Chronic dizziness/vertigo with dementia and Alzheimer's. Any advice?

LL1: Very difficult, when the parent's self-reporting becomes unreliable. Gotta dial up your own eyes and ears. Constantly watch for cause-and-effect scenarios and changes. Take notes. (Not that you need one more thing to do!)

Falling backwards is associated with Parkinson's Disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, cortico-basal degeneration, multiple system atrophy, and unclassified Parkinsonian disorder. People -- and medical professionals -- often think "no tremor, no Parkinson's/Parkinsonian." Not true. Google tbe disorders I listed. If anything rings a bell, get mom to a neurologist who specializes in rare movement disorders and/or geriatrics. (Are you near a university medical reseaech group? If so, all the better.)

Sunnygirl; Mom is ALWAYS 'falling backwards'......we bought her the shoes with lifts in them to ward it off, and she 'hates' the shoes, so the problem persists. We have consulted with a neurologist who could find no issues with her aside from neuropathy in her legs (non-diabetic); her feet are numb, which also contributes to the problem of being off balance and not really knowing where she is in space,

Freqflyer: I am definitely going to talk to her primary care doc & PA about antihistamines and perhaps Flonase as well. She has chronic mucous in her throat, so maybe those would help. Thank you! The physical therapist at the ALF has given her the vertigo treatment twice; the first time it worked, she was feeling ok the next day. This time, not so much. She will get another treatment on Monday. Interesting about the visual vertigo and being triggered by stripes or checks. She has no patterns in her room. She seems to develop vertigo while she's sleeping (she sleeps on her back and does not roll over at all, according to her), which seems odd. She's always worse in the AM and then starts to feel better towards the afternoon hours.

They never test the ears. See an ENT doctor (ear nose and throat) who can check for wax in the ears and otoliths (ear stones) that could interfere with balance. Look on youtube for the "Epley Maneuver" that you can do at home. If that maneuver improves balance, DEFINITELY see the ENT.

I've found with my mom that the "no pain" thing is subjective and depends on her thinking at the moment. It may mean "no more than usual". Sometimes it's "no", but 15 minutes later "I have a headache". To her pain means in her hip/back/knees, not a headache. I usually dose her routinely because I know she is always in pain to some degree.

lealonnie1, I just thought of something which is totally out in left field but it will make me feel dizzy.... pants too tight around the waist, especially when sitting... it will cause acid reflux and some lightheadedness. What happens is the too tight waist will cut off blood flow to the brain.

My DH had lots of similar problems. Many of them resolved when he stopped taking Gabepentin. Horrible med.

Moongazer......mom's issues resolved entirely once she was taken off the gabapentin and the sleeping pills. Your mother is anxiety situation sounds terrible. My mom's very similar with the OCD and anxiety issues but not to the extent yours suffers from. It really is a shame but the lifetime anxiety issues definitely seem to worsen with age and dementia-related problems. My mom has now lost most of her memory and has no idea what day or time it is. When she does have cognizant times she is even more frightened by the realization that she is losing her mental capacity. Last time she went out with the Assisted Living bus she got stuck in the dressing room at Kohl's and couldn't get up from the seat. Now she is refusing to ever leave the assisted living facility again. It's all too much after a while, isn't it?

I wish I had an answer. My 79 year old husband suffers with dizziness and falls often. He has dementia but otherwise is incredibly healthy. This is becoming a problem because his physical activity has been greatly reduced which will eventually cause other problems.

I was diagnosed with "MCI due to Alzheimer's disease" in 2015 when I was 65. My first symptom was chronic dizziness, but cognitive problems followed. Audiology tests ruled out vestibular system problems -- problems were in my brain, not my ear. MRI showed brain atrophy typical of Alzheimer's disease. (Also poor cognitive test scores.) They said the disease was attacking the parts of my brain involved in balance. They sent me to physical therapy where I learned "habituation exercises." They are easy, and they worked great for me. Search "habituation exercises" on Google and YouTube. The exercises help the brain use other senses to compensate for what's being lost.

I wrote down my experiences my book "Beating the Dementia Monster."