Lost in the World? The Romberg Test Poll

[Valentijn]

Ugh, just tried this. Very nauseating! Lots of swaying with my eyes open and I would have fallen backward when my eyes were close except I threw my arms out to get my balance back. Using the leg and abdominal muscles to compensate for the swaying wore them out quite a bit.

 

[u&iraok]

I started swaying during the first minute with eyes open! With eyes closed I swayed to the right mostly, sometimes to the front, never to the left, I wonder why?

Now I feel a little sick after trying it. I realize that when I stand in one place I either hold onto something, lean onto something or stand with my legs braced, concentrating on standing up!

Editing to add that before I had to stop exercising in February 2011 I always worked on balance as part of my exercise routine so I wonder if I would have done worse on the test if I hadn't worked on balance for so many years, because I sure am uncomfortable standing up (and sitting for that matter is not easy).

 

[Tired of being sick]

I was NOT able to maintain my balance with eyes CLOSED

Felt as if I was stepping off of a playground merry go round at ludicrous speed

Top half of body started swaying in a circular motion....

Had to open eyes almost immediately or I would have went through the wall,LOL.......

 

[xchocoholic]

Bumping because the topic of brain inflammation came up. I didn't realize a positive romberg could be related to more than ataxia.

I still have oi but not ataxia. Negative for romberg. My legs never feel like they weigh 100 lbs each now. Mr right foot never drags. And I don't fall into walls, etc all the time like I was. My vision isn't distorted when walking. Over head arm function was normal again until taking flouroquinolone last year.

My OI makes standing in one place difficult to say the least but I can walk totally normal. Even backwards now. I use a motorized cart for shopping because of all the stopping and standing.

I'm not sure which kind of doctor would have the best info on this since healing from neurological gluten damage is a fairly new field. Maybe not so new nowadays since I found this info in 2006. Certainly Dr Hadjivassiliou and Dr Perlmutter would know tho and possibly any doctor from the gluten summit.

Tc .. x

 

[*GG*]

I just did this test for the 1st time after being ill for 11 years, seeking a 2nd opinion in regards to my disability. I was surprised at how unsteady I was with my eye closed in a few seconds!

I was shocked, I was like can I just do it with my eyes open? NO. I do walk into stuff from time to time, but can exercise some, more than what is probably typical for our population, that is why I was shocked! I still drive, and was thinking, does this mean I should not drive. Dr didn't say anything about that, phew!

GG

 

[xchocoholic]

I just did this test for the 1st time after being ill for 11 years, seeking a 2nd opinion in regards to my disability. I was surprised at how unsteady I was with my eye closed in a few seconds!

I was shocked, I was like can I just do it with my eyes open? NO. I do walk into stuff from time to time, but can exercise some, more than what is probably typical for our population, that is why I was shocked! I still drive, and was thinking, does this mean I should not drive. Dr didn't say anything about that, phew!

GG

Hi. Sorry to hear you failed this.

I used to fall over without realizing I was falling. Did you ? My dr had to catch me.

Um. Warning. Don't do this alone. Lol.

Do your legs get heavy when you walk ? Arms get tired easily if you try doing anything over your head ? Does your vision get funky when you walk ? Dr Hadjivassiliou has info on gluten ataxia.

I could drive, etc. Walking was a nightmare. I've always wondered if this is why I have oi.

Tc .. x

 

[*GG*]

Hi. Sorry to hear you failed this.

I used to fall over without realizing I was falling. Did you ? My dr had to catch me.

Um. Warning. Don't do this alone. Lol.

Do your legs get heavy when you walk ? Arms get tired easily if you try doing anything over your head ? Does your vision get funky when you walk ? Dr Hadjivassiliou has info on gluten ataxia.

I could drive, etc. Walking was a nightmare. I've always wondered if this is why I have oi.

Tc .. x

No, I don't fall over without realizing it. I could tell I was very unsteady, just confounds me how I can be so "normal" in many regards, but with this test I felt like I was very drunk, very unsteady!

No, my legs don't get heavy when I walk. I can bike a good pace, I guess that is what was shocking about not being able to stand steadily on one leg with my eyes closed for seconds! I have good strength, but my arms can fatigue easily when doing anything over my head. Seems like my vision is getting funkier, but not sure if I should chalk that up to aging?!

GG

 

[xchocoholic]

Hi @ggingues

Lol. This isn't a one legged test. Nowadays I'd fall over on one leg too. With my eyes open. Cort has the directions in his article.

I'm thinking it's loss of sensation in my feet and it's age related.

Fwiw. I tried this on someone recently who'd had a drink or two and they were negative. I thought for sure based on their swagger they'd fail. Lol.

Tc .. x

 

[Little Bluestem]

I passed! But then I don't have any orthostatic type problems. I do run into things some. I have (at least) two bruises right now. One of them is fairly dark. I have no idea when/where I got either one of them.

 

[Helen]

I can´t see in earlier posts that B12 deficiency is beeing mentioned as a possible cause to a positive Rhomberg´s test. That would be the less difficult cause to treat.
I learnt from a neurologist that a positive test indicates a disturbance in the posterior part of the spinal cord that also might be caused by a (severe) vitamin B12 deficiency. This usually results in a typical way of walking with the feet apart (to get a better balance) a.o.

 

[xchocoholic]

Congrats on passing and no oi. Sorry to hear you're running into things tho. Fwiw, since I've started walking about 20 minutes every few days day my coordination when walking has improved. I can't say the same for my upper body. Tc .. x

 

[xchocoholic]

I can´t see in earlier posts that B12 deficiency is beeing mentioned as a possible cause to a positive Rhomberg´s test.
I learnt from a neurologist that a positive test indicates a disturbance in the posterior part of the spinal cord that also might be caused by a (severe) vitamin B12 deficiency. This usually results in a typical way of walking with the feet apart (to get a better balance) a.o.

Cort gives 3 reasons for a positive rhomberg.

Mine was in the 200 range AFTER my ataxia resolved. My doctors were morons so I don't know what it was prior. But it rose quickly once I began supplementing. Granted the b12 serum tests only looks for 1 type of b12.

Tc .. x