ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Balance Issues => Topic started by: MDemisay on August 22, 2012, 02:28:30 pm
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To my AN friends,
I fell a couple of nights ago at 2:00 in the morning. I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and upon returning as I'm rounding the corner of my bed I fell.....The only thing a bit bruised is my ego as I fell on my softest part my tush! I already use a night light but whenever I wake up I have promised myself and my wife to turn on the light.
She was startled and couldn't go back to sleep for an hour! I was wondering do any of you have similar issues with disorientation at night?
The answer to the above question is no.
With proper lighting comes increased awareness of one's surroundings.
Mike
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I am wonky 24/7, 29 months post-op. It never stops. I keep flash lights all over the house. If I cannot see light, I get totally lost in space. It is funny that I am okay on my boat. I am scared to death to dive into the water because I am afraid I will get lost underwater. It is a terrible feeling. I have a hall way that leads to my garage, and if I do not turn on the light at night, it is pretty frightening to walk down that hall. It is actually my benchmark about how I measure my wonkyness. I fell down last week cutting the grass...turned my head fast and lost my balance. Not complaining. This is just part of my life, and I accept it.
James
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If we go someplace at night, I have to hang onto whoever I am with while walking to and from the car.
I always bump into things when I go to the bathroom at night, ever though we have night lights. My legs always seem to be bruised.
Darkness seems to have a lot of challenges. I am also wonky during the day. Sigh. :-\
Karen
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Nine years post FSR and balance and falling are the norm. Darkness is very dangerous, I, too have to hold on to someone when walking at night. Driving to my office, 15 minutes away, and when I arrive must lay down for awhile before starting my day. I guess I am going to have to stop attending church worship services, went last Sunday and had to keep staring at the floor or the dizziness overwhelmed me, just left half way through the service. I never know when the dizziness will appear, can go a few days and then bam here comes my little buddy.
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I was hoping these symptoms would get better with time but obviously this doesn't always happen. I'm sorry to hear that balance continues to be a problem for all of you, especially at night.
Karen
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Karen,
As a fellow AN traveler I can appreciate your sympathy! But we can help ourselves here! ;D ;D ;D
Where low light situations occur, the answer that we all are seeking is that we have to constantly be aware of our lighting levels to help ourselves from falling off balance. It forces us to walk more slowly.Where there is darkness, specifically sudden darkness, there always has to be a fully charged flashlight close at hand or other source of light.
Apart from having bruised shins and egos,we must not let this become a handicap, if at all possible..... Our balance systems have been compromised ---fine, but there is something that we can do about it. ADAPT!
I don't want to hold myself out as an example here but it is something that I have been doing for a long time (since I was 17) I have learned that instead of feeling sorry for myself (as a victim of multiple strokes at ages 10, 13, and 17) I feel proud of myself for having adapted so well. Having an additional handicap, as an AN is, is certainly challenging, but not insurmountable.
Sometimes you have to pick yourself up analyze the situation or the reason you fell (low light)and adapt (get a flashlight or put on a lamp) or else you will fall again.
Certainly, there are others here with other handicaps than an AN.
In all cases, we mustn't be lulled into feeling sorry for ourselves, we MUST adapt.
I will reiterate my statement, it helps us to illuminate dark places, for the eyes are much more than merely "windows on the soul" they are our brains feelers or mapping devices they are constantly working (except when we are sleeping). Our bodies have learned to adapt, our eyes have replaced our disconnected vestibular nerve in functionality. That is why we seem "lost" in darkness.
My AN friends, I am 55 now, I intend to live a great deal longer, I won't let my lack of balance at night slow me down, not when I am getting up from bed, I will merely turn on one more light! I remain determined throughout this!
Mike
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I respect what you are saying Mike. The empathy I was offering was as a fellow ANer dealing with balance issues and sharing compassion for our individual paths as we learn how to cope and adapt to what is. You are a great role model in offering your story as to how you have learned to cope. Thanks. :)
Karen
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Karen,
Perhaps you just uncovered a cognitive deficit of mine. I took you literally! I apologize! I read sympathy for empathy.
I certainly didn't mean to come down on you! I'm just trying to encourage everyone to adapt. AN's are one of life's speedbumps, there are many others!
We all must slow down when we go over them.
By the way, I'm honored that you hold me in such esteem, I just am a humble man trying to make his own way in life.
I truly feel fortunate that now, through this medium, that we all can share our stories and hopefully inspire each other to action!
Thank you for being empathetic!
Mike
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Thank you Mike. Have a delicious day. :)
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I woke up in the middle of the night once and when i went to get up just kept going and smashed my forehead against the closet door...luckily I hit the hardest part of my anatomy... ;D. I did think about rigging a motion sensor light to automatically come on when i swung my legs out of bed but instead just made sure I took it slowly and if feeling dizzy turned on a light.
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An hilarious thing just happened to me!
