Wow, when it happened to me there was no warning at all. It just buckled and thankfully I was near the bed so the fall was broken. I was just waking from a nap on that one. The pain and weakness associated with the other leg happens while I'm awake and actively exercising, so that one doesn't seem to be connected to sleep. I think my GP and one other orthopedic doctor I see are both well versed in this stuff since they both attribute these events to PN. This used to happen to my Dad all the time and it makes me wonder if he had PN and mine is hereditary. This has been an enlightening thread.

Hhhm, interesting. I too have had buckling legs - haven't fallen yet but came pretty close a couple of times. It seems to happen at the same time that I have a feeling of weightlessness in my arms - and have a tendency to hit things with my arms or hands as I have no sense of how much they weigh or where they are. This comes and goes - not much fun. Sorry, this is not much help. Good luck.

My left leg is starting to buckle under me, but it is a permanent thing not an occaisional thing. I think it is related to my damage to the nerve in my back that goes to my iliopsoas muscle in my back/hip. I can't pick that leg up off the floor, and I know that the next step in this is going to be my knee buckling as it is semi happening already. So I guess I will have to get a longer brace for that leg when that happens - one that comes above my knee (my current one finishes below my knee).

But, as I mentioned, with me this is a permant thing as I have sensorimotor axonal neuropathy, not an occaisional thing.

cheers
raglet

I have never had a leg go out on me this way.

I have had pain up the wazoo, and numbness, and tripping over things, but never a motor failure. (and this is 30 yrs worth of PN)

Whenever people experience MOTOR failure, I think this is serious and should be evaluated by a doctor. When neuropathies move from sensory to motor, you need to find a way to block that or you lose functions. A rapidly progressing neuropathy like GBS is treated with IVIG...and I suspect many ones with motor components are autoimmune like GBS.

Also looking at hereditary causes is important.

Falls can wreck you, and you need to be prepared for them if you have something going wrong with muscles.

they sure can. i have fallen several times now i try to be very careful and sit when i think it could happen.

i have PN in my arms and hands too. drop things all the time and was having a lot of radiating nerve pain at night but now i take amatriptyline for that and it has helped me so much.