Mom woke up today with a pretty unsteady gait compared to normal. Any advice?

My mom, too, was frequently dizzy. Many times it was low blood pressure caused by dehydration. Getting her to drink water was very difficult she did not want to have to keep going to the bathroom.

Another cause for a sudden change like this could be a urinary tract infection. Make sure they check for that at the doc tomorrow.

Learn how to check her O2 levels with a fingertip pulse oximeter. Also learn to check her BP and heart rate. Keep a log of the readings and share this with the MD. You could also buy a stethoscope and learn to listen for fluid on the lungs vs normal lung sounds. We also weighed mom daily and if she gained 2lbs overnight, we knew she was retaining fluid, which can build up around the lungs and cause the cough.

P.S. I forgot to mention that the cause of her vertigo was a build-up of EAR WAX! The ER doc took one look in her ear and said he couldn't even see the eardrum it was so plugged up with wax. She's old school and insists on using Q-tips which make matters much worse by pushing IN the wax. So he used an instrument & removed a huge plug of wax, and her vertigo disappeared (and her hearing improved slightly as well). Just thought that bit of info may help some of you trying to figure out how to treat vertigo, or what may be causing it.

Good luck to all!

My Mom also had issues with feeling dizzy. She did quite well on Anti-Vert, but the companies stopped making the "brand name" a few years ago. We even tried Dramamine, but only the non-sleepy kind, as it has the same ingredient as the generic anti-vert, but that didn't help much.

My Mom said that Cloro-Trimeton 4-hr did help her... it's a very inexpensive over-the-counter and we are able to find it at Target. But it does make one sleepy. But check with one's doctor first to see if there are any side effects if combine with others meds.

For myself, I find if there is a rain storm on the horizon, I feel light-headed and sometimes dizzy. With the big snow storm crossing the nation, that could thrown a wrench into how someone feels.

Additional stroke is not impossible, but it could be just an episode of vertigo with the viral illness too. Absolutely get her in to the doctor. What is she doing for stroke prevention (aspirin, Plavix, etc.?)

As the comments indicate so far, there are all sorts of possibilities. I've had a strange kind of vertigo, never officially diagnosed, that fits the description of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. It manifested in various odd ways, a feeling of time-lag in my head when turning or rolling over in bed or even tumbling end over end. It's supposedly caused be crystals forming in the inner ear. There are exercises for this. In my case, Nasocort keeps my ear canals dry enough that I don't experience this.

Nikki, what did she have for breakfast? Foods with protein or perhaps food with sugars?

Does she have any sinus problems? Has she ever had vertigo? From my experience, it just happens - there were no precipitating factors in my case.

GardenArtist, I also get vertigo out of the blue... like you said, it just happens. I can feel it starting so I grab my bottle of Meclizine [generic for Anti-Vert] and hope for the best. Thank goodness it's only once or twice a year.

One time a nurse told me if I start to feel dizzy, close one eye. Sometimes that will work.

Sudden onset of dizziness in the elderly is caused by poor brain perfusion (not enough oxygen-rich blood to the brain). This could be caused by many factors such as cardiac arrhythmias, medications, etc. She needs a full blood work up (CBC) to check for electrolyte imbalance, etc. and probably an EKG. Make sure the physician knows all meds she is taking and runs a lot of tests. A 10 minute Dr. visit is not sufficient unless he sends her to the hospital.

Agree that it could be dehydration and/or effects of UTI. Definitely get a checkup from a doctor or nurse practicioner.