Still alert but falls frequently

Tony L

My spouse of 69 has moderately advanced Alzheimer’s and although forgetful is still able to function in daily activities. However, he has severe balance problems and falls unpredictably, even with a walker. He is bruised and sore from the falls. Our house is not well set up for a wheelchair. He gets annoyed when I try to restrict him or hold on to him when he gets up. We have a long flight of stairs and I’m worried he’ll fall and sustain serious injury. I’m also afraid to leave him alone when running errands, but taking him and leaving him in the car is not an option. Not sure there’s a solution, but suggestions would be welcome.

Marta

At a minimum you would want to barricade the stairs, but be aware that people fall no matter what you do: my mother fell and broke her hip while standing in front of me while HOLDING ON TO HER WALKER!

As for the other issue, you will need to arrange to have someone stay with him when you are out. To minimize these occasions you could order groceries on line; many other stores/services deliver since Covid. And, there’s always Amazon!

CindyBum

When my DW started stumbling and falling, we adjusted some of her meds and it went away. She’s on Gabapentum, if that helps to know. Reducing her dosage made a significant difference

mommafour

I don't really have a good solution or suggestions because I am facing the same problem with my DH. Could the balance problems be caused by your DH's medication? That's the first thing that was addressed when my DH fell for the first couple of times and ended up in the ER. After some experimenting with lower levels of dosage of his Seroquel and Zoloft, it was determined neither were the cause of his falls and he ended up back on the original amounts. It was also determined that his cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's was causing his balance problems. Another contributing factor is that he sleeps most of the day, resulting in some loss of strength in his legs.

DH refuses to use a walker and, like your DH, is annoyed when I try to assist. I don't think he can logistically maneuver a walker anyway at this point. I do take him with me on errands occasionally and he is able to go into certain smaller stores. I have him help push the grocery cart so he has something to hold onto to avoid falling. Do you have someone who can stay with him a few hours per week so you can get out for errands? I'm hiring home health care in the near future for that purpose but having to wait until DH is beyond the point of resisting having someone here in our home. Also, my mother had suffered frequent falls at home alone and had a bracelet she wore to summon help. Is that an option?

Good luck to you. I'm going to follow this post to see what others may suggest.

gampiano

I had the same issues with my husband. I had to barricade the stairs and move a bed down to the first floor. This worked for awhile, but, with progression of the disease his walking and balance issues became impossible to control. He fell several times, but his final fall occurred with me standing right beside him, and he became bed ridden after that. Preventing these things requires 24/7 eyes on, and even then , it's impossible to avoid an accident. I'm so sorry. Reading your post brought me back to that stressful time. I can so empathize.

Wishing you some respite,

Maureen

ThisLife

Another option for local shopping might be curbside pick-up. Many stores in my area still offer this. Order online, drive to store, notify them you are there, and they bring the items out. You could take your spouse with you but wouldn't have to leave him in the car. I just feel like they are so vulnerable.

BTW I have used curbside pickup just for myself. I can walk all over big box stores and nit find what I need! I let Home Depot do the walking.

Kibbee

Tony L - Sending you thoughts of support! Dealing with a person who is falling is very hard. My DH went through a phase of frequent falls that lasted about 18 months. He often had a bump or bruise going, and I worried about him sustaining a more serious injury. Initially he could get up on his own but as time went on I had to help him more and more. I kept a journal during this time and looking back there were some days he fell more than once. It was pretty awful.

Things that helped. I looked at videos online to learn techniques to help a person who has fallen. I also learned to use tools. I had him wear a gait belt so that if he fell I had something to grab onto to help him up. We got a sturdy 1 foot high stool and he would get on his hands and knees with the stool in front of him, then get his hands up on the stool and push against it to help himself stand back up. Eventually he became too weak / uncoordinated to lift himself even with assistance, and his neurologist wrote an order for a Hoyer lift. (A lifesaver!)

At this point DH no longer walks, and is either in bed, his wheelchair or his recliner. His incidence of falling has dropped to about once every 60 days. This is usually a slump & slide out of his wheelchair or recliner, so I’m once again tool shopping, this time for a good quality pommel to hopefully stop the slump / slide.

Ed1937

Curbside pickup is an excellent suggestion. I would also suggest that if you have area rugs, get rid of them, or at least use carpet tape to tape down the edges to reduce the chances of tripping on them.

I don't think there is a way to completely stop the falling. My wife fell when I was standing right next to her. She hit her head on the table or a chair, and was unconscious for some time. By the time the ambulance got here, she was just starting to come around. Luckily there was no damage other than concussion. One time I was holding her hand when she fell. It caught me off balance, and I fell on top of her. The best you can do is eliminate anything that he could trip over, watch him like a hawk, and hope for the best.