FWIW: Although I had a good surgical & radiation outcome with almost no complications to speak of, my balance has never quite returned to where it was before my AN manifested itself. I don't have much trouble navigating in the dark, but I do feel a bit uneasy if there is absolutely no light at all. As long as there is even a tiny bit of light, I'm O.K. I assume this is because I depend on my sight for balance a lot more than I used to. I have no problem rapidly walking up or down a stairway without holding on to the railing, but I do have to look down at the steps most of the time, although not continually. I consider such things small deficits that I've adjusted to and easily learned to live with, as we all do.
Jim
Jim,
My current experience is similar yours (only on my very best days though), but I have some remaining wonky headedness while in motion all the time. It feels like waves going through my brain. Somehow though, I seem to be able to fight through it and don't allow it to stop me. I think the key for me has been my willingness to challenge my balance to whatever the limit was at any point during my recovery. For example, when I started tennis, all I did was hit a ball against a wall back to myself. I never moved much out of position except a little step forward, back or to the side. If that wasn't enough to get the ball, I missed. LOL. After awhile, I pushed my self to go after balls that weren't so close. THen I started playng with an opponent. Then I started purposely hitting to places that would force me run or stretch, then run AND stretch etc... I think that depsite the wonkiness, I now have a level of confidence that allows me to cope better with things like the dark, stairs, etc... I think pushing is critical to improvement.
All that said, it's definitely trickier in the dark for me too.
