legs collapsed

[brenda seal]

Hi everyone , I am after more information again . Laurie finally felt well enough to venture out on his own yesterday ( he said ) and went to the fruit market . He collapsed at the check - out  , his legs just gave way and he fell to the ground . People rushed to his aid and found him a chair , they picked him up and sat him down . After a brief rest he insisted on continuing to his car only to collapse again upon getting there . People once again came to his aid and picked him up , he refused an ambulance and insisted he could drive home . A young couple followed him all the way home as they were so concerned . We got him inside in his wheelchair and I tended all his cuts and treated him for shock and put him to bed . He is very frightened by the whole experience and of course refused to seek any further medical attention . Has anyone else had this weakness in the legs and what could have caused it ? He has complained for a while of feeling weak in the legs and has had to sit down on numerous occasions but this is the first time that he has actually collapsed .

[jbeany]

Oh, what a male.  Oh course he's refusing to see a doc.  It might be something serious, ya know.  'Cause collapsing repeatedly is normal....

My thoughts - High potassium causes muscle problems.  As a kidney patient, that would be my first concern.  Kindly remind him that the heart is a muscle, too.  Leg muscles not working puts you on your ass on the ground.  Heart muscles not working puts you in a box in the ground.

Other possibilities off the top of my head- minor strokes, long term nerve damage causing him to lose control of his muscles, or anemia causing muscle fatigue  (which would be the best possibility in this list, since it's not life threatening and there are options to treat it).

Anyone else with more ideas?  Besides getting his butt to the doc?

Tell him you took a vote on here - we all vote that he go get some lab work done, so he's outnumbered.

[cariad]

Brenda, I am 100% with jbeany on this. It is time to put your foot down and tell him he must see a doctor. I was thinking stroke or anemia - high potassium or low potassium are good thoughts, too, as is neuropathy (nerve damage). I remember reading Zach's post about suddenly finding himself unable to walk properly due to renal neuropathy. By refusing to see a physician, he is setting you up for a huge shock when one day these unaddressed medical problems will inevitably catch up with him. No one likes going to the hospital, but as a spouse and a carepartner, you should have a say in this. He needs to get this checked out, if not for himself then for you.

[MaryD]

Could it be low blood pressure?  I had a period of three days over two weeks where I had to hang on my shopping trolley for dear life and know exactly where the next sitting down spot was.  The last time I must have looked like death warmed up because four separate people asked me if I felt OK, and someone else insisted on accompanying me to my car.  At the time I was having trouble getting my blood pressure up out of the 80's.

I agree - a trip to the doctor's or the hospital is the way to go.

[amanda100wilson]

Yep, could be low BP.  I've had that happen to me in the past a few times.  It's not like a faint, because although my head was a little dizzy, my legs just lost their ability to hold me up and I just collapsed gently to the floor, not wish a crash, bang, wallop that you would tend to do with a faint, and I didn't pass out.

[MaryD]

P.S.

Brenda

And it took me three months to gain back my confidence after the only fall I have had.

  for Laurie (and you)

[MooseMom]

Tell him to put his big boy britches on and skedaddle to the doc.  I'm sorry, but he shouldn't be putting you through this stress.  I don't care if he has a Y chromosome...he needs to do something to ease your mind and get to the bottom of this.

[brenda seal]

Thank you everyone for taking time to help me . Laurie has agreed that I will ring the kidney specialist on Monday and tell him what has happened . My first thought was low blood pressure but I checked when we got him to bed and it was 166/91 . Last bloods he had - potassium was on the low side and Hg coming up at 107 - it has been as low as 78 . Maybe nerve damage as he also has pernicious anaemia which I know can cause nerve damage . It needs sorting though , he has not been game enough to leave the bedroom since yesterday . He is very sore in the knees today - I hope he has done no damage there as both his knees are prosthetic !
He keeps bursting into tears - he heard some young girl say  " Oh I don't want to get old " - he is 66 but has been very ill for a long time . It is not like having the 'flu is it ? and knowing you will feel better tomorrow . I am running out of positive things to say to try and encourage him . I am having a hard time trying not to look into the future - my coping mechanism is usually just get through today as cheerfully as possible ..........

[jeannea]

Bursting into tears actually sounds like a pretty normal reaction to this. There's the shock from falling and the fear of what the doctor will say. I agree he needs labs done. I'm glad you're going to consult the doctor. All you can really do right now is listen to him.

[amanda100wilson]

Glad to hear that he's going to go to the doc.  ESRD certainly ages people.  I'm 49 and I certainly look and feel older than I am.

[Rerun]

High potassium can stop your heart AND LOW potassium can stop your heart.  Have his labs done again and if potassium is low his doc may recommend a banana or two in his diet.

[brenda seal]

Yes Rerun , the Doc did tell him to eat bananas and lots of protein after his last bloods . The heart thing is worrying = it is the  one thing he has never had a problem with in the past .

[MooseMom]

I imagine that Laurie doesn't want to see the doc out of fear that he will be told of yet another problem.  You're right...ESRD is not like the flu.  You don't get "better", you just endure.  It is so hard to keep your spirits up under these circumstances.

But there is every possibility that the problem is something quite minor and easily treated.  I'm really glad he will get it seen to.  He deserves to be in the best possible health.

[billybags]

Brenda, sorry to hear about  Laurie, I  hope he is getting over it some what. Hubby has the same problem, he says his legs do not belong to him. This is only since he has been on PD. We went  to see a neurologist months ago and they did tests, came back that his electrodes were not connecting up, he advised steroids, but hubby said no. They gave him frolic acid tablets. His legs are not good at all, his heart is even worse and he has to eat bananas as well.This is a shitty decease, and I like you feel worn out worrying about it all. You must get him to see the neph and I hope things pick up for you.

[cariad]

Oh Brenda, I feel so sad for you and Laurie going through so much. My own medical issues have shown me that each of us has a limit as to what we are willing to do, and sometimes the best idea is to do nothing at all until you can regain your fighting spirit. I remember after my transplant, with my veins and immune system both destroyed, I could barely walk, I was throwing up, spent the entire day in a little back room of the hospital while techs battled to find a workable vein to give me a blood transfusion, and at some point my wrist started swelling horribly. With no immune system left and what looked so clearly like an infection, the transplant group wanted me to go to the ER that night and I refused. Exhaustion and frustration and pain overwhelmed any fear I could have possibly felt.

More than anything, it sounds like Laurie desperately needs a break from the medical world. Phoning the kidney specialist to try to spare him another trip to hospital sounds like the wisest decision. I fervently hope Laurie finds some respite soon.