In talking to a person seriously, I leaned a little too far on a couch while sitting on the arm...... I fell over heels over head on to the couch and laughed and laughed.....a bit embarrassing to say the least (mostly for me) but it got us to laugh at ourselves.....a d*** Van Dyke prat fall! Priceless!
Just wanted to share that! and make you laugh!
Mike
If you take everything seriously, there is definitely something wrong! ;D ;D ;D
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Buy night lights and plug them in at various locations in your house.
Mine's about half way down my hallway. Doesn't disturb my sleep but there's just enough light so I can see where I'm going when I get up in the middle of the night.
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I'm sure I had worse balance in the dark when this first happened to me however I do not find this the case anylonger, I work 99% at night making rounds of the unit with low lighting and a flashlight......maybe it gets better with time/practice?
Kathleen
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In March I climbed the Acropolis in Greece on a windy day. A struggle, but I made it without incident. In May I fell at 3:30 a.m. in my living room after going for an ice cream sandwich. ;D
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In March I climbed the Acropolis in Greece on a windy day. A struggle, but I made it without incident. In May I fell at 3:30 a.m. in my living room after going for an ice cream sandwich. ;D
Susan ~
That is either the definition of 'irony' or an ominous message about eating ice cream in the wee hours of the morning. ;)
Jim
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Susan,
Were the lighting conditions the same in both instances?
There is a greater probability of a fall when there is low light, to test this try standing with your eyes closed......begin to sway yet? This is because with most people (who have had surgery) when only one vestibular nerve remains undamaged , the compensation is visual.
Therefore, the less light you have the more unsteady you will be !
Ergo, our enemy is darkness!
Personally, I find myself less likely to drive at night than during the day.
I also wear sneakers all the time now because sneakers make me "feel" the ground more easily than do dress shoes (which are leather) and I am more unable to feel subtle changes in terrain.
Mike
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Mike,
Actually, we think my fall was caused by failure to eat dinner and taking a sinus pill at midnight. I passed out and broke my collar bone. MRI showed no problem. Just a freak thing. In my case, I don't think it was related to lighting. I certainly agree that it is better to have night lights in strategic places. Susan
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Susan,
Ouch! I'm sorry for you! Was it broken a long time? You passed out?
Mike
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My husband and dog were there in seconds. It was a complete break. Nice ride in the ambulance.
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Brewers7,
How are you now? Better I hope.....My wife just noticed the dent in the wall last night!!!!!That I made in the summer.......!!!
Mike
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I second the ouch and hope you are healing.
Karen
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Re: the falling in the dark,, have any of you tried the Lightspecs by Foster Grant eyeglasses?? I posted about them under the eye issues section,, they are regular glasses that have small LED lights at each temple that would light up whereever you walked.. I don't use them but just wondered if they might be useful to those who did have issues walking in the dark.. Just a thought,, Jane
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Thanks Jane,
I will give them a look see. Must get ready for the Annual Breast Cancer Walk though , it starts tomorrow at Clove Lakes park in Staten Island. My wife is a 20 year survivor!
As far as walking goes she understands that I get around slowly with a cane for balance on uneven ground.
Mike
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Mike,
Congrats to your wife! It is such a dreadful disease,, my Mother died of metastatic breast cancer in 2005,, miss her terribly ,,
Good luck with your walk and take it slowly,, at least it will be daylight,,, Jane
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After Christmas,
I had another fall, I guess it was my fault I was tired and I jammed my ankle disposing of recycles when I came down hard and missed a step. Had it x rayed, negative for fracture.......thank God! It is still sore and will be for some time......only when I think about it does it hurt!
Darn those recycles, why did I have to do them when I was so tired?
oh well!
Mike
PS Happy New Year!
PPS I wasn't drunk as I can't drink!
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Compact Florescent light bulbs are really made for AN survivors. a 9 watt bulb burns 108 watt-hours of energy over a 12 hour night. That costs me 108 watt-hours/day X 1 killowatt/1000 watts X $.15/ killowatt-Hour = $.0162/day for one light. This is about 50 cents a month.
How much would it cost if you fell and broke a hip ? Cheap insurance I'm thinking. I actually have four lights on all night. They provide a lit path to exit my house in the event of fire, or other disaster.
I also have four battery emergency lights that come on upon power failure that provide lighting to the same exit.
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To all of my dear ANA friends,
As much as I hate to admit it.......I am I am not Superman! When I was very young I used to pretend I was ie jumping from chair to chair even jumping off the garage roof!
Even though I know the effects of gravity
When I am careless, I fall!
This past December 26th, when I was clearing the table and disposing of the plastic bottles in my garage I took a step down without holding on to the railing (I had my left hand full of plastic bottles) as a result I missed a step and came down hard on my right foot. I want you all to know I will never do that again! I almost fractured my ankle! I got it xrayed just after and all these weeks later I got another xray which again shows no fracture. Thank God!
I want to caution all of us holding on when we are climbing or descending stairs is important not only to our health and to our sense of self worth. All this getting injured from not paying attention is tiresome.
Mike