Suddenly stopped walking

[banger696]

Mum has been in bed all today and I have to help her to the bathroom. It seems as if she cant control her legs. Its not a stroke as doc has checked for symptoms over the phone. Has anyone experienced anything like this before. When assisted she shuffles along using a zimmer frame to the bathroom. I tried the Alzheimers Helpline but all the advisors are busy. she had this the other morning but it cleared up.

Any ideas

Tim

 

[Beate]

I have no idea but if it was my OH I would insist on a house visit by an out of hours GP.

 

[banger696]

I have no idea but if it was my OH I would insist on a house visit by an out of hours GP.

She did have a full checkup by the out of hours urgent care team on Saturday morning but then it cleared up. The Doc wouldnt come I suppose I could call 111, he did say he was going to have a meeting with Social Services and District nurse to see if more help was available. Shes drinking and eating normally.

 

[marionq]

Yes. This happened to my husband in December and the paramedics took him to hospital. The consultant told me they called it "off legs" which I understood was a non medical term for anything which made your legs give way and was worthy of investigation.

They did lots of tests and kept him in for eight days.

 

[banger696]

Yes. This happened to my husband in December and the paramedics took him to hospital. The consultant told me they called it "off legs" which I understood was a non medical term for anything which made your legs give way and was worthy of investigation.

They did lots of tests and kept him in for eight days.

Is it worth a call to 111. She has arthritis of the spine, wonder if that is connected.

 

[Gwendy1]

Hi Tim, I would absolutely phone and request a physical exam of your mum. You know her best, follow your instincts. If she's not herself, something is causing it. If all is well, you will at least have peace of mind. X


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[banger696]

Hi Tim, I would absolutely phone and request a physical exam of your mum. You know her best, follow your instincts. If she's not herself, something is causing it. If all is well, you will at least have peace of mind. X


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JUst spent half an hour on the phone to 111, the assessment nurse is going to send a GP to see her and she may need to go to hospital, now the long wait for GP to turn up.

 

[Gwendy1]

Hope your mum is ok, Tim. Nothing is ever easy dealing with uncertainty though. Sometimes it's hard to know when symptoms are due to mental health, or a physical illness. I've learned to trust my instincts with dad. Better safe than sorry. Please let us know how you both are. X


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[banger696]

GP just called and said he will be a few hours yet, looks like a late night then.

 

[banger696]

Hope your mum is ok, Tim. Nothing is ever easy dealing with uncertainty though. Sometimes it's hard to know when symptoms are due to mental health, or a physical illness. I've learned to trust my instincts with dad. Better safe than sorry. Please let us know how you both are. X


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Thanks Wendy will update this thread as things progress.

 

[Tragicuglyducky]

Hi Tim I hope the doctor doesn't keep you waiting too long. My dad is normally physically strong, good posture, still did his shopping regularly and cooked and cleaned the house. He hurt his back about 6 weeks ago and coincidentally 2 days later had a bad dementia blip where he was unrecognisable as my dad. He was completely hunched over when he had his blip and slowly he was straightening up again over the last few weeks. However he not been able to confidently leave the house by himself. He has this last week had another blip and is completely hunched over again, he takes the smallest shuffling steps when he walks and seems to need to support himself everywhere and cannot remain standing for more than a few moments. When he sits he droops so far forward he's just staring at the floor directly next to him. He also seems to fall asleep sat down all the time. This only the second time this has happened but I wonder if his dementia contributes to things like this. You know when you stand up you are engaging your core muscles without realising it and relaxing your tummy muscles gives you a weird posture? Is it possible that when a person isn't doing so well on the dementia front that they dont have the brain power/energy to do the physical stuff like sitting properly or walking? I don't know if the 2 are linked but it might be worth reviewing how your mum is mentally at the moment as it might be a contributing factor albeit one you can't do anything about. I hope she's ok!

 

[banger696]

Hi Tim I hope the doctor doesn't keep you waiting too long. My dad is normally physically strong, good posture, still did his shopping regularly and cooked and cleaned the house. He hurt his back about 6 weeks ago and coincidentally 2 days later had a bad dementia blip where he was unrecognisable as my dad. He was completely hunched over when he had his blip and slowly he was straightening up again over the last few weeks. However he not been able to confidently leave the house by himself. He has this last week had another blip and is completely hunched over again, he takes the smallest shuffling steps when he walks and seems to need to support himself everywhere and cannot remain standing for more than a few moments. When he sits he droops so far forward he's just staring at the floor directly next to him. He also seems to fall asleep sat down all the time. This only the second time this has happened but I wonder if his dementia contributes to things like this. You know when you stand up you are engaging your core muscles without realising it and relaxing your tummy muscles gives you a weird posture? Is it possible that when a person isn't doing so well on the dementia front that they dont have the brain power/energy to do the physical stuff like sitting properly or walking? I don't know if the 2 are linked but it might be worth reviewing how your mum is mentally at the moment as it might be a contributing factor albeit one you can't do anything about. I hope she's ok!

Thats what I was thinking, progression of alzheimers and her brain isnt providing coordination to her legs/feet. She has had bouts of this before but never a full day, certainly needs investigating, as I say shes been in bed all day but has difficulty making it to the bathroom.

 

[banger696]

Mums off to hospital, now to wait for ambulance, doc said 2 hours.

 

[banger696]

Mums off to hospital, now to wait for ambulance, doc said 2 hours.

Still waiting.

 

[nicoise]

Oh no... I read your last post, and thought to myself that ferrying around a vulnerable older person in the middle of the night to A&E wasn't a good thing to start with...

And you must be exhausted too.

It is worth investigating, if only for peace of mind that something more serious isn't being missed, or a more specialised treatment available.

I do hope you don't have to wait too much longer.

 

[jorgieporgie]

Hope everything is ok you must be exhausted and your Mum. Keep us up-to-date. Big Hugs x

 

[banger696]

Hope everything is ok you must be exhausted and your Mum. Keep us up-to-date. Big Hugs x

Mum is on the ambulance and Im off to get some kip.

 

[Mannie]

Mum has been in bed all today and I have to help her to the bathroom. It seems as if she cant control her legs. Its not a stroke as doc has checked for symptoms over the phone. Has anyone experienced anything like this before. When assisted she shuffles along using a zimmer frame to the bathroom. I tried the Alzheimers Helpline but all the advisors are busy. she had this the other morning but it cleared up.

Any ideas

Tim

My parent has suffered this temporarily several times, when he had the flu/cold. It also can happen with A UTI. It tended to last 2-3 days.

It is strange I know.

One thing to bear in mind that I have found , is, try to minimise the amount of time she is not walking.... rehabilitate her as soon as you can. This is because she will lose muscle strength very quickly if she does not use her legs and also, she might "forget" how to walk.

Remember how after a hip op , patients are "forced" to get up and walk the next day, for the same reason.

You can request social services help , via your GP, for getting her to the bathroom etc. Call the GP again.

 

[banger696]

A&E have just been on the phone and they cant find anything wrong with her, physio is going to have a look.

Tim

 

[CeliaThePoet]

If it is a matter of the dementia (so clearly brain damage in situations like these) interfering with her ability to walk, I wonder how they would assess this. I hope she is not finding it too stressful. Is she properly hydrated? I think if it were my mother, I'd give her a drink with electrolytes in it (Gatorade, Emergen-C powder) to make sure she had the minerals so needed for nerve and muscle function, and keep trying to get her on her feet.