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Balance and coordination problems

J

Jenninp89

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
LADA
Hi all, I've found this site and members amazing for support recently and today wanted to ask another question

Since being diagnosed I've been suffering with really bad balance issues. This morning walking around the supermarket I felt like I was going to fall over all the time. I have no ear problems (doctor has checked) no infections etc. It's getting so bad that I can't drive my car. I read it can be linked to peripheral neuropathy... could someone clarify this for me please

Thanks again
 
There are many possible causes of being giddy or unstable. No part of the body is immune from diabetes related damage and that includes the nerves in your ears but you are a long way from it being certain that diabetes is the cause.

Years ago I stood up and without me doing anything the whole world just rotated through 90 degrees and hit me in the ear. I went through scanners in the hospital and was diagnosed with something called BPPV (look it up). I only mention it to show that peripheral neuropathy may not be the only candidate here. Doctor time again I think.
 
I'll take a look at that. Thanks for the info
 
I had a spell of something similar, often when looking up and having to bend my neck backwards, and getting up from sitting or kneeling too quickly. Initially my GP thought it was a sudden drop in blood pressure so I had one of those 24 hour monitors attached, which showed this didn't happen. She then did some moving finger watching exercises with me, looking at my eyes, and said it was most likely postural vertigo. She directed me to YouTube where there are lots of videos on exercises to help with this, which all involved training your eyes to move up and down and sideways.
 
Yeah I think it's definitely worth a GP visit. Thanks
 
That is BPPV precisely. One of the P's stands for "postitional" which means that you get a sort of gimbal lock in a certain head position and looking up is the most common one. I had my neck closely X rayed at the time.

It stands for Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. And before I get letters vertigo does not mean a fear of heights, it means giddy. Oh, and if talking to a doctor you have to pronounce it vert-EYE-go or they pretend they don't know what you are talking about.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/vertigo/basics/definition/con-20028216
 
Thank you @Squire Fulwood

It sounds exactly what I had. I say had because it was a few years ago now, and has diminished to almost nothing. I did the eye exercises, which helped a lot. Perhaps I have just grown out of it. Has yours improved?
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Thank you @Squire Fulwood

It sounds exactly what I had. I say had because it was a few years ago now, and has diminished to almost nothing. I did the eye exercises, which helped a lot. Perhaps I have just grown out of it. Has yours improved?
Click to expand...
The man said that it would improve and I would get used to it. That has proven to be the case.

I would like to say that there might be a bit of confusion. There are cases where a bang on the head dislodges some crystals in the balance part of the ear and this is what is often mentioned by HCP's when they say they can manipulate it better. I believe this is true. If you have a constriction in your neck then it is just best not to bend your neck thus.
 
Hi guys..

Oddly enough on my 40th birthday (9 years back.) I had similar. Get up rotate 90 degrees & fall down.. My hands when out to steady said nothing was moving. My eyes told me different, legs wrongly compensated & I went down like the proverbial.. (Like momentarily being on a rocking ship.)
Sudden head movement did it. I was working in a food retailer at the time went to work (yep, I walked to work dispite looking like I'd been beaten up from numerous falls.) switched on the lights in a fridge & dived into the shelving when I looked up...

I feel for you @Jenninp89 , not funny..

I saw a locum at the time. Described the symptoms. & without even looking in my ear said "ah you're a diabetic.!"
No Said I its not a hypo..

He conceded, then looked in my ears.. For me it was an infection that took two weeks to clear up.

Wishing you all the best with your.!
 
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