Forgetting how to Walk

Ledbets

Hello everyone. It’s been a rough day today. My mother fell twice. The first was with me this morning. We were walking back to her bed from the bathroom. I was right behind her and she had her walker. It looked like her legs just gave out. I caught her, but had to put her onto the floor and then help her up. The second fall was with the PT. Again her legs just gave out. It wasn’t she got tired and wobbly. This has happened every now and then for several months. Other times she has been able to catch herself and then keep going. To me it looks just like a baby learning how to walk- taking a couple of steps and then falling on their bottoms. She is late stage six. I was wondering if this is a brain glitch and she is forgetting how to walk. Have any of you seen this in your LS’s?

manuzito

Ledbets, I read in other posts that this is common in the later stages.  My DH had the same problem.  He would start walking towards the bathroom and would stop half way unable to give more steps.  He didn’t want to use a walker and it was hard for me to keep him up and he would slowly collapse on the floor.  Fortunately he never fell hard but I had to call for help to lift him up and carry him to his chair.  The strange thing was that sometimes he would just get up from his recliner to go to the kitchen and even climb the stairs to the second floor.  The last time he collapsed he was on the floor for almost two hours until the hospice help arrived.  He injured his back when he was being carried to his bed and couldn’t walk since.  He stopped eating and drinking because he forgot how to swallow.  He passed away two weeks ago at home  with hospice and family care.

I read somewhere that there are some round walkers like the training walkers for children which would prevent the person from falling.  I’m sending good thoughts for your mom to be safe. 

BassetHoundAnn

What you describe was experienced by several family members in the later stages of Alzheimer's.  Some would suddenly bend over and collapse on the floor, even if they were capable of walking at other times. It is definitely the brain not remembering how to walk. I've also read about walking deteriorating into an "Alzheimer's gait" with slow mincing/shuffling along in contrast to a regular walking stride.

vinm134

My mother is in the wheel chair all day now.  The aids transfer her to the recliner when she is ready for bed.  I am experiencing the same thing with the walking.  She gets up with help from me and the aid and she cannot step forward.  Sometimes she makes two steps then stops and the aid has to put her in the wheel chair.  It is very sad to see my mother like this.  I am told it will progress to not swallowing.  I do not know when but i am hoping not soon.  She eats well though.  The aids are great but they are complaining that my mother weighs too much(130lbs).  I help when i can but i cannot be there always.  I will have a physical therapist come soon and re-evaluate her.  She was walking with the pt a year ago but not perfectly.  I wonder if it would help if we reminded her how to walk.  The help does not try to get my mother to walk except when the next shift comes.  The aids team up and they help her to the commode.  Its the same every time.  Lift her up/she walks 2 feet/ then falls into the wheelchair.  They wheel her back to the recliner.  I want to see how the pt handles her.  She fell with the last p/t.

Cobalt

We are having this with my son too.  There is another part that is actually more worrying in a way.  My son is forgetting that he can't walk at all without a walker or a staff who helps him use the walker along with his gait belt.  Thus he may try to stand up, unexpectedly, and then fall unless someone can break his fall.

What the biggest problem of all is when he unexpectedly becomes dead weight.  We try to move him from the recliner to his wheelchair and he can't bear weight on his legs and his arms are not reaching out to help support himself.  It's about twice a day now, out of about 14-16 transfers in and out of bed to chair or chair to wheelchair.  I'm told it is a neurological problem and we can't do much about this.  But I do know that I cannot lift him alone when he does this.  Yesterday he was on the floor for a half hour until the next caregiver came and helped us.  All I could do was keep him safe on the floor.  This is very discouraging and hard for me to watch.

JJAz

Anytime a dementia patient "falls" when there is no apparent reason, they should be assessed to determine if it is a decline in blood pressure with the result that are unable to continue walking. 

 Blood pressure regulation is part of the autonomic system and failure of the autonomic system is a classic symptom of Lewy Body Dementia.  While it's not commonly known, Lewy is the 2nd most common type of dementia, after Alzheimer's. Many Lewy patients are unable to sustain their blood pressure.  The doc will typically reduce and/or stop any high blood pressure medication that they take and if that's not adequate they are often placed on medication to increase their blood pressure.

Mobile AL

This discussion has raised questions in my mind. My daddy, who turned 90 on Christmas Day, had a bad backache for a few days and developed a limp on his left side.  The doctor thinks he had a small TIA.  About a month ago he fell in his room one night while getting ready for bed. He fell on his right side and had scratches on his arm but otherwise seemed okay. 

For several years he has been taking gabapentin for neuropathy and has had problems with his legs giving out on him. He flat refuses to use a cane or walker at all but it terrifies me now when I see him trying to walk across the room, holding onto whatever he can reach to help him stay balanced. And it's obvious he doesn't feel secure at all. I sometimes think we're both waiting for him to fall because we both know it's going to happen again.

I will discuss with the doctor whether he could be forgetting how to walk and whether I should have a PT come in once or twice a week. 

My cousin was about 50 when she was diagnosed with alzheimers and died 12 years ago when she was 54. She had forgotten how to swallow. I remember at the time that I was shocked to hear that someone could actually forget how to swallow. Sadly, now that I've been taking care of my daddy with his alzheimers for 5-6 years, I understand that it can and does happen.

ran2much

I know I am responding many months after your post, but I want you to know I empathize with you and it must be very difficult for you as his mom. We had been going through this with my mom and unfortunately now she’s broken a hip. They have her in rehab and I wonder how all this will work. One day at a time.

MN Chickadee

Chiming in to add that sometimes minor changes can make a difference and may be worth trying it to prevent falls. My LO is/was falling more. We had her doctor review her medications and determined that two could possibly lead to some unsteadiness. She said to cut those doses in half on a trial basis to see if it helped while still providing the therapeutic benefit they were supposed to. Also sent a physical therapist to assess, and the PT did some leg strengthening exercises and left directions for the memory care staff on how to continue. The PT determined mom could not learn to use a walker. She is somewhat steadier on her feet now. As she declines she will likely move to a wheelchair but we aren't quite there yet. You might find a gait belt useful so you have something sturdy to hold on to when walking with your LO. A poster here had good ideas on wedge pillows to prevent her from being able to get out of a chair without assistance to prevent unsupervised transitions. Also, make sure your LO does not have a UTI. They can wreak havoc on a PWD and many of their skills. However falls are rather inevitable with dementia and to some degree you have to just expect them. You do your best but they happen.