I have a different problem. I find that I dont pick my feet up. Some days I have to consciously make myself pick them up. I know there are days my feet really drag and then there are days where I don't realize they are dragging until I trip. This summer I fell up my apartment steps, which are cement (remind me, what was I thinking when I found a basement apartment?)--I tripped on the 3rd step from the top and fell up the other 2. There is tile in my kitchen and indoor/outdoor carpet in my living room. I have managed to trip over the tiny height difference in the tile from the carpet and it's a tiny difference. Some days, it seems like my feet are very heavy. I wear sneakers for work and some days, I trip simply from the tread on the bottom of the shoe and not raising my feet. Yet, no treads are bad too. Constant battle, isn't it? I think the worst are the days that my feet are in such pain I can hardly stand on them and mysteriously, the pain just goes away, like it was never there. Neuropathy is such a weird condition.

Deb

I've had serious balance problems and what is called 'prioperception' [essentially, how your nerves aren't sending the correct signals as to where you are and are going].

Ask your doc, also ask for recommendations of physical therapists [they get feedback and usually list accordingly]. My neuro and other docs have NEVER said I can't have it. My insurance covers a lot of it but it's limited to a number of sessions per year.

Web up ankle sprains, one good site is www.thestretchinghandbook.com but there are others with better graphics. The key is to learn how to do these exercises SAFELY at first. After that you'll find that there are ever so many steps you can take/do that will help you keep yourself upright the way you want to. You re-build strength and re-learn safe walking at the same time.

My last round of PT was for one sprained ankle & a broken foot [both feet] and I'd been off them for 6 weeks. After that round of therapy I was better overall than I'd been since before PN onset! Before I'd started the therapy, I felt I could have used two canes to get around in one piece....I now have 4 pieces of equipment [under $100.,] for home use: theraband {$10}, stretching bands{$15}, balance discs{$30} and an exercise ball{$30} . Most of the workout [not hard really] is resistance and lo-impact, and much safer overall than other options. Just start slow!

Hope this helps - j

I also have bad balance caused by numbness in my feet. If I close my eyes I start swaying or if I walk in the dark my balance is bad, add in stairs and Im likely to fall. My feet are so numb that I was walking the dog last week and noticed that my left shoe was off, I had to walk back three blocks to find the shoe, I never felt that it was off. I dont get that foot slipping thing though. I have sprained both ankles a number of times.

Good thing it was in the house! The OH, MY! Now what do I do? stuff hits you in the head, face AND feet hard! YES when any of the many docs I see ask me to stand w/eyes closed...well I just warn them...to BE THERE! Like you I can REALLY wobble good! Foot slipping I liken to the stair/step thing, only my issue is aggravated by cataract surgery scar tissue...one part of one lower eye is like a fun-house mirror...in that where I think I am putting foot/feetis NOT where it goes. Every time I stand up, especially in places not familiar...I kind of do a 'foot stomp'...I call it my getting 'feet reaquainted' to earth contact. Your feet don't tell your brain where they ARE.

From all I've read, it's all part of how the nerves relay info to the brain, damaged nerves, damaged info. Add to the mix, that when we HURT, we tend to move less...thus lose tone, reflexes and balance in the end. Some nerve balance stuff can be 'reprogrammed' thru the safe learing of exercises and thus strength thru the PT. Nerves can reprogram, regenerate and compensate...but it is a teaching process.. Doing/learning is a slow process as you have to condition/recondition: muscles, nerves and vascular systems. That is a lot to do in a body w/lots of issues already...

Learn Slow, SAFE exercises, using equipment and procedures to be done safely at HOME and well, the NEXT issue is MOTIVATION and discipline...Anyone got ideas here? Besides a buggy whip, I mean?

Look up 'ankle sprain' sites, then look at 'wrist sprain' sites, and then look at pilates stuff ...gotta be able to 'hold' yourself up for the next phases...

Good thoughts! - j

balance discs are a workout! Even after using them for a bit... Talk about a workout for folks who didn't used to be wimps!...First Time, I was soo glad a holiday weekend occurred between therapy session! - j

I agree with Nide44 on this. I went from having a mountain goat's balance before getting PN, even with a 50 pound backpack on, to what a neurologist called "unsteady on his feet". I tripped several times a day, and lost all confidence while walking.

Ayengar type yoga helped my balance tremendously. I'm no longer the mountain goat I was before getting PN, but have good balance and confidence now.

