difficulty with balance

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Apr 29, 2012
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I lost my left leg below the knee this past summer and am getting my prosthesis today. I'm 72 years and have problems with balance - getting dizzy =for no apparent reason. Please pray I'll soon be able to walk again without a walker or need a wheel chair. Thank you.
David
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#3
Oh, David, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your lower left leg! I hope your prosthesis fits and works well for you.
Have you looked into supplements at all for improving general balance issues? Apparently Vitamin D is supposed to help.
 

notmyown

Senior Member
May 26, 2016
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#5
I lost my left leg below the knee this past summer and am getting my prosthesis today. I'm 72 years and have problems with balance - getting dizzy =for no apparent reason. Please pray I'll soon be able to walk again without a walker or need a wheel chair. Thank you.
David
it's a privilege to pray for you, brother. the Lord bless you and keep you.
 
Apr 29, 2012
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#6
so far so good. I can walk with minimal support - walker or railings. working on getting the proper fit,

Magenta - I'm already on vit d but will ask dr about increasing.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#7
so far so good. I can walk with minimal support - walker or railings. working on getting the proper fit,

Magenta - I'm already on vit d but will ask dr about increasing.
A week later... how's it going? Is your prosthesis comfy? Still getting around okay?

I just started watching a documentary about a guy named Bill Veek (and his son Mike) who
bought the White Sox in the mid seventies. Not that I am a sports' fan, but I enjoy documentaries
and human interest stories, even if they are about sports. Anywho, Bill had a prosthetic left leg also,
and it made me think of you, and want to check in to see how you are doing. :)
 
Apr 29, 2012
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#8
Thanks for showing interest Magenta.

I'm at a fine tuning point now. getting the prosthesis to hold my residual leg without any pain. It is somewhat difficult.
I should be getting the final product later this week.

I haven't fallen for quite a while now - I've learned to be more careful. I have learned to walk with just a cane, I just have to go slow and can take a few steps without the cane.

Serious pain seems to be over - no more narcotics. But phantom pain still comes and goes at random times. I have a script that helps with that. gabapenton. It targets damaged nerves instead of reducing pain.

Thanks again for asking.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#9
Thanks for showing interest Magenta.

I'm at a fine tuning point now. getting the prosthesis to hold my residual leg without
any pain. It is somewhat difficult. I should be getting the final product later this week.

I haven't fallen for quite a while now - I've learned to be more careful. I have learned to
walk with just a cane, I just have to go slow and can take a few steps without the cane.

Serious pain seems to be over - no more narcotics. But phantom pain still comes and goes at random times.
I have a script that helps with that. gabapenton. It targets damaged nerves instead of reducing pain.

Thanks again for asking.
You are welcome, David, and thank you for keeping us apprised of your progress. It must be such a huge adjustment/change and learning process. I don't know why I was on gabapenton years ago, but I stopped taking it because I am a recovered addict/alcoholic and I could feel myself "getting off" on it, and I liked that too much haha. Someone suggested maybe I was taking it because of the fairly extreme neuropathy I experienced in my feet when I was going through chemo, but it was longer ago than that. I'm so forgetful. I am glad your main pains have subsided. There is a man in my building with a prosthetic leg also, and he seems to get around quite well, and always seems so cheerful and ready to smile back when greeted. Of course we often do not know what goes on behind the scenes.

Do please excuse me for wondering how it is you came to that place of needing to relinquish your leg. I don't mean to be nosy, but am curious if it had anything to do with diabetes. That is just such a horrid thing to have to deal with in one's life. I seem to remember an uncle who had diabetes and I was sure he lost some lower limb but none of my other siblings recall that, so maybe I am wrong. One of my closest sister's daughters was one of the youngest people in Canada to be diagnosed with type one. She is in her early 20s now and it really gets to her sometimes that this will dog her her whole life. She has had some serious events and my sister (a retired nurse of over 35 years) knows it could mean an early death for her daughter. Life is fraught with so much pain and suffering it is hard to fathom or rise above at times.

I hope your progress continues smoothly
.:)
 
Apr 29, 2012
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Hello Magenta,

I wanted to answer your question about how I came to lose part of my left leg.
I attended a small home group meeting May 23 this year with the hope of sharing something I had been studying for quite a while.
After the official meeting was over I walked a bit to get my courage up. Ended up walking through something that had 4 large panes like a window. On the other side I felt sticky with something I couldn't wipe off. 2 days later I was in the hospital with covid ,covid pnuemonia. The infection level was so high that I was literally out of my mind - insane. 59 days later I came home minus half a leg.
I missed at least 1 warning that this was not a safe place. Entering the house it was ice cold.

I have no doubt that this was a head on, frontal attack as I have been through similar before. It hinders me still. Paralyzing fear mostly.

