I'm an adult with CP - Cerebral Palsy Message Board

Me1976 · 07-28-2009, 12:11 PM

I'm an adult nearing his 33rd birthday. I was diagnosed with a mild case of CP at age 11. It effects my right side where the muscles are tight and ridged and never developed properly.

I received some therapy as a kid and for years the CP never bothered me. There were some things I could not do but for the most part I could do everything that I needed to do be independent. I am still independent today but I have noticed some changes as I am getting older.

The muscles in my right side don't seem to work as fluidly as they did when I was younger. I can still use my right side but I have to pay more attention to it where things used to come automatically. My right knee sometimes pops out of joint and sometimes I find myself walking into walls or losing my balance as if I'm drunk. Needless to say this is embarrassing in public.

On top of that I feel very tired all the time. My back hurts and I seem to be aging more quickly than normal. I have wrinkles, a lot of gray hair, my hands look "old" and in the winter my skin cracks and bleeds. Sometimes the tiredness effects my ability to concentrate on tasks as well. Is all of this normal and if so is there anything that can be done about it in order to continue on living independently?

open_the_door · 07-28-2009, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Me1976

I'm an adult nearing his 33rd birthday. I was diagnosed with a mild case of CP at age 11. It effects my right side where the muscles are tight and ridged and never developed properly.

I received some therapy as a kid and for years the CP never bothered me. There were some things I could not do but for the most part I could do everything that I needed to do be independent. I am still independent today but I have noticed some changes as I am getting older.

The muscles in my right side don't seem to work as fluidly as they did when I was younger. I can still use my right side but I have to pay more attention to it where things used to come automatically. My right knee sometimes pops out of joint and sometimes I find myself walking into walls or losing my balance as if I'm drunk. Needless to say this is embarrassing in public.

On top of that I feel very tired all the time. My back hurts and I seem to be aging more quickly than normal. I have wrinkles, a lot of gray hair, my hands look "old" and in the winter my skin cracks and bleeds. Sometimes the tiredness effects my ability to concentrate on tasks as well. Is all of this normal and if so is there anything that can be done about it in order to continue on living independently?

Welcome! My son is nearing 5 years of age, and he has CP diplegia. He is doing okay for his diagnosis, but still has a long ways to go(when I compare him to his twin). Right now we are having potty-training issues. I hope and pray that he will completely potty-trained by the time he goes to kindergarten otherwise he will be stuck in a special education program. I'm trying so hard to get him out of it. He is so intelligent, but he is still so delayed in his gross and fine motor skills.

nwmom · 07-28-2009, 07:22 PM

Hi Me1976,
Sorry you are having trouble. Maybe you could be subclinicallly anemic or have some other condition that tires you out in addition to the CP issues. Hope not, but a blood test could rule other things out for you. Best of luck!
nwmom

Lost&Found · 07-29-2009, 01:18 PM

Hi Me,

I am 49 and have noticed over the past 13 years, a slow decline of my mobility and an increase in back pain. My left side is or was mildly effected and I had therapy as a kid as well.

I'm still very functional but I have just ordered my first wheelchair because I can't walk 2 blocks or stand for a great length of time. Now I have noticed that I stand on the ball of my left foot at times if I don't have my ortho shoes on. This is new as is an airway problem I now have. I have a thread here *Airway problem??* that explains how I found this out.

We put more demands on our bodies to do what takes less effort for an average person to do and it seems we pay at some point. I looked up CP and aging and it's recognised by the medical community that those with CP age earlier do to the extra physical stress put on our bodies to function day to day.

Dealing with the cold is the worst aspect of the changes that have happened to me. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the airway issue and find myself wondering what will go next??

I have had to adapt to work with the changes that have happened. Getting a wheelchair, having others do the haeavier house work and not being a hero when it comes to dealing with pain are things that have all helped.

Make life easier for yourself in anyway you can. As we change, we change how we do thing.

Take care

WMCR2001 · 07-30-2009, 07:41 AM

You're lucky that you've been able to live independently so far! My hubby has spastic quadriplegia and can't get out of bed without someone to transfer him (usually me). We've noticed this summer that he has some "age spots" on his arms. I'm also worried I'm starting to see some gray hairs on his head even though he's just 29. He tends to require more sleep than I do, but that's understandable given that he has to deal with spasms during the day. Otherwise, he hasn't shown a lot of aging signs. I've heard that the body tends to wear out quicker for people with CP, but if it helps put things into perspective, I'm an elementary school teacher, and that tends to age people very quickly, too. I think it's not so much the CP as it is the stress on your body and/or mind. Many of my students' parents look older than I am, even if they're my age or younger (I'm 30). Maybe it wouldn't hurt to give your body more time to rest during the day just to help it relax?