Driving Concerns????

[risnerrose]

Okay . . . I'm still a little confused about what just happened, so I came immediately to the forum.  

As I was pulling into the garage, it was as if the brake did not work.  I became confused . . .not sure which pedal was the brake and which was the gas.  I ended up "gunning it" and managed to stop just before I hit the wall.  I am not sure if the car brake is messed up, or if it was all me.  I feel confused and in need of conversation . . . please advise.

[jensequitur]

>  How did you decide it was safe to drive after your incident?

Actually, I decided it wasn't safe for me to drive, and typically I don't.  If my husband is able, he'll take me to work.  If I'm feeling okay and he isn't able to take me around, then I'll drive myself to work, and other places that aren't all that far away.  If I drive longer than an hour, fatigue starts to set in, and my decisions become unreliable.

[risnerrose]

In a strange way, I feel some sort of loyalty towards this neuro.  My first appointment with him was amazing.  He looked at my old MRI's with me and showed me why I met the criteria for a diagnosis.  I've wondered if I'm expecting too much now.  I'm still trying to find my way in this diagnosis . . . I don't want to be paranoid about every little thing, but I also don't want to ignore something that should have been seen.  Unfortunately, I feel that now I am on a DMD - I am to just "grin and bear" everything.

Oh well,

Sherry

[Lulu54]

Sherry,
It sounds to me like your doctor is struggling like we all do in trying to project that course of your MS.  He seems to just be taking guesses and random shots at what's going on with you.  

He needs to get over being uncomfortable in talking with you about your MS - it seems like he doesn't want to tell you any bad news?  

You may be facing these types of appts for a while until something else major makes itself apparent.  

Do you like this doctor?    

Lulu

[risnerrose]

How did you decide it was safe to drive after your incident?

[jensequitur]

Yeah, unfortunately!  Most doctors, once they've decided you have MS, just want to know when you have new symptoms.

I had a similar thing happen to me - I thought my foot was on the brake, when it was on the gas.  Scared me silly!  This was right in the middle of some major cog fog, so I think it was MS-related.

[risnerrose]

I've returned from the neuro . . . confused.  Here is how it all went down:

He reads the memo from my phone call (last week) and asks if I think the incident concerns knowing where my foot was in space.

I explain how I don't believe my foot received the message to move from the gas to the brake, and that my right side has felt weak before and after this event.

He mentions steroids, but doesn't think they would serve me best at this time.  He thinks my decision to "not drive" was warranted and said "You are an intelligent woman and can be your own judge about your driving."  

He looked through my records and saw that I've had issues similar to this in the past and that I'd often had some "warning" that they were about to start.  

I stated that this one caught me completely unaware????  To which he replied, "You understand the course of this disease".

As I left to schedule a three month follow-up appointment, he said . . . "Your gait is a little off".  He made a notation in my file and walked off.

I'm not sure what to do.  Is this the type of appointment I should expect, since I already have a diagnosis????

[Lulu54]

Sherry,
It may well have been nothing but a brain lapse that happens to all of us...

my dad hit the gas when the car was in drive instead of reverse and rammed a car in a parking lot at a pretty significant speed

my daughter didn't see a friends truck in their drive - she was expecting it there - and she wiped out her front fender

Neither of them have MS - one is in his 80s and she is in her 20's.  Stuff like this just happens sometimes.  You are wise to check it out with your neuro - then maybe you will have to get back up in that saddle and ride, oh I mean drive!  

Keep us posted, ok?
Lulu

[risnerrose]

I see the neuro in the morning.  Of course, I haven't had anything else go on, but I'm still afraid to drive.  I'm anxious to hear what he has to say.

Sherry

[shoshin]

Did you find out anything from your neuro? Have you had any more problems.

I have had a similar problem once, though I'm not sure if it was for the same reasons. I was in a store parking lot on my way out and tried to brake when I came to the end of the aisle. My foot just kept hitting air, which freaked me out. Fortunately, I wasn't going very fast and no one was coming so I turned away from the exit and eventually found the brake. It was a stressful drive home.

I have had trouble with driving for a long time. I had to give up driving a manual transmission last fall as I couldn't reliably find the clutch with my foot and even when I found it sometimes my ankle wimped out and I had trouble pushing hard enough. I also have trouble with lack of sensation in my feet, although I have generally been all right once I'm in motion as I can judge how much to press on the pedals by how the car reacts. However, I recently developed this thing where my knee and lower thigh lock up when I try to brake. I don't feel safe driving like this. Even if I don't hurt someone because I can't brake, someone else is likely to hurt me because I'm driving too slowly in the hopes that I'll be able to brake in time.

I'm in the process of trying to get hand controls for my car to see if that will help.

sho

[HVAC]

The MS Society Magazine this last issue had an article on driving. I have days I do not think well so I don't drive. I find personally I have to be really engaged when driving as every driver should. I do not allow myself distractions. I have a mental check list before leaving the driveway or a parking spot.

Calling the Neuro sounds good to me.

[risnerrose]

Thanks for the calming advice.  My husband has checked the brakes and has found nothing wrong.  He has suggested our teenage son drive me to work until I hear from my neuro . . . whom I will call tomorrow.  

I have had a previous incident where I thought I was moving a finger, but it did not respond . . . and a few incidences where my right foot was nonfunctioning.  I now suspect that this is what happened this afternoon.  My right side (arm and leg) felt oddly weak today, and my leg has been buzzing from the knee down.

I'll call the neuro, but I'm not sure what he will be able to do???

Thanks for listening,

Sherry

[Lulu54]

RR,
Its impossible for us to say what just happened to you, but obviously it was enough to really unsettle you.  I hope your brain can stop replaying the scenario over and over and let youget some rest.  

Call your doctor if anything else weird happens, ok?

my best,
Lulu

[Fluffysmom]

Hi there,

First, take a deep breath.  Then pat yourself on the back for not hitting the wall.

You'll need to check out the brakes.  Hopefully, its something that's easily fixed.

If the brakes are fine, then you need to consider if you felt confused before this happened, if you've been having trouble with sensation in your leg, and all that.

I think many of us have had some brain-fog-while driving moments, that shake us up.  We start thinking about whether or not we can safely drive.  I find myself going through a checklist before I drive:  How dizzy am I, how fatigued, how brain-fogged, and make a choice whether or not I'm able to drive, and plan accordingly.

I was driving on the freeway one day, through the "Curves", when my dizziness hit like a sledgehammer; felt like my brain turned inside out.  Of course, I was in the fast lane.  I bit my tongue, sang out loud, focused with every ounce of me, and made it safely home.

I find that I have to be vigilant when I'm driving.  I've been doing fine since that one incident.  I'm sure you'll be fine, too.  It might have just been the brakes, after all!

Take it easy,

Kathy