Anyone else with PN, loss of balance, vertigo?

[draggett]

Dose anyone else have the following symptoms, and how do you cope?

With excess alcohol (now stopped) my peripheral neuropathy has progressed to above the ankles. No pain but marked loss of calf muscle and marked loss of balance owing to loss of sensory nerves in the feet and weakness of leg muscles (the feet feel spongy to walk on). I am going to restart balance training if possible.

Does anyone else experience this and how do you cope? Help, please!

 

[draggett]

Also dizziness.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Dose anyone else have the following symptoms, and how do you cope?

With excess alcohol (now stopped) my peripheral neuropathy has progressed to above the ankles. No pain but marked loss of calf muscle and marked loss of balance owing to loss of sensory nerves in the feet and weakness of leg muscles (the feet feel spongy to walk on). I am going to restart balance training if possible.

Does anyone else experience this and how do you cope? Help, please!

Professor Lustig says you can't have excess alcohol because it is self regulating. He says that after five and you are under the table you can no longer reach your glass. Perhaps he doesn't have the helpful kind of friends that I have.

It's a coincidence but for about a month now I have been following a no alcohol, almost no carbs and lots of walking regime. I walk after every meal. In the beginning I noticed a tendency to walk in zig zags but disregarded it because I have had vertigo since 1980 and have got used to it. I almost never walk in a straight line.

Early in the month I got aching ankles, the kind of ache when you have frozen and circulation is starting up again. Very slowly I felt that my feet were getting flatter to the floor. This suggests they were a bit like bird claws before. I found I wanted to stretch the muscles by slowly forcing to foot up and then down by putting them on the floor and tilting the leg forward and by kneeling and lifting the knees off the floor. There is a marked improvement.

Some time ago I told my DN that I had to keep stopping when I walked and didn't know why. I do now. Since the feet have flattened out and bend my walking speed has increased dramatically and I only stop rarely and that is more due to lungs than feet. I walk in woods so the ground is uneven but now I cope more easily.

 

[draggett]

I guess your vertigo predates your neuropathy?

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I guess your vertigo predates your neuropathy?

At the time I didn't know that vertigo could be symptom of diabetes and thought I just had the giddies. Looking back I think the hospital knew since the nurses kept saying "Don't cross your legs Mr ......."