Anyone, besides me, having balance problems?

Pappy

Pappy

Living the Dream
Location
Moved back to NY from Florida. 🤓 2025
If so, how do you handle it or is there something I can take to help? As I was going out our Florida room, I lost my balance and fell into the lawn chair.. :( I wasn’t hurt too bad, but it has happened a couple times since January. I have a doctors appointment in August and will discuss it with him. I do have canes, but too damn proud to use them. Any help or ideas appreciated.
 

Pappy said:
If so, how do you handle it or is there something I can take to help? As I was going out our Florida room, I lost my balance and fell into the lawn chair.. :( I wasn’t hurt too bad, but it has happened a couple times since January. I have a doctors appointment in August and will discuss it with him. I do have canes, but too damn proud to use them. Any help or ideas appreciated.
Click to expand...
Sorry your having that problem....Just be careful....Sometimes I notice when I go down the steps to the backyard....I'm more careful then I ever
was...
Also, some here may have vanity...I don't....I say it as I say it....Be careful...Keep the Faith....
 

I think most people fall because your balance is off. I don't normally use a cane under most circumstances, but when there's a question of impaired balance I sure do. I've been on many ocean cruises for example, and when the sea is rough I wouldn't leave the room without it. Walking on lumpy grass or cobblestone streets is another example when I'd travel.
Too "proud" to use a cane Pappy? How many people our age never recover from a broken hip? Be "proud" you're smart enough to use a cane.
 
Use the cane, my friend. I keep one in the house, and one in the car. I saw my doctor about it several months ago, as I was having vertigo as well as balance issues. She referred me to an audiologist. He saw no hearing issues.
Make sure to stay hydrated. If you do not have a cane nearby when you are walking, use a chair, the wall or anything you can to steady yourself while walking.
Another thing a friend suggestion was to make sure I lift my feet as I walk, and not shuffle. Being aware of that makes you more consious of where and how you are walking, and does slow you down a bit,
When you first stand up from sitting, stand in place for a second, to make sure you are steady.

Getting old sucks. Use the darn cane.
 
If you are having "balance" problems, it would be wise to see your doctor. Many times it is due to a problem with the Inner Ear.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/balance-problems/symptoms-causes/syc-20350474

The danger in putting off a diagnosis is that it can lead to a nasty fall and serious injury. A couple of years ago, my wife started having such issues, and also Vertigo. She didn't think it was a big deal until one day she took a nasty spill, and could barely walk. I rushed her to the hospital, and she had cracked a bone in her ankle, when she fell. The doctors found a hard crust of earwax buildup in her inner ear, and she had to have a cast on her ankle, and hobbled around the house with a walker for a couple of months while the ankle healed. She was lucky.
 
Pappy,

Talk to your PCP about the availability of at-home physical therapy visits to assess your home, improve balance, and prevent falls.

Also, ask about the availability of group sessions that might be available after the COVID19 settles down.

Use the damn cane or anything else that helps to keep you right side up!!!

Good luck!
 
Pappy

I had a terrible episode of vertigo a couple of years ago that was caused by my right ear, the ENT Doctor took care of it in a matter of minutes. It was unbelievable and made any seasickness I had ever experienced seem trivial.

But there are other things that can cause it: getting up too suddenly, a sudden drop in your blood pressure, getting dehydrated, and sometimes it just comes out of nowhere. I am having a minor problem with my balance today and suspect that I am just a bit tired. I use a cane when it happens, but when the full-on vertigo hit, my wife had to go get the walker for me.

Getting old just sucks.
 
When my balance is off I use a walker. I also use it sometimes when arthritis is painful. I'm in my 60's. I've fallen about 8 times. Broken both collarbones, an arm bone, and a couple of ribs. Once you start falling, you get weak and increase the chances of more falls.

One of the falls happened at night, on a tile floor. I had trouble getting up. My husband was out of town working. I was alone. I made it to bed, where I went into shock. I wasn't able to call anyone for help. I made it through a rough night and stayed in bed for several days until my husband came home. I was much better by then. He decided it was time for him to retire after that.

Since I lost weight, I sometimes get my balance thrown off. I have trouble finding my center of gravity. The weight distribution is different and I'll have to get used to it. No one ever told me this could happen.

I've also had bouts with vertigo. I had to stay in bed. Never did find out what caused it, but it was only for a few days.

Falling is a serious matter when we're older. Use whatever you need to to keep from falling~canes, walkers, or wheelchairs.

My dad fell and broke his hip. He was dead within 9 months, even though he recovered from the hip operation.
One in three adults aged 50 and over dies within 12 months of suffering a hip fracture. {<<<this is from a medical site}
Try to over ride your vanity and stay safe.
 
I have balance problems. You can get testing, at a balance center, to find out exactly what the problem is usually after you have specialized testing at the ear doctor. I have a combination of issues but mostly brain damage due to mini strokes and a couple very small stokes.

I lost my balance one time, fell, hit my face on a large flower pot, fell off the flower pot, rolled down a small embankment, and face planted into the ground. Saw several docs after the ER visit. Tore my face open, broke a tooth, bruised my everything.

