My affected side is my right, however, I can not do the flip of the hand test so well on my left. Not sure why that is. I too have problems with typing , I think my eyes do not follow my fingers so well.
I too can now only concentrate on one thing at a time. I used to value the days when I could watch tv and talk on the phone at the same time, I can no longer do that
barb1228 said:
I don't know if this has anything to do with ataxia, but my left foot acts crazy and involuntarily pulls my arch out and my big toe separates from all my other toes so there is a gap between my big toes and the rest of the toes, and to get
it back to normal, I have to step down and put weight on it and it goes back to normal. It's painful. It used to happen occasionaly. Now it happens very often and sometimes with my other foot. I used to think it was when I wore shoes all day without proper arch support. Now I suspect it is a spasm caused by ataxia. Its happening more often and my toes are compromised in all directions. As long as it goes away promptly and easily when I stand, putting my full weight on my feet, I didn't check it out.
cross eyes said:This is an interesting discussion. I too have hand problems. From time to time I get a pain - usually in my right hand and my hand involuntarily goes into a peculiar shape where the wrist bends the hand inwards (palm up) or outwards (palm down) at about 45 degrees. My GP has no idea what causes this and has sent me to three specialists who found nothing. One of them was quite rude about it and implied I was wasting his time. Well I suppose I was but it's not really my fault!
I thought it was probably something to do with ataxia so I suggested that to my GP who said that was nonsense. So I'm wasting her time as well.
The discussion also reminds me that I also have difficulty with music. One of your correspondents says that music with a steady beat helps their coordination. Hee hee hee - I've tried that and it doesn't work for me! I cannot keep a steady pace at music no matter how hard I try. It feels as though my brain will only let me do one thing at once. I either listen to the beat (and my playing then goes awry) or I concentrate on playing (and then the pace goes awry)
I've also found a strange habit when I walk. We all have trouble walking so I often have to look exactly where I'm placing my feet or I will tread in some smelly stuff. So I spy some of this 'doggy litter' and tell myself to avoid it. But do I avoid it? I'll leave you to answer that question.
I am not sure how to improve this, but I have the same issue. I work in an office and was always a fast typer, however lately I have many spelling mistakes which never used to happen. It seems like I can't type as fast sometimes either. Some days are worse than others.
barb,
my remedy for cramps is a dose of potassium/banana everyday. used to hv toe cramps where every toe on one feet pointed in its own direction and away from each other. oh, the pain. internal cramps are the worst: the pain starts near the right shoulder and goes down to my left hip. when one of those hits, i think, this is it.
my typing is atrocious and i used to be a computer programmer. my spelling has also taken a turn for the worse.