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?

Very likely blood pressure, feeling like you might fall standing up quickly or could be inner ear problem causing vertigo. I think you do worry more when you are older, things seem more of an effort and the allure of sitting on a hot beach all day or staying up late in a nightclub wanes. A lot of what ifs in the back of your mind that weren't there when you were young and fit, a bit of a feeling of vulnerability.

She needs to go to the GP for a wellness check

I would encourage her to go and see her GP. My mum is 84 and experienced similar issues which we just put down to getting older. She fainted whilst waiting for a bus and it turned out she had issues with a heart valve which wasn’t opening properly. She had keyhole surgery to fix it and the difference was amazing and immediate. She gol colour back in her face and was no longer so tired and breathless.

I’m just using this as an example and not saying your mum is unwell, but it’s definitely worth her getting it looked at. Tripping is also more common as we age, but again it’s worth looking at.

Also, the reluctance to travel will probably stem from fear she may not be able to cope physically and also it’s common to become more anxious as you age. My mum is the same. She worries over small things and second guesses herself constantly.

As you age you can feel more vulnerable so anxiety when travelling would be understandable.

And ?.... what a moronic add to the thread. Guess what I am still travelling at full gusto at 72 tho try to avoid killing people in stupid cars. Humble brag, much? But I absolutely understand the OP's concern for her parent. Do fuck off dear.

It sounds as if she has developed an anxiety disorder, or maybe existing anxiety has got worse.

Bloody hell, I'm 62, still work and I have all of these issues. Friends who are older and very active also have them too. None of us would consider asking a doctor about it, a GP would think I was mad if I went in and said I tripped over a tree root and I hate travelling nowadays.

So, just sat talking with my mum and she couldn’t remember my sisters birthday? Her daughters date of birth, does this seem strange at this age?

I think it does sound a bit concerning, OP. When you reminded her, did she recall it?

@SpanThatWorldIm not surprised she got anxious at Birmingham station, especially as it was a new route. It’s a horrible and confusing place and the sensory overload of a big, busy station plus anxiety would be overwhelming. Well done for her managing it!

Did you make a GP appointment?

Worrying yourself and asking strangers on the internet is not the best course of action.

OP, I’m sorry to say but it really does sound like your mum may be in the early stages of something like dementia, just because the symptoms are so very similar to those I saw in my own mum and FIL.

Forgetting significant facts and information like this is a marker IME. My mum forgot she’d been to Sri Lanka a few years previously (she’d also had quite a horrible experience there and had no recollection of it). It was the moment my sister and I really understood something wasn’t right, even though her symptoms were otherwise mild and she wasn’t diagnosed until years later.

My dad was in complete denial about the whole thing and wouldn’t push for early treatment, but DSis and I really regret we didn’t just intervene and advocate harder for her, as proper medication and memory boost exercises etc may have helped her stay with us mentally for longer.

I genuinely don’t want to worry you, but rather to encourage you to act now if you’re concerned x

This is making me feel so panicky now, she has always been a bit ditsy, could it just be this
its hard to remember everyones birthdays isnt it

I can't believe this thread is still rumbling on! The doom mongerers are having a lovely time. There might or might not be an innocent explanation to any of the things you've mentioned. If she has poor eyesight (cataracts), then tripping over a hazard like a tree root is not surprising. I fall over all the time because I have vertigo. I'm more likely to do it if I'm walking along talking to someone next to me, which seems to be the case here. To make this less likely, I use a stick, even though my legs aren't the problem. Forgetting things is also not unusual. Everyone does it, from children onwards. My husband has to be reminded of his hugely beloved children's birthdays all the time, just because he does and apart from when they were tiny and new, always has done. I don't use airports simply because, to me, it's the worst beginning and end to any holiday there could possibly be. I'm allowed not to do it and so is she. We looked after my mother for 10 years. It started because she was having falls regularly. In her case she was being over medicated for high blood pressure. She did develop dementia later but the first signs weren't that she was forgetting things. She showed difficulty processing things, e.g. dithered about whether she should wear gloves when it was literally freezing outside and then refusing to take them off when we were back at home, watching TV in them for hours on end because it was "cold outside". So don't assume, if she forgets something you think she should remember, that she's demented. It really sounds like the anxiety is all yours OP. Accept that no one on MN can answer your questions and if you are genuinely concerned, persuade her to see the GP. My mother resorted to phoning my Dad's GP and talking to them herself, which resulted in them asking him to come in for a check up.
He didn't have dementia, which was what she had feared.

I am younger than your mum but definitely in the last few years I have developed anxiety when travelling. I worry I have forgotten to turn something in the house off, worry the window might be open, worry I have forgotten my passport, ticket etc. I have a friend who is the same.
I also occasionally feel anxious leaving the house..
Ihowever I am able to not let it stop me doing things . The more times I go out or away and everything is fine when I come back the easier it is.
I've found that the less busy I am the worse the anxiety is. I think it's having too much time to overthink.