I still have a scar which runs down my face, and skin cancer in three places, on my face, due to the heavy blow against the flower pot.

Use the cane. I mostly use a walker. I learned my lesson.
 
Marie5656 said:
Use the cane, my friend. I keep one in the house, and one in the car. I saw my doctor about it several months ago, as I was having vertigo as well as balance issues. She referred me to an audiologist. He saw no hearing issues.
Make sure to stay hydrated. If you do not have a cane nearby when you are walking, use a chair, the wall or anything you can to steady yourself while walking.
Another thing a friend suggestion was to make sure I lift my feet as I walk, and not shuffle. Being aware of that makes you more consious of where and how you are walking, and does slow you down a bit,
When you first stand up from sitting, stand in place for a second, to make sure you are steady.

Getting old sucks. Use the darn cane.
Click to expand...

All great advice. And yes, use that cane!
 
I'd say it's a rare person over 60 who doesn't have at least an occasional balance problem. I know I sure do.

A couple of weeks ago, I bent over to pick something up and went over head-first. Thank goodness, all I did was crash into the wall and knock a lamp down and scratch my arm on the edge of a piece of furniture. I'm always afraid of breaking an arm but I have learned how to fall. I have a talent for twisting in mid-air and not landing on my forearms, which is the most common injuries in women of a "certain age".

I blame a lot of the falls on my numb feet and not knowing where they are all the time.
 
jujube said:
I'd say it's a rare person over 60 who doesn't have at least an occasional balance problem. I know I sure do.

A couple of weeks ago, I bent over to pick something up and went over head-first. Thank goodness, all I did was crash into the wall and knock a lamp down and scratch my arm on the edge of a piece of furniture. I'm always afraid of breaking an arm but I have learned how to fall. I have a talent for twisting in mid-air and not landing on my forearms, which is the most common injuries in women of a "certain age".

I blame a lot of the falls on my numb feet and not knowing where they are all the time.
Click to expand...
I make it a habit not to bend over without holding onto something. I learned to do this after I bent over to get something from the frozen food section and took a header into the freezer. 😂. Thank heaven the freezer was full. I’ve fallen a fair amount, I try not to.
 
Due to spinal stenosis, I have neuropathy and being deaf in my right ear and partially so in my left indeed I do have a balance problem. Even standing still, I can suddenly stagger to one side or the other like a drunken sailor. Use a cane or even a walker to steady you and keep you from serious injury.
 
Marie5656 said:
Use the cane, my friend. I keep one in the house, and one in the car. I saw my doctor about it several months ago, as I was having vertigo as well as balance issues. She referred me to an audiologist. He saw no hearing issues.
Make sure to stay hydrated. If you do not have a cane nearby when you are walking, use a chair, the wall or anything you can to steady yourself while walking.
Another thing a friend suggestion was to make sure I lift my feet as I walk, and not shuffle. Being aware of that makes you more consious of where and how you are walking, and does slow you down a bit,
When you first stand up from sitting, stand in place for a second, to make sure you are steady.

Getting old sucks. Use the darn cane.
Click to expand...
Great advice that I also do as I have balance problems, too.
 
Pappy said:
If so, how do you handle it or is there something I can take to help? As I was going out our Florida room, I lost my balance and fell into the lawn chair.. :( I wasn’t hurt too bad, but it has happened a couple times since January. I have a doctors appointment in August and will discuss it with him. I do have canes, but too damn proud to use them. Any help or ideas appreciated.
Click to expand...
Cast your pride. Walking sticks and canes are a great aid. They make walking much easier.
Now and then I have a glitch and sort of lose my balance.
One of them is when I don't pay attention when I walk down a high step and am looking straight ahead.
Looking down at where you are walking does help avoid the unexpected.
 
Camper6 said:
Cast your pride. Walking sticks and canes are a great aid. They make walking much easier.
Now and then I have a glitch and sort of lose my balance.
One of them is when I don't pay attention when I walk down a high step and am looking straight ahead.
Looking down at where you are walking does help avoid the unexpected.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of getting down a stepladder ... I know, stay off of ladders!! .. but anyway, when you are stepping back to the floor/ground and you misjudge that last step and think you are down, but there is really one more step .... oh! that could be a trip to the ER.
 
@Pappy do be careful and please use your canes....or at least one of them
I worked in a Nursing Home for many years and too many of the residents were too proud to use their walking aids
and invariably they suffered from falls which sure can take its toll on an elderly body
The human body while it is an amazing thing can also be very fragile in any accident
I am 67 and I have had to use walking aids since I had an accident in my early 40s while working in the Nursing Home
Who would have thunk it :(
 
Pappy said:
If so, how do you handle it or is there something I can take to help? As I was going out our Florida room, I lost my balance and fell into the lawn chair.. :( I wasn’t hurt too bad, but it has happened a couple times since January. I have a doctors appointment in August and will discuss it with him. I do have canes, but too damn proud to use them. Any help or ideas appreciated.
Click to expand...
yes it is very much a part of growing old/er....practice standing on one foot every day .one then the other..tia chi is for that ...balance...it is not just you everyone of us inner ear degradation...
 

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