Tag Archives: Gastric Bypass Surgery

Just Learned about WalkAide for Foot Drop!!

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by  

I don’t have Peripheral Neuropathy any more, and our daughter who was hospitalized with horrible Neuropathy problems a couple of years ago, including foot drop, is doing much better now. You can read all about her problems resulting from Gastric Bypass Surgery, if this is of interest to you.

But when I read a new post on PLM today about this device called a WalkAide, I was excited by the possibilities!

One member on PLM is currently using it and has only good things to say about how it has improved her gait to a more natural one, and thus made her less likely to fall. She has written about it before and it didn’t register just how revolutionary this small device is, but today I decided to research it.

Someone else on PLM was advised to get this device, but their insurance would not cover it. Since it costs in the $5,000 range it’s understandable that she didn’t rush out and buy it on her own.

So what does the WalkAide do? It’s a small device that is strapped on just below the kneecap that senses the wearer’s foot movement and delivers the correct electrical signal (which the brain may or may not be sending correctly, but is not being received correctly) to the correct muscles to allow the foot to pick up the toes correctly as the foot lifts during walking.

Who can this WalkAide help? ANYONE with a Movement Disorder that causes the foot to drop down when it is lifted would be a possible candidate for this system!

Daughter’s Gastric Bypass Horror Story Continues

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 4

Our older DD had Gastric Bypass surgery over 2 years ago now, and her health problems from it continue to show up. All last year she battled with Peripheral Neuropathy so bad that she was almost not able to walk at all. She was in and out of the hospital something like 50 or 60 days last year, while they tried to bring her nutrition level up to a point that her body could recover. She thought she was over all that, even though it meant she had to gain back a lot of the weight she had lost.

During that same time period, she was having constant problems with crumbling teeth and abscesses. Now, the dentist tells her that the real problem is that the jaw bone is deteriorating, so the roots of the teeth are not stable. He is planning on pulling them all and putting her in dentures.

And, now, on top of that news she received this week, her eye exam showed serious problems, which they thought at the time was weak muscles from the Neuropathy. So, she went to an ophthalmologist, who says she has holes in her retina. She now has an appointment with a retina specialist.

To say the least, she is overwhelmed. We spent a long time on the phone last night with her sobbing away, and understandably so. When she decided to have the bypass surgery, we did all kinds of research, and at the time it seemed like the best way to improve her quality of life. Obviously, that was not the case.

I realize there are people out there who are so morbidly obese that they are existing, not living, in their present condition. DD’s health was such that she was in serious danger. But now, it’s hard to think that she (we) made the right decision.
If you know anyone who is considering this surgery, please let them know that there are people who have major regrets about it.