I’ve been thinking about getting a wheelchair although still in two minds about it. I can manage short trips to local shops but for days out etc. forget it!! I just can’t manage days out anymore. I just get too tired and then I’m wiped out for a couple of days afterwards. Because of this, we just hardly go out anymore as it’s all just too much.
Part of me feels like I’m giving in and should just try harder. But at the same time, part of me feels like I’m getting so isolated by not being able to get out more. I’ve got an appointment with my consultant on Friday and will try to discuss it with him then, if I can. You know what consultants can be like!!
lindy,it aint giving in its a help,if short sighted u get glasses,u are doing exactl what i did and thought,u aint giving in,elps u get out,without the struggle,u /we go through,just to avoid wheelchair,iv use it for going out,it elps a lot,i come back not as tired and the enjoyment of getting out,if u feel u want one,go for it
I can understand your feelings about wanting to battle on but I truly don’t share them! I went for a consultant appointment and watched a variety of people struggle (and I mean struggle) in with crutches/walking sticks and leaning on companions. I wondered what benefit was derived from being exhausted and unsafe. I on the other hand glided into my appointment in my power chair. Simplistic I know but I feel like my chair is a security blanket, without it I have a very limited range and am constantly afraid of falling. With my chair I can go just about anywhere and do just about anything. I go most places by myself and the feeling of independence is beyond rubies. I go on the bus, go to the pub, go shopping, get involved in a variety of organisations. Without my chair I would be stuck at home, with my chair I live a very full life.
The first time I went in a chair for a day out I was blown away by how wonderful it was. I Must admit that I was a very unwilling pushee but my daughter was adamant no-chair-no-go. I know that some people feel sorry for me because I’m in a chair but NOT ME. How fantastic to go round Sainsbury’s in your arm chair!!
The previous poster is right on the money, if you were short sighted you wouldn’t screw up your eyes and squint because it might build character - you’d just get glasses.
It can be a very difficult time, when you find yourself at the crossroads of, shall I/shan’t I go for my first set of wheels, I know!
I was shocked at the speed at which m y decision had to be made. Within a year of mobility problems I was using a manual chair part time.
But that was a long time and several types of chairs ago!
With a progressive type of illness like .MS, some folk may need wheels soon in their journey. There are others who never need a chair. Then there are those who fight, fall and have little choice but to admit their needs.
Now this is NOT giving in! It is simply realising your limitations and accepting your needs have changed. It doesn’t mean the end of the world has come. You’ll be looking at it from a lower level tho!!
Its amazing how many things I notice from my wheelie, good and not so good - like dust and cobwebs - that others don’t see!
So go for a chair, but take a tip…try to keep your muscles moving or they will go weak.
I’m ok for shorter trips out. But anything longer than an hour or so is just impossible. I think the turning point was an overnight trip to London with my daughter last month. Even with resting frequently while we were there I ended up exhausted. I spent the next two days not being able to leave the house due to tiredness. But I don’t want to be unable to do things or miss out because of MS. We have Dorset Wheelchair Service here. So I’ll discuss it with my neurologist on Friday and take it from there.
MS takes enough away as it is let alone my social life!! At the moment my life is all just going to work and home to rest.
London is hard, isn’t it? I bought a wheelchair in a hurry, four days before an appointment with my neuro in London. It made a huge difference - my husband could push me from Euston to the hospital instead of me struggling and struggling to get to the taxi rank. Now I use the chair if we go out somewhere together but I get around with sticks in the house. My wheelchair is very light, foldable and the wheels come off so it is easy to get in the car.
I don’t think it is the same as glasses, just because only a small number of people will need a wheelchair in their lives. But I would say, could you borrow one for a few weeks and see how you feel about it? You may find that it changes your life in a good way and if so you could get your own.
You might be able to get money from your local MS Society to help you buy the kind of wheelchair that works best for you, if you do decide having one would help you.
Well, I asked my gp for a referral to Dorset Wheelchair service on Monday. He did the form there and then. I got a phone call today and the wheelchair is being delivered tomorrow. How’s that for service? It’ll be nice to have it for days out over the summer
you can now presumably take things at your own pace and do what you need to do on each day, as presumably they are all different from how you’ve described them?
my mum has a chair (for arthritis) and it has given her so much freedom. i am really pleased that the option is there for you :0)
I have an electric wheelchair and a mobile one. The problem with me is my husband has COPD and cant lift the lightweight electric chair into the van, so i cant go out with him, he struggles with the foldable wheelchair…but my PA from direct payments takes me out in my wheelchair. I cant do supermarkets no way to walk. I think if you need one, have one. I still walk around the house its just out i struggle.
You all know what it is like. If you try to walk around its like walking through concrete and by the time you have done a short circuit your own energy fuse has had it lol…
I bought my wheelchair off Ebay from Angel Mobility for £54.96 DELIVERED. Its fab, light weight and self propelled. So easy to fold and open too.
We used to use the supermarket and shop wheelchairs, but found that a lot of the times they were already out and being used so this stopped us going out.
Enjoy your wheelchair and the freedom it will give you hun. xx
This thread has struck a cord with me. I am one of those who struggle with a crutch, getting exhausted and avoiding having to walk very far. Trouble is I don’t think I have the confidence to use one. I can’t even use one of those supermarket mobility things as I’m terrified I crash into something or knock into someone. I know. I know I’m sad a lost cause but I’m just so clumsy. So what do I do? I carry on doing the supermarket shop hanging on to the trolley like my life depended on it. Leaving me feeling sick with exhaustion at the end of the shop.
Thing is my daughters partner has arranged to rent a holiday home for us all to celebrate her birthday and I have been worrying because of my lack of courage I am going to spoil it for everyone.
If I do manage to pluck up the courage what sort of one do you think I should go for? A push one or a self propelled bearing in mind one of my arms is starting to get weak.
I know I sound pathetic and I beat myself up about it all the time. I so admire you lovely people who zip about and don’t think anything of it.
I have a self propelling chair but it is very hard work to use on my own. Friends take me out shopping occasionally and I find it useful to manoeuvre myself in shops, I can go look at things when they are looking at other stuff. I know if I want to maintain independence I am going to have to use some kind of motorised chair or scooter but for some reason I am loathe to get one!!!
I would say get a self propelled one then you have a choice. Don’t do what I did the other week and go to your local town centre on your own, it was a disaster and I felt like crying it was very hard on uneven pavements.