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Scot and all, My balance problems have always felt more like a failure of my internal gyroscope...exacerbated by bright light, hot weather, large unbroken expanses of shiny floor, and, of course, stress. Though my bp has always been low I don't think it's the prime suspect. I wonder what kinds of aids people employ to keep from falling, like Amanda's knee scooter. One of my favorite mobility devices is the common supermarket cart! I would say to anyone with balance issues: choose a parking spot based on proximity to a cart rather than nearness to the store. I also could not do without my walking stick—so much better, for me, than a conventional cane, which seems designed to make me walk hunched over. I bought a pair of Leki fitness walking poles (Google Leki or search Amazon; there are other brands as well). One disappeared, but I actually never used them as a pair--one pole-occupied hand works well for me.The key component is the rubber walking tip; it is very stable and gives me a bit of support as well as enhancing my body orientation in space. It really helps stepping on and off curbs...like having a portable stair rail to hold onto. There is a demo of an innovative prototype walking aid on the neurotalk Parkinson's forum. Hope it will be produced and marketed. Here is a link: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread175230.html Kathleen On 26 August 2012 01:22, Scott Burnett <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi Nigel and everybody > My balance problems seem pretty severe to me, but how do they > compare to other PWP? When I have fallen, it's almost always right after I > stand up from a sitting position. i have climbed out of the front seat of > our car, walked 50-75 feet towards the store and then had my dizzy spell. > The dizzy spell can hit fast but about half the time I can feel it coming > on and clutch my wife's arm and get to a place I can sit. Much worse are > the ones where my eyes roll back in my head and I go shuffling off/ The > shuffle is a Parkie standard; short choppy steps, torso gradually catching > up and passing the feet, leading to the inevitable crash. It's actually a > great way to get to know people. Although my wife has made the most > catches, total strangers have lent a hand 4 or 5 times. My Nuero, Dr. J > Chan of Stockton, CA thinks it is related somehow to a blood pressure drop > i frequently experience. which may or may not be caused by my mediacations. > Does this sound like your experience? > > Scott Burnett > aka Pdman195 > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto: > [log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn