Forgetting to Walk

[BeardyD]

My wife (now 65) was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 3 years ago and has now progressed to the stage where I have to do just about everything for her. If I help her stand she can then walk several yards with a 4 wheel rollator. However this week she has had 2 falls and several near falls as she seems to forget to walk She is going along normally but then her feet stay on the floor while her body carries on. This happens sometimes if I'm holding her hands to balance her to walk a few steps.

She says her feet stick to the ground although I feel that this is just her way of rationalising the fact that her feet didn't move rather than what she felt at the time. "Sticky feet" could indicate NPH but this was ruled out in the initial diagnosis.

On Monday we have our regular visit to the dementia nurse who will tell us nothing has changed as my wife's score on the MMSE test is the same as it was 4 years ago when she was driving and organising her own active life. This time I will be pushing to see the consultant to get an MRI scan and get the diagnosis reviewed. To help me build my case can I ask if anyone has any experience of "forgetting to walk"

 

[Kevinl]

My wife's only 64 now and she can hardly walk anymore sometimes, at best she just shuffles along putting her right foot forward then moving her left foot up level to her right foot, so each step is only a half step. She also has a habit of sitting down when there isn't a chair there, so her legs stop, body leans forward and she starts to try and sit down so the action is a bit like you describe but she starts to stick her bum out to sit on the invisible chair.
It's surprising how fast some people do lose mobility, I've seen people go from being steady, stable walkers to chair bound in little more than a few weeks sometimes.
It could also be due to any new medication or a long term effect of the medications she's been taking for a while.
As I understand it (and this is just my understanding) is that NPH does show the symptoms of unsteady gait and mild dementia along with possible incontinence but if it's been looked at and "ruled out" that sounds like they're pretty certain that's not the issue, but a second opinion never hurts although CAT scans can be difficult for someone with AZ it can I believe be done with an ultrasound or MRI scan which is much less a stressful process than a CAT scan .
K

 

[Grannie G]

As I understand it (and this is just my understanding) is that NPH does show the symptoms of unsteady gait and mild dementia
K

NPH is a new one for me Kevin?


My husband also forgot how to walk. When a zimmer was introduced he would push the frame but his feet would stay in the same place.

When we got Grab rails installed his hands would move along the rails and at the same time his feet would move on the spot.

It got to the state when I would hold both his hands and walk backwards while encouraging him with a very gentle tug to move forwards.

Saying this, it once took me 15 minutes to `walk` him along the hall to the bedroom in our bungalow. I got him into bed and returned to the living room. Five minutes later I looked up and there he was in the door of the living room grinning with achievement.

 

[Batsue]

My uncle had what you describe as sticky feet and although he did not have dementia he was diagnosed with small vessel disease which can cause vascular dementia eventually. The problem was that the message from his brain to move his feet did not get through and gave the impression that they had stuck to the floor. I would definitely push to get a scan done.

 

[Del24]

My wife's mobility has gone downhill over the past 7 years and now the OT is getting us a hoist.
Has anyone got any advice on using a hoist.
We have 1 carer come in the morning to wash and dress but with a hoist we will need 2 carers.

 

[oilovlam]

NPH is (I believe) 'Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus'.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus

 

[oilovlam]

My wife's mobility has gone downhill over the past 7 years and now the OT is getting us a hoist.
Has anyone got any advice on using a hoist.
We have 1 carer come in the morning to wash and dress but with a hoist we will need 2 carers.

Would the care agency allow you to be the second carer? If you are self-funded then it would certainly save you a lot of money if they did.....although it may not be allowed because of insurance reasons.

 

[LadyA]

Would see no reason why Del24 couldn't be the "second operator". Modern hoists can be operated by one person, but should have two. The second person is there to stay with the person being hoisted, to reassure them, etc. mostly. particularly for someone with dementia, it would be a very disorienting experience, to be lifted into the air, and moved about! The training school I do my manual handling/patient moving courses with always put each student in a hoist so we can experience it. It's not pleasant!

 

[esmeralda]

The Agency who provides our carers wouldn't let me be a second person because of insurance reasons, and we have to have two. I managed on my own hoisting my husband for a few months, but it isn't ideal, even though my husband is very cooperative, and it would obviously be less possible with someone who was frightened and/or resistant, or perhaps a larger person. An in-situ sling is very helpful because that can be left in place when he is hoisted into his chair in the morning, making the evening transfer much easier. We started off with a gantry hoist which was fine, but now have a ceiling hoist which takes up much less floor space and charges itself automatically.