I had gotten to walking with the prosthesis and a cane but fell yesterday and bruised the bone and now have a 2 week vacation.
I'll get there though.

........
gabapenton is not a problem for me.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#12
Thank you for sharing all that, David, and oh, my goodness! It sounds like the makings of a horror movie. That is a lot to deal with in such a short time. I really need to measure my steps and speed because my COPD has gotten worse and I simply cannot power along like I was used to doing before, and cannot carry anything heavy, like too many groceries at once, from my car either. Nor can I walk very far without my hips causing me a great deal of pain. Sounds like we both need to be taking baby steps. Last month I was staying at my daughter's place for close to three weeks looking after her three cats while she and her aunt were holidaying with their two dogs. By the time the second garbage day came around, I messaged my daughter and told her it was too much work for me to take the garbage out. I really was not up for it. Their house is probably at least six times larger than my apartment and is on two levels, also, and even though we were mostly on the second floor, just walking up and down the hallways two to three times a day to feed the critters became onerous for me! I am sorry to hear about your fall and bruised bone. Baby steps!
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#13
My apologies, David, for my tardiness in checking back in with you to see how
you are doing, as I had meant to earlier. How is your bruised bone healing? Was
pretty much all movement about curtailed? How have you been passing the time?
I pray you find peace among the changes as you adjust to a new normal...
 
Apr 29, 2012
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#16
My apologies, David, for my tardiness in checking back in with you to see how
you are doing, as I had meant to earlier. How is your bruised bone healing? Was
pretty much all movement about curtailed? How have you been passing the time?
I pray you find peace among the changes as you adjust to a new normal...
The bruised bone healed well. x-ray showed no :"chips." However I was without the prothesis for about 10 days while the final product was being made. It is super tight and takes about 30 minutes to get it on and positioned correctly. Spent about 2 1/2 hours with the maker yesterday getting to an acceptable fit. Just like starting over.
Came close to giving up yesterday but i',m "still standing"

Your concern is rare and appreciated.

david
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#18
The bruised bone healed well. x-ray showed no :"chips." However I was without the prothesis for about 10 days while the final product was being made. It is super tight and takes about 30 minutes to get it on and positioned correctly. Spent about 2 1/2 hours with the maker yesterday getting to an acceptable fit. Just like starting over.
Came close to giving up yesterday but i',m "still standing"

Your concern is rare and appreciated.

david
Good morning, David. Wow, a whole month has gone by since we last spoke. I did not mean to ignore you,
and have been praying for you, as I am sure others have, as well. I have noticed that you are posting a bit
here and there, mostly in the humor thread, so I am glad you are staying in touch with the fellowship here,
such as it is, that way... and where would any of us be without a sense of humor? Taking half an hour to do
something that allows you to move about must be incredibly trying on your patience. I do hope the pain

issues connected with your new prosthesis continue to be satisfactorily dealt with the gabapentin. One
of my daughter's cats has been on that since this past summer due to a broken tail nerve damage...
 
Apr 29, 2012
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#19
My apologies, David, for my tardiness in checking back in with you to see how
you are doing, as I had meant to earlier. How is your bruised bone healing? Was
pretty much all movement about curtailed? How have you been passing the time?
I pray you find peace among the changes as you adjust to a new normal...
Hi Magenta,
Progress is good pretty much all around. A different prosthesis turned out to be non fitting so I went back to the first one. A new one will be made next monday. I can adjust the fit via "socks" of different thickness so when my residual leg shrinks during the day I can retain a tight fit without rubbing on the lower bones. These are super thin socks that are measured in millimeters.

Learning to walk again has been interesting. The ankle portion of the prosthesis is rigid - it does not flex like a normal limb. Learning how to deal with tree roots etc and unlevel surfaces Is a challenge but i'm dealing with it.

I have learned not to fear things. The exercise steps and incline ramp at physical therapy had me almost paralized with fear of falling but with silent prayer we got through it.

A far as movement, I can get just about anywhere I need to now just slower. Sine I lost my left leg I can still drive.

How am I passing my time? I continue my study of praise versus worship and the history of the middle age reformation. To be honest I am fearful of sharing what I'm learning because just starting to share is what prompted the attack the eventually led to losing a leg. What another attack would look like is unclear.

You're correct that I don't post much except in the humor thread. Humor helps make things bearable. Most other threads get to contentious for me however I do read a lot of them. The last thread I got serious about is here https://christianchat.com/suggestions/woodworking-area.200469/page-2#post-5032988 especially post 21 and 57

So overall I'm making progress in the natural but this new normal is causing a lot of anxiety and depression. That said, I'll get through this with GOD.

Thanks again for asking and listening
David
 

Poinsetta

Well-known member
Nov 24, 2018
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#20
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13