Does my mum sound ok, is this normal for 72?

@Rememberthetimes OP I think you need to do some of your own research! you wont find exactly the same scenario with everyone!! if you are not happy with your mother, take her to the doc!

Balance does decline. You need to work on it . There are exercises online or she could join a gym. I hope all's well with your mum healthwise, but after a check-up I'd suggest she does some work on maintaining health and independence anyway.

My 92 year old grandfather regularly drives up to Scotland - from the south coast.

Basically, how are her reflexes?

My husband’s mother is the same age and had balance problems recently - it was an inner ear issue which has since been operated on.

On the other hand; my mum is also 72 and she can still get up from the floor with her legs crossed without using her hands. I can’t even do that 😂

Well that's disorientating

Does she wear glasses? I found it weird till I had both eyes done and could get new glasses

Can I just say that there are lots of things that are easily sorted that also might explain some of your Mum's issues, has she had sight /hearing tests done recently, does she take any regular medication ? Has she had her B12 levels checked ? Thyroid issues ? when was the last time she actually saw a GP ?

Well speaking as someone now in her 70s, I do feel older. Some of it may be down to various conditions I've very recently been diagnosed with, some down to the medication (is your mum taking any @Rememberthetimes ?)

But two years ago I was totally different

People really underestimate the impact of strokes. I did until my parents started having them. It's brain damage, plain and simple. Like any other brain injury the worst affected functions relate to the affected brain area. Brains are complex, interconnected things so, when one bit goes off, other functions are collaterally affected. You can't say what is and isn't brain damage, it all depends.

The FAST check is very important when somebody's having an obvious glitch, as they may be having a stroke there & then. Most TIAs occur during sleep or, if awake, tend to present as an unremarkable 'absence' - staring off into space, which we all do from time to time, or something like dropping a fork.

When my stepfather had a medium-sized stroke (he was blue-lighted at extraordinary speed), nothing dramatic happened. He just stopped talking mid-sentence and looked vague. Fortunately he was talking to a very alert friend, who got him to do the FAST check while dialling 999.

The clock test is great for diagnosing serious brain damage, and it's always worth trying if you observe something that might be a stroke. Another thing I hadn't realised: the person who draws a crowded half-clock actually sees a proper clock when they look at their sketch.

Clair's right, strokes do make people feel unsure of themselves as they're aware they aren't navigating the stairs (for example) quite right but can't seem to figure it out.

Both FIL and my mum had similar at this age - increased anxiety about travel or doing new things, and quite serious falls in public. Sadly they both went on to develop dementia.

I don’t want to increase your worries about your mum, but like lots of people have said, persuade her to see a GP. It may be something or it may be nothing, and if it’s nothing you’ve done no harm.

One note of caution: IME GPs are highly reluctant to test for, refer for or diagnose dementia. It’s more likely to be put down to natural age-related deterioration until the illness is unavoidably obvious, so you have to push quite hard for the correct tests. It may be different in your area though.

It’s not ok OP, you need to get her checked out. Could be a TIA (a mini stroke) or the onset of dementia. The earlier these things are diagnosed the better.

My brain stops processing things (including speech)

As we get older, we start to lose our hearing for high frequency consonants (c, t, s, f, th, p...) so speech becomes more indistinct. It takes more cognitive capacity to make sense of speech so there is less available to actually make sense of what we hear.

Processing new and unfamiliar information is just harder.

The biggest avoidable cause of confusion and dementia is hearing loss. People will complain that "Everyone mumbles nowadays" and "And if they would just raise their voice." TV volume gets higher and higher. And then it becomes too hard to hear at all. "But there's nothing wrong with my hearing".

Everyone should get their hearing checked regularly. And, if they Audiologist recommends hearing aids, believe them. And wear them.

There's a huge range of ability and fitness for people in their 70s.

If she is tripping and falling and losing strength I would definitely suggest her looking at yoga/ pilates and weights to keep her fitness and prevent decline.

I have white brain disease, which is common in older people. It is part of the aging process and I now walk with a stick to help me balance. I had a brain scan where it was detected. Get her to visit her GP.

She needs GP input. My initial thought would be low blood pressure.

It might mean she has momentary lapses in consciousness or other small 'brain farts'. It's important to have her checked by a competent doctor and not to be fobbed off by someone shrugging their shoulders and saying that inevitably comes with age. It doesn't.

It could be blood pressure issues or it could be neurological or balance/ inner ear problems

a lot less than 70 and I don’t like travelling on trains or anywhere I don’t know..yikes.

This is perfectly reasonable! I've just turned 70 but have a couple of long-term conditions that make everything damn difficult: I get fatigued very easily, which is much worse than being tired. My brain stops processing things (including speech), other bits stop working, I stumble and drop things. Pain in the arse. I never travel anywhere, despite having been round much of the world by myself and wishing I still could.

Your mum hasn't had this going on for ages and I do agree she'd be wise to see a doctor for a bit of an MOT. I just wanted to reinforce some PPs' point that it is rational and sensible to be aware of one's limitations: this isn't 'anxiety' though it may well look like it if she doesn't want to sit there listing all the things she can no longer do as well as she used to (and who wants to do that?!)

Failing eyesight, blocked ears, backache, painful joints and bad feet are VERY common causes of lost confidence when walking. There are lots of other explanations, of course, but it's easy to overlook the simple mechanical ones. New and increasing fatigue has many possible causes; one that's pretty common as we get older is heart failure - that's not as scary as it sounds, it's an early warning (my mum called it 'feeling wobbly').

Time to have a chat with her. With a bit of treatment, she may bounce back as good as new!

It was a very similar story here @Finallyfree41

My mum was so stubborn (and probably frightened) that she totally refused all my pleas to see her GP. Eventually I made an appointment for myself and asked mum to go with me as support. When the GP asked me what I was there for and I burst into tears and said I was worried about mum. I wish I'd done that much earlier. She died of cancer 3 months later, just like your mum.

Only a GP can help you get the answers you need @Rememberthetimes, so do what you can to help your mum make that choice. Hopefully you won't have to employ devious tactics like I did, and it puts your mind at rest.

If she is not obviously unwell ..
Check her glasses. Does she need the prescription changed?
Book her into a physio run, older people's exercise class.

She should be having a yearly check up with her GP.
Is she over due?

Definitely worth getting a full check up but hopefully all is well.

I have a couple of relatives who went through a phase of seeming very forgetful, confused, tired at that age. I thought well, here we go. But they both really improved and now in their early and mid eighties are totally with it!

There is a link between ageing and being more anxious of things like flying.
Im just late 50s but I do find I’m more anxious on a plane than I used to be ( in fact I never was ). The same goes for when in a car with someone else driving.

Feeling dizzy and tired could be related to anaemia

Think your mum should get her bloods tested.

It's worth having her checked out if possible.

This happened to a relative and everyone was worried about them but it turned out to be too high blood sugar level and rectified in a few days with careful diet. So it could be something easily solved

My mom was like this before she developed lewy body dementia.