Have others experienced this?

bigfoot2you

For about a month now my DH has been having difficulty walking and keeping his balance.  Even if he is using his walker he will tip sideways.......he has fallen several times.  I always ask him before I leave the room if he needs anything.  I tell him stay in your chair or call me..........do not get up alone........as soon as I turn my back he is trying to get up.  I was cleaning the other  day  and he got outside and was laying  on the lawn..........I questioned his meds with the nurse to see if they could be causing this.....they say no..........It's like his legs don't connect to his brain anymore.........I have an appt with the dr tomorrow but I don't expect much to come from it.  Sometimes he says he is dizzy, other times he just falls.....is this is just a part of the progression of this disease?

PookieBlue

My DH is also unsteady. He fell trying to get into bed the other night and fell again in the bathroom a couple hours later. His alcohol use is probably a big contributor to this. He has always been a drinker and a few years back had a couple falls. He forgets and opens another bottle of wine. I point that out to him and he gets angry. He often will forget he has a cup of coffee and get himself another. He duplicates his efforts all the time. It drives me crazy. He only consumes alcohol in the evening and is more unsteady then. We have stairs and he does try to be careful going up and down.

jfkoc

Please check his meds and OTC yourself for side effects and interactions. I learned this from my pharmacist when she questioned a new script from the head of the Neurolory dept at our university.

Also check the walker for fit. Height and width do matter.

saltom

My DH had/has balance and falling issues. It turned out he has AFib and congestive heart failure plus orthostatic hypotension which causes his blood pressure to drop significantly when he stands up.  We are working on stabilizing the blood pressure - pill to lower it in the morning, then one to raise it a few hours later. He is slowly getting better, but cannot remember not to get up without someone to help him. We have a walker and transport wheel chair. I push  him in the wheel chair unless there is someone else in the house to follow him with the chair while I hold the gate belt with DH using the walker. We qualify for hospice with 90 days reviews due to this. He gets very annoyed and angry that I won't let him get up alone and forgets the times he falls.

Pat6177

My DH has problems with feeling woozy and wobbly - that’s how he describes it. This became an issue after he started on memantine last year. His dementia specialist thought it might be due to his vascular dementia (DH has mixed dementia - both Alzheimer’s and vascular). I pushed and the memantine was stopped for about 6 weeks but I saw no change in the wooziness and wobbliness. He is back on the memantine, again with no changes to the wooziness and wobbliness. Neither his PCP or his dementia specialist seem to have any suggestions for why this is happening or whether we should do anything about it. He has not yet fallen as a result of this but that’s probably just a matter of time. DH is roughly early stage 5. He’s also had some intermittent gait issues, again no one knows. I’m assuming it’s related to the dementia and will just keep an eye on it. He has an appt with a new dementia specialist in a couple of weeks. I’m curious if she’ll have any input on this.

bigfoot2you

Same exact problem with my DH   Same diagnosis   He is in mid to late stage 5  on the way to dr's to see if I can get any help for him

Ernie123

My DW, Stage 6, has had balance and walking issues for over a year. She also has trouble shifting position in bed, like her brain is disconnected. Her steps are tiny shuffles. She has frequent falls, mostly forward as she leans forward. She can’t use a walker properly. We got her a wheelchair for going for walks outside. I understand this is part of the disease progression as motor parts of the brain are affected. She also cannot translate verbal instructions into motion. Eg. “Hold the white bar in front of the toilet while I pull down your pants”. You have to take her hands and direct them physically to the bar then she will hold on. 

An assessment by an Occupational Therapist might be helpful for you for suggestions about how to accommodate these changes.