Community Chat

[luvmydoggies]

You did great @Plaid Pants2! Glad your both ok.

[Gooday]

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@silkyk wrote:

Just a quick thought (my Dad fell too) Is your Dad on a lot of different medications? Maybe you should talk to his doctor about it. Medications (over 40 pills a day!) were causing my Dad's balance problems....cutting the doses helped a lot. Talking to the Dr. ....not easy! They get mad when you question them but ask away. Overmedication is hurting a lot of our elders so be proactive and question the ammount of drugs and their  side effects. Take care! You are a wonderful daughter!

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My dad was just the opposite.  He was always asking, "can I stop some of these pills".  Well, after an appt. last September with his PCP, he looked at his blood work (which was excellent for his age) and stopped medication for diabetes and one of his blood pressure medications.

When my dad was younger and heavier, he needed these medications.  Now, being 87, normal weight and normal BP, these medications are not needed.  Now, he has dry macular degeneration for which he takes Lutein as well as a blood thinner for two heart surgeries.

As I stated before, we the baby boomers are now caring for our elderly parent(s).  My mom died a few weeks after her 75th birthday from Parkinson's and dementia.  It took her down fast.  I would have thought my dad would have passed way before my mom who never had to take a pill...ever!  Now she's gone 11 years and my dad who smoked non-filtered Camel cigarettes and ate like a king, is still alive and kickin'.  No rhyme or reason.  That's why I chuckle to myself when I read about peoples eating habits and those who think the have the answers on "healthy" eating.

My parents are/were a walking contradiction.

[Yardlie]

@PlaidPants2 ... I'm so sorry to hear about your dad's fall, but am so glad that you were there to break the momentum of his fall. You were wise to just go with the momentum rather than to try to totally stop it. I fractured my wrist severely once trying to stop a fall.

My mother is 91 and has taken a number of falls. She took a fall backwards getting out of the car recently, so now we have a rule that she not get out of the car until I come around to help her. My sisters and I also want her to use a walker, but she fights it constantly...says it is "embarrassing."

Besides losing muscle tone in their legs, seniors also lose their balance easily. I'm going to sign my mother and myself up for a balance class the next time one starts in our area. If I take it with her, she will do it...otherwise, that would be a battle too.

You are such a good daughter to be there for your dad and be so helpful to him. I know there are plenty of people on this board who know what it's like. Bless you.