Injuries due to MS.

[Thinkimjob]

There's nothing funny about having an incurable, degenerative disease either, but you can't be serious all the time.
I think people with ms try not to think about how hard our disease can be on our families.

[SNOOPY]

Has anyone here considered the use of DME to help with walking or ambulation? Braces - crutches - walkers - wheel chairs? Heck - my husband would be a total wreck (broken nose - no front teeth - broken bones) unless he used stuff to keep him from falling down.

Or putting in handicap stuff in your house (or making a house "handicap safe"). Stuff like putting in grab bars and seats in showers.

For most people - MS is a disease that eventually puts you in a wheel chair (if you don't die of something else before then). And you just have to accept where you are in that process. And deal with it accordingly. My husband accepts it. I accept it in him (like he accepts my medical problems). Robyn

Hi Robyn,

I will disagree with your statement "most people end up in wheelchairs" but do agree with using mobility aids, they can help prevent falls.

I can only speak for myself about falling.

I have been falling since I was a kid...never outgrew it as I never outgrew poor balance. I learned to compensate long before I even knew I had MS. By the time I was in my mid-twenties I had arthritis in both knees due to falls.

I use trekking poles as a mobility aid when I am out...but not always.

In my case, I don't always know what happens. Last night I was doing laundry and had a sweater in my hand, heading out of the laundry room. I tripped, I don't know on what, lost my balance and went down.

I am usually very careful. I have always (since I was a kid) had a problem with picking my feet up to clear objects and the reason for many of my falls. Sometimes the source of the problem are my bare feet or the shoes I am wearing.

[katvar]

Add my name to the list of "accident prone". I currently have a cut and bruise on my elbow because I misjudged the location of a cupboard door. I also have a large burn on the back of my hand because I misjudged when pulling a pan from the oven.

I had stitches in my foot last year because I fell into a shelving unit and knocked the dandelion digger down. You would thing the handle was the heavy end but the point went straight into my foot.

My arms seem to take the worst of it since I am forever running into things or catching myself. I have fallen in the kitchen a few times and hit my knees or turned my ankle. Oddly, I still feel safer in the house than our in public.

[robyn55]

Hi Robyn,

I will disagree with your statement "most people end up in wheelchairs" but do agree with using mobility aids, they can help prevent falls.

I can only speak for myself about falling.

I have been falling since I was a kid...never outgrew it as I never outgrew poor balance. I learned to compensate long before I even knew I had MS. By the time I was in my mid-twenties I had arthritis in both knees due to falls.

I use trekking poles as a mobility aid when I am out...but not always.

In my case, I don't always know what happens. Last night I was doing laundry and had a sweater in my hand, heading out of the laundry room. I tripped, I don't know on what, lost my balance and went down.

I am usually very careful. I have always (since I was a kid) had a problem with picking my feet up to clear objects and the reason for many of my falls. Sometimes the source of the problem are my bare feet or the shoes I am wearing.

It probably would have been more accurate to say many people (not most) wind up in wheelchairs.

In addition to using assistive devices - it might be useful for many people to look at all the guides out there about "safety-proofing" houses. Stuff like not having throw rugs. Or floors that can "stick" when you're wearing certain kinds of shoes. Or putting bumpers on sharp objects. A lot of these guides are written for seniors or for houses with small kids - but I think that many suggestions in these guides make a lot of sense for everyone.

And if you know you have a certain kind of problem - like you can't walk in a straight line - consider a specific solution - like putting hand rails at strategic points in the house (they're normal in many assisted living and skilled nursing facilities - where many people can't walk in a straight line). If you have problems on the toilet - or in the shower - consider the grab bars for both - or a good shower seat and hand held shower. Etc. Etc. Robyn