Balance and falling a lot

Hey Callalilly:
When you go to your doctors, before you leave their office, sign a release for information and have their office give you a copy of your records. those are your records, that way you have all the information you need for future doctors, and its with you. Don't give them the originals, let them make copies. I have all my records at home in a medical file, and when I go to a new doctor I take them with me. It's so much easier, and you don't need about the doctors, neurosurgeons etc. not having your records.

I have just joined this list and have read the balance issue presented by callalilly74. Did you get a diagnosis and treatment for your problem? I, too fall seemingly with no reason like tripping or stumbling when walking. I just fall from a standing position. I'm going to physical therapy and making slow progress. I walk with a walker. Been to several doctors and been given what I call "non-answers". Hope callalilly74 found help and that someone will share it with me

I know it is very scary. Flying through the air with no control and I always had injuries one of which is in my wrist and never healed. I went to all the round of doctors one can imagine to get answers and physical therapy. One thing that did emerge is I was walking on the heels not using my toes to walk and it did help a great deal when I started walking on my entire foot. Also I began to reflect. It takes as you know a lot of time to connect what happens to make one feel unbalanced. Even knowing at times when I was feeling a bit unbalanced took work and time to learn awareness. For me it takes stopping and doing an assessment even when I feel I can trudge forward. I have fibromylgia, neuropathy and migraines. All of which cause pain. . My son who lives on the opposite coast but chats everyday said I think you fall when you have mentioned to me that you are in significant pain even after taking medication that day. . I wondered if the pain was connected to my falls. So I went to my internist and asked her if she would increase my pain meds on a trial basis to see if it would help. I did find that living without pain as much as possible made a big difference. I also had my eyes checked and changed my prescription. I still get dizzy but now I am much more aware of my body and when I get dizzy I meditate and stop doing things. I just make it a rest day. Sometimes it may be a three day rest day but it beats falling. The dizzy spells seemed to be associated to when I try and get things done such as clean the house. So cleaning the house now is a major project as I have to separate it over many days. Physical labor of any kind is a challenge. I have had to really change my expectations of what I can do. I am very lucky that while I have stumbled I have not fallen in some time. I am able to stretch my arms out straight and realign my body which makes my balance return. Even a new pair of shoes was a trigger. I stumbled on the stairs so those boots are gone. Too bad I really liked them.
Hope this maybe helps a little.
Best wishes.

Welcome @basa. I hope that @callalily74 will return to tell us more about her diagnosis with respect to falling a lot. We haven't heard from her for a while.
In the meantime, we look forward to getting to know you a bit better. What tests have you had done and what specialists have you seen about the issue? Is this a recent problem that started suddenly?

Basa, did you see @oceanfun1's response here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/balance-and-falling-a-lot/?pg=1#post-246555 She posted it a bit further up in the discussion earlier today.

Colleen invited me to this discussion. I don't have leg pain--except now and then in winter, from fibromyalgia--but I do indeed fall a lot. I bang into walls, pieces of furniture, etc. I'm 64, but this has been going on for YEARS. My primary care had sent me to Mayo in Jacksonville, Florida, years back to determine whether I had MS. I don't, but they did suggest I come back again in a few years to get retested. So, I need to talk to my primary care about that.

My big problem is TMJ pain, which started in about September 2016.

Hazel (@hazelblumberg)

Hazel I too was falling a lot and hitting walls. I was tested for a lot of illnesss and then doctor put me into physical therapy. What I found was building my core for me made a huge difference. I feel centered again.
I do isometric exercises.
Something you might want to consider.
Hope you find an answer.
Sue

Sue, thanks so much for your reply! I belong to AARP, and I was reading its latest magazine. There was a section on staying healthy. In it, the author talked about balance. Could you stand on one foot, with your arms crossed over your chest, for 30 seconds? Yes, I could, with ease, and for far longer than 30 seconds. Then the author suggested that you do this, but with your eyes closed. I tipped over almost immediately. What I read was that, if this happened, you should go to your doctor and have your overall health looked at. Hmmmm. Sounds ominous. I'm going to go to Google and look for articles on balance.

Hazel

Not to worry. That is exactly how I was. Without visual cues I fell over too. The therapist prevented me from falling.
Sue

Actually that's good to hear, Sue. When I started reading articles on balance, it seemed that, because I tip over while balancing on one leg with my eyes shut, I have ten years or less to live. That's pretty grim. Makes me wonder how many people of ANY age can do this! And if I've always been klutzy, even in my tender youth, well, what does that say?