The basic principle is to work on your balance every day, and it will improve as your brain and muscles learn to make sense out of the changed sensations from your legs and feet. You can make up your own exercise program with a 10 or 12 foot long 2 x 4 beam on the floor. Start out walking both directions near a wall for support and confidence, looking at your feet and the beam as needed. Progress to walking away from the wall, progressing to looking at a spot on the far wall. Walk slowly. Walk quickly. Walk heal to toe. Walk backwards on the beam. Walk on curbs as you gain confidence. Your balance will improve, even if your PN gets worse.

Daily exercise helps. It sounds like you garden. While excellent exercise, gardening doesn't work on your equilibrium per se, or your "cross patterning" (see http://www.google.com/search?q=%22cr...en-US:official ). I found that walking daily, as much as one can without injury or increasing soreness, pretty much ignoring the PN pain, was and continues to be extremely theraputic. We have an aging large older dog that needs the exercise for physical and mental health, so she is our motivation for a 45 minute brisk walk every day. I still have PN pain and numbness, but it is tolerable and hasn't gotten worse in years. You and everybody else on this board should be so lucky (that's a prayer for people with progressive, crippling PN).

You might find some good ideas for coping and therapy in the "Sticky" section at the top of the main PN forum thread listing page. I've got a three part posting there starting with #18 at http://forums.braintalk2.org/showthr...p?t=177&page=2 . Good luck.

Weird--all I need do is look up and I get dizzy, usually only if someone is standing close to me. Kev knows that when we are standing close, he has to keep an arm around me because when I look up to him, I tip over backwards--thank God he is always prepared to catch me--funny thing is, he is only a couple of inches taller than me. If I close my eyes, I sway too, but I can still do that "stand on one leg" thing for a very short time, as long as I really concentrate.

Weird how we all have similiar symptoms and yet so varied. One thing we all know is that we never doubt another when they tell what they are feeling, we all know neuropathy treats us all a little differently, yet the same.

Deb

For my first few weeks of therapy [about 3-4...] I COULD NOT DO IT!...practice, and other supportive, strenghtening exercises.... well, by week 5 Heck! I could/was doing it! It was a sort of creep up on you CAN-DO!!! It was kind of a smack on the head big YESSS!
While your current nerves are mis-directing, good therapy aspects Can and DO retrain other nerves to do the job. It can be a slow and must be a gradual and progressive process. IF you over achieve, doing too much too soon you can do MORE damage, a thing none of us wants, ever.
Get smart, go smart, go slow, go progressively slow & smart and Get there!
I was told over a year ago by a 'second opinion' guru that IF I HAD X diagnosis, I HAD to be in a wheelchair.. my response was, I got the treatment I need, and I am too durn stubborn to give up in that way... I can drive, walk [not far tho]and can tryto be my own independent person...I DO NOT see any fat ladies [no offense here to those who've gained weight inadvertently...] singing my demise of late...
Oh, BTW I absolutely FAIL any 'eyes' closed test w/certainty! DUH! How FAR can one 'list'? LOTS

Good thoughts, heart and strength to go on -we all get there-whereever 'there' is! - j

Thanks, all, for sharing some of your symptoms. I have a lot of them and find my balance getting worse. Had my first fall last week but luckily only skinned my knee.

Often, and usually in the evening, my bare feet feel like they are stepping in something wet. Of course the carpet or tile is completely dry. That is a very odd feeling.

Deb - I also have to concentrate on picking up my feet when I walk and since my right foot is more painful that the left, I have a slight limp to protect it.

Well, have a good week-end all!
nancy-h

Nancy,

There is no need to have balance problems with PN, but you need therapy and practice. I fell and stumbled too about 11 years ago. Work on your balance and it will get better. I did it with Iyengar yoga and constantly practicing which I still do, but any balancing practice will retrain your brain and muscles to move appropriately with your new PN nerve impulses.

See the balance beam suggestion above in the thread and/or try yoga with a good instructor who knows your health challenges. Or get thee to a physical therapist or occupational therapist. Talk with your primary care physician or neurologist to get a referral, and be insistant if you must. Your medical insurance should pay for physical or occupational therapy.

Tripping and stumbling can stop you from getting the healing exercise you need, can cause serious injury, and doesn't help your emotions or self confidence. Please don't just accept that your balance will never be OK. You can turn this around.