Hi all,

Well I haven't posted in a long time b/c i have been so busy with trying to find a job and getting my small biz started. I have had a lot happen since my last post.

I have gotten on board with a temporary agency and they are helping me find positions (which i am working one of them this week). And i have been battling vision problem all week. (uncontrolled eye movements/ double vision that have made life oho so interesting).

in other news, I am getting an MRI this WEEKEND, i am both excited and scared b/c i am so close to a dx (or rule out - which i hope in someways is the case yet at the same time I want them to figure out what is causing the double vision so that i can move on with my life). but either way, I will find out next week what the results of the MRI is if I get it this saturday.

The subject of this posting comes from a major adjustment that I'm having to make due to worsening balance issues. The balance issues coralate with the vision problems and i just respranged ) a previously (as of a month ago) spranged ankle that is now back in an air cast and I'm trying to nurse it back to health. (i reinjured it due to loosing my balance in shoes that had a thick sole on them but were solid and stable thru the sole).

One of my friends (who has MS) suggested something that I had not thought of before (being an other wise healthy "looking" 24 year old). She suggested that I use a walking cane to help me with the balance issues (especially on my left side which is where i tend to trip and "drift" towards when trying to walk in a straight line).

I got a cane tonight and it does seem to help with the ankle (b/c it so weak that it keeps twisting with every step so the cane helps balance out the off kilter walking). it is weird to think of myself walking with a cane (even if it is hopefully only temporary due to the ankle). But even so it is a big adjustment and i guess it is worth it to keep from injuring more and more the ankle so that i have to get a full cast back on (not just the splint that i am wearing at this point).

i am wondering if others out there had the same feelings if and when they started walking with mobility aides?

Thanks for listening/reading.

bobcat

i fought it for pride sake but luckily i got one before some others on here did. they have posted and will post bruised bones take longer to heal than bruise egos or pride.

I have 3 now one in my van one in my bed room and one towards back of house, I can use walls to get through most of the house most times,

sometimes i do find myself ina room for a period and go to get up and say oh oh someone get that cane please. some days i feel good and get out to the van and feel good

but then i dont trust me sea legs and grab the one in van just in case. heck u can press the elevator button from 3 feet away save two or three steps move things around

all in all at first i was very reluctant and now i am glad i have it has saved me a few times, when my legs decide to go on strike

good luck

You Make me Laugh till my stomach hurts. and smile too! I laugh b/c I KNOW what sea legs are and i totally agree with the notion that wounded pride is better than wounded limbs and bones. i am dealing with a wounded ankle (for the 3rd time in 6 months) b/c of my balance issues and sea legs and i wish that i had thought of the cane idea before my friend did b/c i wouldn't be dealing with the wounded "limb" if i had!!!

I got one of the really cool folding models because some days are better than others, lately my legs have been on the writer's strike of California. Soooooo maybe the cane will be the bargaining chip to bring back my favorite "TV episode" called WALKING!!!!

THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGMENT I feel better knowing that I'm not alone! sincerely, the 3 leged bobcat! ( i mean that is in the most postive of terms b/c that third leg will give me my life back).

I'm not dx'd yet either. I started using a cane 1st for hip pain, then for vertigo.

It was weird yes, but not as weird as the falling or staggering.



Do what you need to do to be careful, okay? You have a very valid reason for using a cane, so don't be embarrased.

I don't generally have any balance issues--very occasionally I will wobble a bit-- but I have not (yet) fallen. My legs have never gone out on me, but there are lots of times they feel like they will, and I find myself wishing I had a cane or walking stick "just in case."

The thing is, I never know when I might need it. My leg burn comes and goes throughout the day every day, some days its almost not even noticable, and other days I feel like my legs are going to give out, but each day is different. Some start bad and end good and vice versa.

I feel goofy and a little pretentious carrying a cane around that I might need to lean on when walking up stairs and my legs get tired and weak. Is that just my precious ego? Part of me is worried that I will "need" a cane soon enough, why rush it, right?

Anyway, I'd appreciate your thoughts....

Sure did have the same feelings. I started using it after a nasty fall Used a walker for six weeks for that one and then the cane. It was really a nasty fall but it happened when I was standing (not walking) and trying to move something heavy on the floor with the other foot. Not good and will never try that again I still feel funny with the cane but I use it. Scared that I will fall again walking in open spaces.