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    #1

    Stairs

    I live in a second story apartment. It was hard going up and down the stairs with MS but I have managed with my cane.

    Then an MRI of my left knee showed a torn meniscus beyond repair and arthritis in all 3 compartments. It's starting to look like knee replacements are on the horizon.

    I like my apartment so much. Being upstairs just feels right. I may have the move anyway. BUT does anyone have any ideas of how I can get up and down the stairs like this? I want a chair but the companies say it's illegal to put a lift on a strait that opens to the outside. I haven't ruled out mountain climbing equipment.

    Any ideas?
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    #2
    Hi palmtree,

    Is the question because of an up coming knee replacement or because the knee hurts? Did your Dr. tell you not to use stairs?

    I am not aware of any easy way to get up stairs...sorry

    My left knee is bone on bone (no cartilage) due to long standing osteoarthritis, the meniscus is frayed so it's like using sandpaper each time I walk (My Orthopedist gave that explanation). The only fix for my knee is a knee replacement but due to my age (54) my Dr. is not wanting to do a knee replacement as a knee replacement is only good for 10 to 15 years before it starts to wear out.

    There are different treatments that can be tried to reduce the pain of arthritis (anti-inflammatories, cortisone injections, and gel injections). I don't know if any of this has been offered to you or if it would help.

    I walk and can do stairs. My Dr. said I won't do more damage even if I keep doing these things.

    Sorry, I know this wasn't very helpful , just know I understand the pain and difficulty that goes along with knee difficulties. Take care
    Diagnosed 1984
    “Lightworkers aren’t here to avoid the darkness…they are here to transform the darkness through the illuminating power of love.” Muses from a mystic

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      #3
      Originally posted by palmtree View Post
      I live in a second story apartment. It was hard going up and down the stairs with MS but I have managed with my cane.

      Then an MRI of my left knee showed a torn meniscus beyond repair and arthritis in all 3 compartments. It's starting to look like knee replacements are on the horizon.

      I like my apartment so much. Being upstairs just feels right. I may have the move anyway. BUT does anyone have any ideas of how I can get up and down the stairs like this? I want a chair but the companies say it's illegal to put a lift on a strait that opens to the outside. I haven't ruled out mountain climbing equipment.

      Any ideas?

      I used forearm crutches when I had to use stairs

      Comment

        #4
        We just moved on June 1 from a 3 staircase home to a 2 staircase home. I bum my way up and down.... last Thursday I didn't and broke my foot falling from the 2nd stair! It's the bone on top of my foot... so sexy!
        Jen
        RRMS 2005, Copaxone since 2007
        "I hope to be the person my dog thinks I am."

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          #5
          When doing stairs I hold on to the rail for dear life and a trekking (or cane) in the other hand for help.
          Diagnosed 1984
          “Lightworkers aren’t here to avoid the darkness…they are here to transform the darkness through the illuminating power of love.” Muses from a mystic

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            #6
            Well, I put this thread in the assistive devices area in hopes of finding an engineering genius or mountain climber who could design something like that.

            I was thinking in the terms of a Mountain climbing gear. If I tied a rope to the porch rafter and somehow used a pulley, hooked myself up to a swing chair and pulled myself up by a rope. I don't know.

            Snoopy, I was in your position at 54. Walking was, and still is like sandpaper rubbing under my kneecap. The doctors didn't consider surgery because I was "too young". It's just that going up and down stairs makes them so much worse. The pain is intolerable. I did a exercises and took a high dose of of Celebrex.

            After my MS dx I slacked off on the exercises, then moved into an apartment with stairs.Now I'm in the position I am in.I have to start my exercises from scratch and go up the stairs backwards until some ingenious lift comes along.

            Comment

              #7
              going up and down stairs

              Originally posted by palmtree View Post
              I live in a second story apartment. It was hard going up and down the stairs with MS but I have managed with my cane.

              Then an MRI of my left knee showed a torn meniscus beyond repair and arthritis in all 3 compartments. It's starting to look like knee replacements are on the horizon.

              I like my apartment so much. Being upstairs just feels right. I may have the move anyway. BUT does anyone have any ideas of how I can get up and down the stairs like this? I want a chair but the companies say it's illegal to put a lift on a strait that opens to the outside. I haven't ruled out mountain climbing equipment.

              Any ideas?
              I hate moving and understand why you want to stay in your apartment.

              Conventional wisdom says don't have knee replacement until you're old enough that you won't need to replace the replacement, but in your situation I'd find the best** knee surgeon in your area and get that knee replaced soon. Depending on your medical insurance and wealth, you might want to look into having it done overseas.

              I don't have as much pain as you do, so this might not work but hope it helps.
              I use forearm canes so I can safely move on landings. I've found that conventional canes are no longer useful for me.

              I use several techniques when going up and down stairs.
              1. I find that facing and holding on to a sturdy rail with my weak leg on the downhill side lets me go up and down securely. My left leg is the weak one so I go up and down stairs with my right side on the uphill side.

              2. Sometimes I go up and down facing the steps while holding on to a railing with my right hand and using my left forearm cane to provide some lift and security.

              When going down, make sure that your foot will be on a safe surface - I came very close to cracking my skull not so long ago when I mistakenly thought I was on level ground, only to find that there was one more step below me. This was at a gathering of amateur musicians and there were numerous doctors, but had I fallen it would have been serious enough that a hospital stay would have been necessary.

              G (I was in the bottom half of my MIT class, but thought to be pretty bright in HS )

              **My ex worked in a nursing home with a surgery rehab unit. She said that the best doctors' patients recovered far faster from hip and knee surgery than those who used average or below average surgeons.

              Comment

                #8
                Stairs

                I live in a home with one bathroom, and it is upstairs. While I have considered a stair chair lift, for now I have decided against it. I figure if I "don't use it, I'll lose it". And since I have to go to the bathroom about every hour, I get a lot of "use it".

                I did put a railing on both sides of the stairs. It has helped tremendously. Not only do I feel safer, but there is less pain and fatigue as I can use my arms to support my weight while going up each step.

                Not sure this will help you, but may help someone else.
                Echo
                DX 2007 Started Ocrevus on 2/14/2018

                "Some where over the rainbow...."

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