For the 2nd time, today I’ve had a minor fall. The first time was a month or so a go when I was doing lunges at the gym and when I put my right foot back it was like there was nothing there and I just fell straight on my bum. Just now, I was walking down the one step from my lounge to kitchen and again there was just nothing there and over I went. I was like I was falling in slow motion as my body thought about whether it was going to kick in properly and give my ankle and leg some strength but it just didn’t. Both times I was able to stand straight back up again and with no pain in my ankle from twisting it or anything.
I don’t have any diagnosis, and the neurologist has now referred me to a rheumatologist to investigate if my symptoms could be being caused by something like Lupus (which I agree does actually seem to fit a lot of my symptoms) but this 2nd fall has now got me worried again. I’m not due to see the neurologist again for 6 months unless I experience more problems so I’m wondering if these falls sound like something I should let him know about?
When people talk about falls with MS, I’ve never sure what the cause is. Is it chronic weakness, or can it be a sudden lack of strength /reflex response that happens and fixes itself so quickly that it’s hard to work out what happened??
Hi Ganton
Yes you should let your neuro know about your falls, also tell your GP.
It sounds like nerves misfiring to me.
When I was first diagnosed I had a lot of falls,
I realised that I was standing up and then moving too fast (force of habit) so I trained myself to stand still for a couple of minutes until my brain realised I was standing. Could be a load of baloney but it did reduce the number of falls.
Carole x
Hi Ganton, I was an expert in falls before I lost all mobility.
In MS, when you make a movement eg walking, your brain tells your foot and leg to lift and what happens is this follow through twixt leg/foot and brain doesnt connect. And a trip, stumble or fall ensue.
I had this type of fall daily and some falls were quite spectacular. eg when going across a canal bridge… I was almost off it and the bridge man had hit the open button. Luckily he saw me fall and hit the stop button and ran to my aid.
My daughter has Lupus and she doesnt suffer this type of fall. She doesnt experience missing brain messages…dunno if that`s how Lupus is for everyone…probably not!
Boudsx
Thank you both. I had blood tests last week after my right hand went all red abs swollen, so am expecting a phone call from the GP this week. I know he’s reluctant to refer me to rheumatology but he will now have received the letter from the neurologist saying just how bad my hand looked when he saw me and with his referral recommendation. I don’t think falls would be caused by something like Lupus, although I also need to be tested for APS (due to clotting history) and I know that can cause neurological symptoms. It’s all a bit confusing, but I believe something is going on, so I will mention the falls to the GP and also push for the rheumatology referral. If I have any more falls, I’ll go directly back to the neurologist.