into a Word document with extra large font (eyes are off as well). From there it will get put back into a 12 font and then will be copied and pasted into the thread.
I just type as best I can and leave the spelling mistakes & type-o's until I'm done and then use spell-check to fix it at the end. Yes, it takes a long time because my eyes are on the keyboard rather than the screen and it's a blend of 'pick and peck' and standard typing.

It's nasty business for sure and it will keep me home unless I really have to go out.

In my experience the sensation is similar to when the hands and fingers get too cold in the winter. They are clumsy and slow, feeling is blunted and it hurts sometimes. The pain can be similar to when a limb starts to 'wake up' after it has been 'asleep' from holding a position too long, or it can be quite severe and more similar to the pain that comes when one puts those cold winter hands under the hot water tap to thaw them out (you always wish you hadn't).


Because I've had this off and on for quite some time, some accommodations are in place to help me manage until it goes away (so far it always has).
Here are a few suggestions that have worked for me:

- Use both hands to hold things and look at what your hands are doing when lifting or holding onto anything (they lie and let go at the most inopportune times).

- Use an electric toothbrush as they have a big handle which is easier to hang onto than a regular toothbrush and prevents the punching yourself in the face thingy. It also gets the job done better than trying to move your head back and forth while trying to hold the toothbrush still and steady.

- Use pump dispensers for liquid soap and shampoo, dish soap, lotion and even condiments as it is impossible to hang onto a bar of soap or squeeze a bottle of anything reliably.

- Keep a dispenser box of baby wipes in your bathroom (enough said).

- Always have some instant-type foods on hand. I dehydrate vegetables and reduce them to a powder in the blender before storing in vacuum seal bags. When I need it, I mix the vegetable powders that I want, and then add a bit of spice or a bouillon to that for a thick instant soup mix.

- Use the side of the arm or another handy part of anatomy that isn't numb to test temperatures before picking things up that might be hot.

For the dizziness (falling sensation), I have a walking stick with a leather loop that goes over the wrist that I use in and around the house. I don't use it like a cane to lean on unless the legs are in on the episode as well; but rather to provide extra balance. I also keep one in my vehicle and take it with me if I'm going to be walking more than 10 feet from a wall or something to hang on to (bump into), even when things seem to be OK. This is a sneaky, heartless disease and too often I've suddenly found myself viewing the world from a much lower altitude than I like.
The stick makes me look like a misplaced hiker and because it isn't a cane, it seems to prevent people from asking questions I don't want to answer.

Tucking the chin in, keeping the back straight and keeping the eyes focused on walls and other solid objects rather than on the ground helps to prevent the dizziness...sometimes.
Whatever you do, don't look up or you'll be going down.

Hope that this helps and that your symptoms are short lived.

With love, Erika