Living with PN, do you find yourself retreating from life?

@frankmoore
I feel a little oink, oink today. Bring on those injections. I also have had a love of hiking, my brain says yes you can my body says do you remember how sore you were when you fell on the front porch. I still want to. Glutton for punishment. I push myself anyway. I already had p/n before my back surgeries and then I developed drop foot to boot. I wear an afo brace at work, but not around the house. I mow my lawn, grocery shop pretty much what I want. Thank God my drop foot is in my left leg or I probably wouldn't be driving. I cannot work from a ladder anymore but I still climb for the experience. I guess I'm a little defiant. My bigger concerns is in crowds as people can cause problems as I have a hard time dodging them I cannot move quickly out of the way. Keep up your exercises, that does help me. You take care sir and have a good day !

Good morning, @quietriver. (I like your Connect name!) You write (of John and me), "You have to have the will power to help yourself." I can't speak for John, but as for me: I can only wish I had the needed will power, day-after-day, morning-'til-night. 🙂 Most days, I have to "work" at it. Every day has its good hours, but every day (or at least most) has its "tough" hours, when, if I find my will power lacking, I have to have meeting with myself, a real heart-to-heart talk: "Come on, Ray, pull it together!" 🙂 Here's wishing you a good day, @quietriver! –Ray (@ray666)

Good morning, @lockmith

You are living proof of Twyla Tharp's claim that "Age is not the enemy. Stagnation is the enemy." I'd like to believe it's also true that p/n* is not the enemy. Surrendering to p/n is the enemy.**

Cheers!
Ray (@ray666)

*p/n: I like your use of l.c. for PN. It sort of puts the disease in its place. 🙂

**I realize it's easier for me to use words like "surrender," since my PN is large-fiber: mucho balance difficulties, but no pain. Not surrendering, for PNers with pain, isn't so easy.

@ray666 ole Bashful here You sound like a man with good common sense. I find that lacking in many today. Like you there was a time in the last few years when I knew if I did't do something I was done. Today I'm thankkful I didn't just stop as I now back building thing today is a cabinet. and my strenght is getting better each day and the hurts are goiing away. I figure once I get all my street back they will be gone Keep up te good work I' praying for you.

@ray666 Ole Bashful here. I had a lot of pain and loss of balance. As I don't like either. started with my shoes and bought new with better soles. and insteps in them I had made for my feet. Then went out doors to my back steps six of them an play yoyo up and. down. helped a bit. I started walking on my toes Hurt like walking on nails. But the more I did it the betted I felt. then I found a steep sets about 100 of them. I climed them boy was that slow and breathtaking. but I made it to the top. coming down wasn't bad. but my lloe legs was a aching. I found that helped my legs, breath and balance. I don't recomend that for everyone but start slower. The second time was easier but not much a few days ago I walked up about 45 steps and had no problem and was able to walk a mile. My balance is much better. as I build up my legs feet and ankles. My breathing has become much easier also. so excersize works.

Hi all! My way of dealing with the aging and balance issues is that I have no shame anymore! If invited to an evening event, I happily say, “I don’t drive after dark, would you pick me up?”. When approaching outdoor steps without a rail, I wait until someone comes along and ask,”Could I hold your arm to go up these?”. I’ve planned a neighborhood walking route with the least amount of broken uneven sidewalk squares and walk daily by myself and weekly with an older lady neighbor. I knocked on her door and asked if she’d like to- people are looking for new friends!
I go to small group meetings at my church, but don’t attend services. I’ve found people in large groups close together make me nervous about being jostled and thrown off balance. That happened at a museum when someone pushing a wheelchair behind me pushed right into my ankles and I started going down. I instinctively reached out with both hands to a man in front to my right, he grabbed my arms and saved the day. Another time in a crowd, I was hit from behind by a stroller being pushed, I went all the way down hard.
Both times, the people weren’t very nice, tried to say it was my fault. It was other people who helped me up and made sure I was okay.
In stores that might be crowded, I bring a cane, people tend to give you a wide berth. I try to suggest going places during not busy times- I google the place and check the graph for those times.
It’s a life of being very careful. After my last hard fall by myself outside, my brother insisted I buy a smart watch, it gives me a lot of piece of mind.

@frankmoore
I feel a little oink, oink today. Bring on those injections. I also have had a love of hiking, my brain says yes you can my body says do you remember how sore you were when you fell on the front porch. I still want to. Glutton for punishment. I push myself anyway. I already had p/n before my back surgeries and then I developed drop foot to boot. I wear an afo brace at work, but not around the house. I mow my lawn, grocery shop pretty much what I want. Thank God my drop foot is in my left leg or I probably wouldn't be driving. I cannot work from a ladder anymore but I still climb for the experience. I guess I'm a little defiant. My bigger concerns is in crowds as people can cause problems as I have a hard time dodging them I cannot move quickly out of the way. Keep up your exercises, that does help me. You take care sir and have a good day !

@lockmith Your bigger concern is my biggest concern, although I'm wondering if I'm in denial here. I have fallen twice in the last four months, both times alone in my own kitchen, and they were hard falls. Admittedly, I have avoided crowds this whole time, because as with you, any contact, no matter how light, could be my...well...downfall. I appreciate the nudge to keep up the exercises - I need that accountability. Prayers for your wellbeing and safety -
Barb

@bjk3 Barb - Since my wife passed away, my adult kids suggested (insisted!!) that I have a fall monitor device. Mine looks like a watch and can be worn in several ways. No home monitor, mine works on cell services and has a built in GPS. Cost less than $100 to purchase and monitor service is about $40 per month and works anywhere I go. I've been 400 miles from home, bumped it and within seconds, it sent off a notice to the 24/7 monitoring service. You may have one, but I thought this would mention this to benefit others as well. Ed

@njed and @bjk3, I had one of those days last Tuesday and ended up in the ER for six stitches because I'm no blood thinners and I couldn't stop the bleeding. I had my first really hard fall in a long time and the first one in inside the house, in the kitchen. Not sure how it happened other than I turned around and my feet seemed to be stuck on the floor at the time my body wanted to go the other way. Took about 3 steps trying to regain my balance and then the hard fall followed by my Apple watch screaming Fall Detected, calling 911. I was more concerned about trying to cancel the call than I was seeing my glasses laying next to me with bent frames and a lens that popped out. Spent the morning cleaning the blood off of the floor and trying to stop the bleeding with gauze and bandages. Tried to see my local family clinic but they told me because I was on blood thinners I had to go to the ER and I'm kind of glad they did now.

Back to the balance exercises and maintaining mobility!