For those of you who suffer with loss of balance...to what infection to you most attribute this to? Lyme? Babs or bart? My 6 weeks endeavor with "balance therapy" did little to improve my mobilization...some improvement with stabilization but still wobbly and frustrated! Any new insights? Would love to hear from someone whose balance was restored over time. Thanks so much. Betsy
Posted by Pocono Lyme (Member # 5939) on :
Hi Betsy,
I've had and still have balance issues, but have seen improvement after being treated for bart.. I previously treated with orals for Lyme and also treated Babs with Mepron and Zithromax with no noticeable improvement.
The bart treatment was rough, but gave me hope. I am currently on IV Rocephin and seeing more improvement with balance.
So, for me, it appears to be more bart and lyme related.
Posted by Biting Back (Member # 6018) on :
Hi there betsy,
Gosh, I sure remember the loss of balance problem and hope you recover soon.
Doctors told me I had benign vestibular neuropathy and prescribed some type of therapy to retrain my balance. I thought it laughable so I never did follow-up with the therapy. And I have to wonder why they call it benign. Anything that makes you lose your balance is not benign in my book.
Whenever I was in a room at night with the light on and someone unexpectedly turned it off, I'd topple over like a fallen tree. I always veered to the right whenever I walked, and I looked like a drunken sailor.
I can't say for certain what infection to attribute it to, but I think it was lyme. I say that because my LLMD prescribed a lyme antibiotic first (didn't go after coinfections immediately) and it wasn't long before the VN disappeared.
Sure hope you regain your balance soon! I know how aggravating, frightening and embarrassing it can be.
Posted by betsy (Member # 7105) on :
Thanks so much for the replies...I really appreciate them. Betsy
Posted by I Have Lyme Etc (Member # 7439) on :
I've been dizzy since 1998 and up to this point I haven't found anything that has helped. I haven't been able to drive in about 6 yrs due to this and walking any kind of distance is also out of the question.
quote:Originally posted by betsy: Thanks so much for the replies...I really appreciate them. Betsy
Posted by CaliforniaLyme (Member # 7136) on :
Only thing that helped me was 9 months of IV Rocephin- my balance started out as a problem (interesting- I have been clumsy all my life!)- got worse- leaned on walls- and then it disappeared. I had never realized balance was something that could GO AWAY until it did. And at those times I could not stand up straight or walk. But months 7-9 of IV gave it back. SCARY thing is- if I go down on antibiotics or try to go off- that is the FIRST thing that begins to happen- I begin to lose my balance within a FEW days of adjusting the dose. Meanwhile, I am at 99.9%!!! But it is indeed a BALANCE- scary how delicate it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by betsy (Member # 7105) on :
That is amazing John...also encouraging. In my case, I had some balance issues from the start but just slightly and not apparent to anyone but me.Then after a month on IV Rocephin and a real bad fall, my entire balance went over night! It was so weird. I am in my 9th month of IV, so maybe, hopefully I will turn a corner. Do you babs and/or bart?
Posted by smiles132002 (Member # 7949) on :
hi Um my balence issues started in the spring of 2004. I started getting viritgo and since starting my lyme treatment the virtigo has lessened significantly. However, I do experience unstable balence. I use to be able to do yoga and pilates etc but in the last few monthes my balence has declined. Basic yoga positions I can barely do and I've been doing yoga for 4 years. I think that it does help to continue even though it's hard. If you stop it will make it that much harder for u to go back. I know my meds can also make me dizzy which can obviously throw off my balence but u just have to do what u can do and be happy with that bc it's the best u can do right now. I do feel ur frustration with the balence thing-i often run into things because i can't stand for long period of time and i have lots of bumps and buises-haha u just gotta laugh it off and say opps another wall ran into me-
best wishes, Lindsay [email protected] Posted by hiker53 (Member # 6046) on :
I have never been diagnosed with babs or bart, so I attributed my balance problems to lyme. Physical therapy really helped me a lot. I did three months of exercises faithfully twice a day.
I did that before I was ever on antibiotics and improved 90%. I still have occasional trouble with balance, but it is much better.
I was so bad that I couldn't walk in the dark. When the electricity went out at work one day (I am a teacher) I was a wreck. Now I can manueuver much better in the dark, too. Hiker
Posted by ConnieMc (Member # 191) on :
Balance problems can also be caused by neuropathy in the lower extremities. If you lose your balance when you close your eyes (you lose visual cues), then it could be neuropathy is causing it. I am hardly even aware of my neuropathy, but can tell the neuro receptors in my feet do not send signals to my brain so my brain has trouble knowing where my body is in space.
I am very dependent on visual cues to maintain my balance. I have to put a hand on the side of the shower when washing my hair as I lose my visual cuse when I close my eyes. I even stumble if I zero in on reading a label in the grocery store. I cannot walk and read at the same time. My brain loses track of my surroundings and I lose my balance.
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