' she looks like she's drunk'

[misdee]

i am so fed up with hearing this. dd2 is not steady on her feet after starting walking 6months ago. i actually took her to the gp as people have started commenting on her balence problems.

gp has referred her back to hospital, so looks like i'm gonna be spending a lot of time in 2004 at the hospital.

My niece was like this - wobbly for ages

she had physio - they reckoned her thigh muscles werent strong wnough - for her it was combined with speech delay - but she is fine now

a little too fine sometimes!

misdee I thought this was a thread dedicated to me

But seriously, you know my dd has got quite a few problems. One of her problems is hypermobility which makes her walk like 'mr soft'. How does your dd walk? Is she hypertonic? - where her muscles are soft? I would ask to be reffered either straight for physio or through a paed or even orthapod.

she kinda bounces side to side when she walks. she is only 16months old but has been walking since she was 10months, so really by now (so people tell me) she should be better at it. i noticed that her ankles give way under her, which mine do at times, and i stumble when i walk, but aside from slight pain and loose ankle joints and having to wear an ankle support (or am meant to) for long walks or when i go raving it doesnt cause me problems.
who is 'mr soft'? have i missed out on an important kids character here? i dont have much understanding of hypermobility, or what hypertonic is, so far in my kids/dh lives we have covered asthma, eczema, heart condition, allergies but nothing like this.

Fio2 - with apologies misdee for hijacking your thread - I'm really worried and maybe you have some words of wisdom. We talked a while back about dd4's hypermobility and not standing at 18 months. Well, I got her referred to a paed, who referred her to an orthopaedic surgeon who xrayed her hips and said structurally they are sound. The paed said she had very slack ligaments and referred her for physio. She is due to start it at the end of Feb. In the meantime I pursuaded the physio to do a one off private assessment just to get her started, and she recommended boots to hold her ankle stable. This does mean she can stand, but she cannot balance, (aged 20 months), won't cruise, and won't bend her knees. When she walks, one leg goes straight ahead and the other turns a corner. She won't roll either, but she CAN now climb stairs, which is big progress of a sort.. Tonight I noticed a swelling on the inside arch of her left foot, and saw that if she stands without boots she is rolling her whole foot over and standing ('ish)on the side of it. Who should I go back to first, and any idea what might be wrong?

Sorry for long post everyone, but I am getting quite worried.

misdee that happens in hypermobility when the joint moves all the way around and all over the place. My dd has to wear heel cups and piedros to keep her feet and ankles in place. Lou33 knows more about it than me.

hypotonia is just low muscle tone. There muscles feel soft to touch, not stiff like they ought to be. A physio would be able to tell you whether this was the case or not.

Mr Soft was on that trebor softmints advert. Where the song used to go mr soft hes a something or other (!) He was like this white blow up type man. Sorry bit off subject

Finally I will say she is only 16 months and I know lots of kids that were quite unsteady to begin with, 6 months is not that long. But if you are worried you can ask for a refferal for physio, they usually just give you some exercises to do at home with her.

Sorry Gilli posts crossed. She sounds like my dd did with her feet. My dds feet just used to bend right inwards and if you looked at her from behind her tailo bone (think thats what its called, its below the ankle before the sole of the foot) used to nearly touch the floor. We were prescribed Piedro boots to begin with, then moved onto boots with insoles. But now she wears piedros and has heel cups - which hold the whole of the foot in place. If your dd's feet are moving that much I would assume she would need an insole of some sort - has she?

Have they given you any idea to why she is having mobility problems? Or is she developing normally apart from this? Sorry to ask so many questions

Also I should add when they first have the boots they do rub ever so alot. I remember all the blisters my dd used to get - not nice

i just dont know whats normal and what isnt anymore. i just wanted to get her ears checked, but gp just referred her straight back to paediatrics, who she is currently under for other reasons.
i used to walk on the outside of my feet (hard to explain), and dd1 is super flexiable. i wouldnt say dd2 is double jointed, but her feet are flat, but hv said that all kids feet are and not to worry, but dd2 just keeps falling over, wobbles, doesnt seem to know when to 'brake' as if she expects solid doors to move out of the way for her. she has got a perfectly straight line down bruise from her eyebrow almost to her jaw where she slammed into the kitchen door the other day.

