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Hello, I'm having some of the same problems. When I'm "off" I have difficulty beginning to walk. I feel I have stepped into a new stage of this cursed disease. Luckily it hasn't floored me yet. Falls are real bad news for elderly persons. A fall that puts one in the hospital may be the beginning of the end. There is a great tendency to use the strong, unconscious habits of walking that we have always used since childhood. And so the automatic walking "program" I learned at a young age and have used consistently ever since is hard to replace, especially because it still works for me when my meds are working. To keep a habit alive and well, it's necessary to reeinforce it (by the simple fact that it gets me what I want) only occasionally (the slot machine effect). And diminished short term memory makes it hard to learn new habits. So it takes persistence and a conscious effort to make a new habit of some of the tricks of "stepping off" with PD. Moves that have worked for me include: * Start by marching in place before stepping forward. * Make a conscious effort to always start forward with the same foot. Focus on that foot when taking the first step forward. * Step off slowly. * Since I find it easier to step sideways than forward, I may take my first step to the side. There are other tricks listed at various PD web sites. See the topic "freezing, tips and suggestions" at http://www.pdindex.org. By the way, loss of the ability to maintain balance is a symptom of PD which, if present, may be a contributing factor in Carline's falls. Your neuro has a simple way to test for loss of sense of balance. You mention problems with the walker. I've been told that the sturdy ones with swivel wheels at all "lower extremities" work better for PWPs. Is that what she uses? Phil Tompkins Amherst Massachusetts age 63/dx 1990 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn