Topic: What Exactly Makes you Not Able to Drive a Car?
seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
I'm curious why many of you are unable to drive. I am in this same category. Driving seems downright dangerous most days.
My biggest issue now is my neck feels very, very stiff along with my upper thoracic spine area. Nothing ever shows on x-rays, CT-scans, MRIs, but it's terrible. As soon as I try to sit straight up to drive, the pressure is intensified greatly.
Also, I get very bad pressure in my upper most ribs. They feel swollen, but of course all diagnostic tests are normal.
My other big issue often is ear pressure/fluttering and difficulty with outside stimulii.
I just can't overcome this stuff no matter how damn hard I try. It frustrates me horribly.
I recently had my CD-57 run again. It's 42. Same ole' same ole.
I'm interested to hear why you struggle if in fact you do?
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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MannaMe
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 33330
posted
The main reason my husband doesn't drive is because of the "tipsy" feeling from Babesia.
Posts: 2252 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
Yep, joint stiffness everywhere. Can't turn my neck far enough to see good. Hands and feet sore and weak. I would never try it right now. Way too dangerous.
Posts: 707 | From Colorado | Registered: Jul 2010
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Razzle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 30398
posted
Can't see what I need to in time to safely navigate the roads & traffic.
Caused by difficulty visually tracking moving objects (difficulty processing the moving visual images).
Not safe for me to walk across a road for same reason.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Not about JUST a diagnosis but also how lyme (& co-infections) affect every cell of a body.
. . . Lyme patients can be easily irritated by anyone just walking into the same room even though eye contact is never made or words exchanged. . . . (end excerpt)
---
"easily irritated" is not at all about the personality but because of the stress on the brain, the eyes, ears (outer and inner), smell - all the senses.
Adrenal dysfunction - the whole endocrine system - is also connected, big time to the ability to take in stimuli and manage it, while doing a task at the same time.
For myself, lyme has caused a severe sensory dysfunction from all angles.
==================================
For many with lyme, they face just about every vestibular symptom (since lyme and liver stress really affect the ear system).
Taking a look at the activities on this list that are affected by disruption of the inner ear system can help explain why driving a car -- or even walking down a street -- can be very difficult:
New Car Smell is Toxic -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- The SEAT of the car can be causing trouble, too. The seats are no longer made with best support.
But, if it's just about that, you might do better with a different car. Consult an occupational therapist who may be expert with the different make and model car seats.
Ergonomics really matter. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
My depth perception is way off, everything coming at me feels like I'm in the twilight zone; because the sensory overload is so intense. It all makes me feel dizzy and spacey and out of it, not how you want to feel when you are driving! It's almost like the feeling that you are driving in a video game when it is at it's worst.
I can overcorrect really easily, I'm out of practice, I drive too slow now and that makes me a hazard, I can't judge distance well, my hands are too weak to steer the wheel, same stuff as others said about the stiff neck and turning your head, it's hard to even simply hold my head up long enough to drive anywhere for that matter.
If I take my eyes off the road for a second I'll weave. I can't even look in the rear view mirror without leaving my lane. I cannot hold it steady anymore.
Everything is bizarre. I only drive on rare occasions and on good days, and I haven't done it in the better part of 2 1/2 years. I just started venturing out recently on better days.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
Sometimes the stress of the traffic moving, the noise especially, and the lights really freak me out. I just turn around and come home
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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Lymedin2010
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 34322
posted
Neck and head pressures, which may lead to jaw stiffness (TMJ) and difficulty breathing. �For some reason the driving position exacerbates my symptoms. �
Sitting in a regular chair also does this, but not to the extent that sitting in a car chair does. �Very weird and must have to do with lumbar/chair ergonomics and confined space.
I believe that in the seating position your intercranial pressure is compressed and causes outward pressure on your veins. �This then puts more pressure on your vascular system.
I used to be able to take my eyes off the road and still be able to calculate a smooth course without passing boundaries. �Now if I take my eyes off for less than a second I can steer beyond the solid line.
Heating the car during winters also causes me further shortness of breath and I have to roll down the windows often. �At times I feel my eyes vibrate and feel like I am going to pass out. �If they knew all this they would revoke my license!
There have been interesting studies with Toxoplasmosis, something we are all more susceptible to given our conditions, and driving accidents. �I can't find the original article I read, but here is another done in Turkey. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16332418Posts: 2087 | From NY | Registered: Oct 2011
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
not to mention the lower back pain from the seats. and the twisting and turning to get out of the car.
freaking hurts....
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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