Awww poor her. Hypermobility does mean you are very flexible/double jointed. It does tend to run in families too, my sister was always sitting watching tv in the lotus position! Hypermobility does tend to get better with age, so maybe it will lessen. But misdee if you really feel she needs physio do ask. As if you havent got enough on your plate without adding having to do physio!-maybe

well, maybe i can add it to my cv. and see what the wonderul (koff) paediatric dept say this time. maybe i should take a nice comfty armchair down there for me.

actaully i am going to have a ramt for once on this board. this is my thread so nerr!!

i wish someone had mentioned to me sooner than dd2 falling over could be a problem, i only noticed it recently, and i asked my um yesterday and she sais she noticed it a while ago, as did mil. so why didnt anyone tell me?? her speech is a bit clower than her cousin who is 4months younger but atm thats the least of my owrries, after all she is walking.

but if i ever hear a complete stranger ever say again 'has u're mummy been putting alcohol in your milk' or anything like this i'm gonna scream. it isnt her fault!! would u say that to an adult who was unsteady on their feet? NO!!! So dont say it to my daughter who will just smile at u sweetly and promptly fall over as soon as she loses concentration.

and my typing is awful!!!!

grrr on your behalf misdee and rant all you like!

Gilli forgot to say if you want someone to look at your dds joints and feet/ankles I would suggest asking to get reffered to an orthopeadic surgeon. Everyone brushed offf that our dd had a physical problem until I saw an orthapod after she broke her leg, he was suprised she could even walk considering the severity of her hypermobility!

sorry I have just read your post again and you said you have seen an othapod, sorry!

Thanks for all the info. What are Piedro boots and who prescribes them?

No-one's told me exactly what's wrong yet: but she is certainly hypermobile in all three leg joints, has hypotonia and is off the charts for height, which can't help. She seems to be developing normally, and has very good understanding, although speech is also a little slower than I would like.

my dd is also off charts for height and weight. one of the questions doc asked was if she has put on weight lately, usual respense was she has always been big.

Gilli piedro boots are orthapeadic boots. But dont worry they dont look like they used to. I think they are quite funky! You are usually prescribed them by your physio or paed, although I think your HV/GP can prescribe them too. We have to go to a drop in clinic at the hospital to see the orthotist to get them. This is a nightmare in itself - but I am sure it is just down to 'our' hosiptal

My dd was tall too. Very long legs, I am sure this makes sitting and mobility more difficult. My ds has short legs and has always had perfect balance, so I am sure it is a factor.

Hope I was help to you Gilli and if you want to ask me anything else feel free. Not that I know that much, just about my dd really!

saw the hv today at the drop-in group. she says dd2 is throwing one leg out so her balence is out. she also said it may improve in the next 6months but its best to get it checked.
i've felt like i've been a paranoid mum lately, got my mum to watch her walking in just her nappy, she also says her leg goes out. so i am not paranoid.

hv suggested possibly special shoes, but will have to wait till we see the paediatric at the hospital.

and she does have flat feet as welll.

Sorry to come into this conversation a bit late with a probably daft question. But my 15 month daughter who has been 'walking' since around 11 months is also always being described as a 'drunkard' and misdee, it really really REALLY pisses me off too. I sort of assumed it was just something that she'd grow out of but I wonder if I should get her legs checked? I've tried to follow what everyone's saying about 'hypermobility' etc. but how do you know if there is some hypermobility? My daughter's very supple, don't know if that's the same thing or not. She falls over ALL the time and when she's not falling looks as though she's about to!

evita, i'd say speak to your hv and get them to watch her walking. since people starting saying mroe and more that my dd2 looks like she been drinking all the time, i have noticed that she does walk funny. my gp is pretty good in that he does referrals pretty quick, altho the appointments will take a while to come thro, at least i know i'm being taken seriously.

Thanks misdee, I'd love to hear how you get on!

I really can't tell if my daughter 'walks funny' or not. I keep trying to look at other kids to tell what the difference is. It seems to have a lot to do with balance and attention. But how do you spot this 'hypermobility' etc. stuff? What does it look like?

i have no idea about hypermobility. all i know is what people have told me, and that by now by dd2 should be better at walking, and not falling over all the time. but then she was an early walker, so part of me thinks i'm being over anxious, but at the same time i know that she doesnt walk 'right'.

Evita - hypermobility is just the modern word for what used to be called being 'double-jointed'. It means that the range of movement in a given joint far exceeds what would be considered 'normal' in the majority of people. For example, my dd4 (20 months) can rotate both hips out sideways, can do the splits while lying her tummy on the floor, and can bend her feet back towards the back of her leg!

Wow, Gilli, sounds kind of impressive. I don't think my dd is anything like that mobile.