Has anything (drugs/other modalities) helped you improve bad balance?

Mine is worsening. I'm afraid that before long I will be bedridden in order to avoid the falls I've taken over the past 10 years. In December '09 I fell at home & broke my wrist. I'm almost OK thanks to specialized hand therapy but last night I stumbled yet again and did some kind of damage to my toes.

I'd love to hear of anything that's helped.

I've been going thru PT for the last eight months trying to restore 'balance' after a solid PN 'fit' and falling a really breaking a leg!
You need to get one of your docs to prescribe you PT to do 'gait analysis' and treatment, and 'balance therapies'. Then [even worse?] you need to see each PT center and see HOW they work w/folks and IF they and you could work together. I'd only one reasonable choice available to me locally as two other places I would have preferred to go to are no longer in business.
How I have been treated is sort of like going to the 'Hair Cuttery' in that two or three 'formulas' should work, but they're the best we know how to do. I'd truly thought I'd be much further along in terms of strength and stabillity by now, and I'm not...I'm about to be discharged! WHA?
It CAN Help! It CAN be done, it just takes finding the right resources! Hope and work hard! - j

I must agree with with d,very smart women.. I have been lucky to have a great rehab close to my home..But it's getting worse as the yrs. past.

On the way to the Hospital last Monday I was in my wheelchair,we stopped at Target to pick up something I thought I needed on a top shelve,I looked everywhere not a person around to help....Well I thought I can get up there
bad idea,we were told if your going to fall relax and don't fight it,so down I
go. A tiny women ran up offered help,she was so tiny so here comes everyone
who worded there. They yanked me up put me down,they kept running for papers they forgot uup ,down stop it sweet tiny woman. Please call 911 I'm on my way to the hospital,I finally look around and see a clerk backing away with a wet floor sign..Oh well.

Getting back to d she really had a very hard time,I sure we could write a
book a large one on how many ways to fall,the up abbove way my third time ,
in 3 months. Hope things get better for you...Sue

I have severe balance issues - basically I have lesions on my cerebellum, plus numb feet, club feet, bilateral foot drop and damage to a perhiperal nerve going to my hip. Obviously the lesions on my cerebellum were not caused by PN although they affect my balance greatly (caused by my lupus), but the rest is all caused by my PN. Actually my PN is caused by my lupus, so what the heck.

I walk like an ape basically - flexed forwards at the hips about 45 degrees. It's the only way I can remain even vaguely upright - if I stand up straight I imediately fall over backwards (as in land on a heap in the floor). So, I just have to use a bunch of aids to maintain my mobility - usually a walker, but I have a fixed frame wheelchair that I use as needed. I also wear AFO's (braces that come up to my knees) to keep my feet in position - they are very helpful, but only work if you have a foot drop. They would be pretty useless otherwise. I also have a set of crutches - sometimes they are easier to grab, especially if I am just jumping out of the car and 'running' into a shop for a bottle of milk.

I have tried extensive PT to improve my balance which was not helpful, but this is such an individual thing that it needs to be tried as many people respond well to it. It didn't work for me because I have too much motor damage (I have sensorimotor neuropathy - numbness and motor loss). The impulses just don't get through to some muscles, so I just have to work on keeping the muscles that still have innervation as strong as I can. Walking my dogs everyday (with my walker) helps this a lot, we walk for 30 - 40 minutes each evening. My one knee is starting to collapse under me which is really disappointing, as the only way to fix that would be with an above knee calliper. I am just hoping to put off the evil day as long as possible. That is actually connected with the nerve damage in my hip, as apparently the muscles in the hip help brace the knee (who knew?)

A lot of it is trial and error, working out what works for you, trying different aids if necessary and keeping your muscles as strong as you can.

best of luck with it all
raglet

For me keeping as mobile as I can has helped to a degree. Though like now when I am in a very bad pain flare up my balance is off. For some PT with a person may help but for me it did not so I had to work on ways to progress on my own and keep mobile. I did very small increases of walking etc. I'm really struggling right now so have similar concerns about being unable. I am thinking of doing some other meds or treatments? So I guess I would ask you what meds you are on? Do you have numb feet? This is a side note from PN but how are your bones? I just ask cause with the falls to make sure they are ok. I have osteoporsis as well so why I ask. Feel better.

Yes, I, too am becoming a tottering old guy. I've asked for a referral to PT so I can determine what muscles to work on to counter the loss of balance effects. My previous neuro (who I eventually fired) told me not to worry -- I won't have loss of mobility.

I fell for the second time on Sunday night. It scared the crap out of me. I got up from my office chair after sitting here typing my posts and reading (ha ha), and it was as if my right leg wasn't even there. I hit my hip and head on the way down, and twisted my ankle so bad I thought I had broken it. I was just laying there screaming in pain. Funny, my husband was at my feet trying to take off my shoe (as I screamed "don't you dare!"), and my two girls and two dogs were taking turns kissing my face.

Anyway, I called my doctor, and she was unconcerned Ugh! I can't wait to get to UofM on March 26th! My husband keeps telling me - well, you've had three back surgeries, your right leg will never be the same. But I know it is the neuropathy getting worse. I hate just sitting around on pain meds waiting!

Anyway, I am sorry this happened to all of you, but at least I found a group that understands ME.

Yesterday, at Starbucks, I met the owner of the local Yoga shop. He has offered to give me private lessons (for a fee, of course). Have any of you tried this?

Anytime I try PT, they insist I need to strenghten, and that just makes me worse (pain wise).

Thanks to all for the helpful responses & for validating my belief that much depends on the quality of the PT.

A few years ago I was working on strengthening my feeble leg muscles & balance in a hospital rehab dept. I felt I was making progress after about 10 sessions. Unfortunately the PTs must rotate to bedside PT and I was assigned another with crappy people skills. She spent much of our time together discussing her social life w/the other PT & I was merely an afterthought. So I became a PT dropout. But how did dropping out help me? Not so much.

I'd like to explore the possibility of some kind of brace(s) to shore up my weak legs. I don't have foot drop so I'm not a candidate for AFOS. I wish there were a motorized thingy I could use around my apt that would not be as big & cumbersome as a scooter or a wheelchair. Any engineers reading this?

I think shopping around for an excellent PT is key. Most neuros I've seen have stressed PT and now that winter's fading, I can begin my quest.

Yes, I cannot close my eyes and stay balanced - it is worsening with time. I am having a real tough time in the shower. When I close my eyes, I do not know where I am standing in relation to my space. I hold on to the grab bar, but still loose my orientation. My neurologist thinks it is because my feet are numb.

Mere

I once asked a neuro why numb feet keep you off balance and he said it's because you cannot gauge your position in space. Geez, so if our feet weren't numb, we'd be able to navigate our world. That shouldn't be so hard to achieve. But dang, it is!