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

[Rememberthetimes]

My mum has always been a little ditzy, slightly forgetful etc, since around 70, I’ve noticed it increasing a little. She was telling me recently how she feels tired after doing fairly simple things like cleaning etc and doesn’t do it as much. She also said she doesn’t like travelling anymore (airports/flying) and sometimes feels a bit anxious..like what if she’s forgotten something and so on. She’s someone who’s never been anxious before, just not that type of person.
Today on a walk, she just fell flat down, she had tripped over a tree root, but also told me how, recently she was on her knees looking for something and just sort of lost balance and fell onto her head, banging it.
This seems to have happened mainly in the last couple of years.

Am I being unduly worried about her?

The memory stuff is so interesting as different skills reduce at different speeds.
Short term memory and flexibility go first. My husband really struggles with the "Name as many things beginning with F" part of a memory assessment but can still drill down deep into a complaint under the Equalities Act or the history of Ephesus if he has the time to think about it at his own speed.

You are describing me and I am classed as a young person - I feel like the description is of me. And that makes me worried
but if she didn’t used to be like this I don’t know what to say

In my experience of elderly relatives 70 is the sad number when people start to turn old

Really 😔 why, which part and what else?

Ring your mum's GP and ask if they have an elderly care team. My mum has had a couple of visits from them and they were great. They can do a memory test- it's short and informal but very telling. My mum was bright as a button until 75. She then started saying/doing thing that were a bit odd/off. She still has days where she is bang on but also days where she doesn't know what day of the week it is- eg she thought today was Tuesday as it was BH Monday yesterday. No mum that's next week! It's distressing for her- she knows she is doing it.
It's very hard to witness- I've had to ban my mum from driving until 'she is better' She is 81 do she will never drive again but I'm letting her hope still and her car is on the drive still.

One of the earliest signs of dementia for my mum was not doing the housework when she had always been very houseproud. It could be nothing but worth checking.

Get it checked out. My mum had cognitive decline and anxiety that has concerned me for 7 or 8 years, but unfortunately noone else in the family would admit there was anything different so I couldn't push for it. Recently she has been diagnosed with Parkinson's.

Absolutely do everything you can to make sure your Mum gets tested for dementia and anything else it might be. If it turns out not to be anything, then at least you have the relief in that (and notes on the GPs records). My mother was diagnosed with dementia several years ago at about 70 and we had suspected it for a long time before but she had refused to have any checks.
People find ways to cover symptoms and end up pushing a diagnosis too late. It’s a horrible and cruel disease and a dreadful diagnosis, but there are things that can be done to slow it and - very importantly- aids to coping which can be marvellous and things that can be put in place to help. But left too late and using the aids becomes too much to learn and the support becomes scary to the person. It’s also worth looking in to options for the future now so that the burden isn’t too, too, much later.
Do all you can to help your Mum agree to any and every test. And look after yourself too.
There are some brilliant support networks and charities out there and use them if you can for advice and support.
It is a horrid thing when you start to realise that those that used to do all the looking after us - still do - now need us to do it for them. A tough time, and hopefully it will be nothing awful. But tests are essential and as soon as possible. Sending you and your Mum my very best.

My dad lost confidence and was anxious about things that had never bothered him before like driving and packing for trips before he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s so I’d get her checked out neurologically

Try not to worry. It usually for these things to happen increasingly as people age including my own mum. Have a look at falls on google.

I think one trip is nothing I would be going to the GP about but multiple trips in 6th months I would.

my mum had similar and it turned out to be cataracts. It was very odd as it didn’t add up the symptoms and the diagnosis but annoyed test wouldn’t hurt. They progressed rapidly (posterior) and when she had them removed her symptoms (falls, anxiety, reluctance to travel) went away too.

How old are you, OP? Because there will be as many differences between you and all the other people of your age in the world and your mother and all the other 72 year olds in the world. Asking here will get you nowhere. If you are worried, try and persuade her to see a doctor but please remember she's 72, not a child. It isn't your place to "get her checked out" as a PP put it. Tell her you're concerned, by all means, but the decision to see a doctor is hers to make. And, sometimes, tripping over a tree root is just that.

73 year old here, tbh OP all this sounds pretty normal to me. Once you get to 70 there is definitely a (hopefully) slow decline in physical and mental abilities.
Housework becomes harder because of arthritic hands, painful knees. Travelling becomes harder because suitcases are heavy, loo stops are needed more, journeys are tiring. This week I’ve banged my arm on the car door and bruised my hand when the wind blew a door shut. Tripping over a root is easily done and ‘having a fall’. If you saw me IRL you’d be surprised- I wear Zara and ankle boots and I’m brunette (thanks to my lovely hairdresser). But there’s no stopping the aging process really.

No, it's not normal for someone of 72. I am about to go out for lunch with a 71 and a 72 year old, the older one has far more energy than I have (at 65), and loves travelling. The younger one has just returned from an overseas trip. My mid-70s neighbours still work fulltime in physical work.

I don't find people suddenly get "old" when they hit 70, in fact it's more like 85 in my experience. Yes, people can start to suffer from various illnesses but most people I know still behave the same as they always did. My 80 year old neighbour goes out for long walks with me, and she is definitely fitter than me (and I walk everywhere!). My 84 year old ex MIL recently painted her kitchen. Falling can happen to everyone, but people generally put out their hands to break the fall.

My mum was like this. Always very independent and then all of a sudden was forgetting things and she had a couple of falls. She had very aggressive stage 4 cancer and died 3 months later. Of course I’m not saying that is what’s happening here but please get any worries checked. I wish I had insisted my mum did and she may still have been here x

This was similar to someone I knew and it turned out to be Parkinson's. I'm not saying that's the case with your mum but she's definitely best seeing a doctor.

I did this in my 50s and dislocated and broke my shoulder.
I have traveled a lot recently but do find airports stressful. I don’t think it’s an age problem.

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

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

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.

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!

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?

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.

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!

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

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