Before the appointment
Mom fell three times this month: the sentence to say to her doctor, and the questions to bring
A fall that nobody reports is a fall that did not happen, as far as her chart is concerned. Here is how to make three of them count.
Mom fell three times this month. You know it, your brother half knows it, and her doctor does not know it at all, because she describes a night on the bathroom floor as "I slipped." This page is about the fifteen minutes in the exam room where that changes. It is not about what the falls mean; that is the doctor's to say. It is about getting the facts into the room in a form the doctor can use, which is a different skill from worrying.
Why a fall does not count until somebody says it
The National Institute on Aging puts it as an instruction to her: always tell your doctor if you have fallen since your last check-up, even if you did not feel pain when you fell, because a fall can point to a problem with medicines or eyesight that can be corrected. The trouble is that she will not. Family Caregiver Alliance's observation about people in her position is that most people, when asked if there is anything someone can do, reply that they are doing fine. So the CDC's caregiver brochure hands the job to you: tell a healthcare provider right away if your loved one has fallen, or if they are worried about falling, or seem unsteady.
That means you go into the appointment. Not the waiting room. In. If she will not have you in the room, write the sentence below on an index card and hand it to the nurse who takes her back.
The sentence
Doctors work in facts with dates. "She keeps falling" is a feeling. This is a fact:
"My mother has fallen three times since April. Two were at night, on the way to the bathroom. On one of them she was on the floor from around midnight until six. She did not hit her head that we know of. She says she felt dizzy standing up before one of them. I have the dates, the times and every medicine she takes, including the over-the-counter ones. I would like her risk of falling looked at."
Change the details to yours. Keep the shape: how many, when, where on the walk, how long down, head or no head, dizzy or not, and the request at the end. Say it in the first minute, before the blood pressure cuff. If you do not have the dates, start keeping them tonight; the six details to write down after every fall exist for this sentence.
What is the CDC self-check she can fill in while we wait?
The CDC runs a fall-prevention initiative called STEADI, which it says was created for healthcare providers who treat older adults who are at risk of falling, or who may have fallen in the past. The family sheet is Stay Independent: twelve yes-or-no statements she can do in the waiting room with a pen. Print it from the CDC's patient and caregiver resources page before you go. From the 2023 brochure, in its own words: a fall in the past year scores two points, "people who have fallen once are likely to fall again"; "I often have to rush to the toilet" scores one, and the note beside it is that rushing to the bathroom, especially at night, increases your chance of falling. The scoring line is that if you scored 4 points or more, you may be at risk for falling. A woman who has fallen this year, holds the furniture, and rushes to the toilet at night is at four before the medicine questions. That is not a diagnosis. It is a sheet in her handwriting, which is hard to wave away with "I slipped."
The medicine review to ask for
Bring every box. Not a list from memory: the boxes and bottles in a bag, including anything from the pharmacy aisle and any supplement. The CDC's caregiver brochure asks you to show a healthcare provider or pharmacist all of their medications, including over-the-counter medications and supplements, and discuss any side effects like feeling dizzy or sleepy. NIA's reason is blunt: the more medications you take, the more likely you are to fall.
The request, in the CDC's own wording, is to ask your doctor or pharmacist to review your medicines to see if any might make you dizzy or sleepy. That is the whole ask. You are not suggesting which one and not asking for anything to be stopped. The CDC's brochure on blood pressure that drops on standing frames the follow-up as a question for the provider, ask if any of your medicines should be reduced or stopped, and the answer is the doctor's alone. If nothing needs to change, nothing changes, and you have still done the review.
She hit her head but says she is fine. Do I still call?
Yes, and not in the morning. The CDC's fact page says an older person who falls and hits their head should see their doctor right away to make sure they don't have a brain injury, particularly if she takes blood thinners, and notes that falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries for older adults. "She says she is fine" is not a test anybody on that page recognizes. If it happened last week and nobody called, it goes at the top of the sentence, with the date.
Elderly mother keeps falling: what does it mean?
This site does not know, and neither does anyone who has not examined her. NIA lists possible causes so you recognize the questions: eyesight, hearing and reflexes; conditions that affect balance; conditions that cause rushed movement to the bathroom; blood pressure that drops too much when you get up from lying down; foot problems and unsafe footwear; some medications; and safety hazards in the home. The doctor sorts it. What three falls mean for you is settled: the CDC says falling once doubles your chances of falling again. Three is why the appointment is this week.
The questions to bring
Six, on the same index card. If you leave with one unanswered, ask it at the desk on the way out.
- Has her blood pressure been checked lying down and then standing? NIA suggests getting it checked when lying and standing.
- Would you or the pharmacist review every one of these for dizziness or sleepiness? The bag goes on the desk.
- She rushes to the bathroom at night. Is that something you want to look at? Then stop talking.
- When were her eyes last checked? The CDC says at least once a year.
- Can someone come and look at the house? NIA says the doctor might suggest that an occupational therapist, physical therapist or nurse visit your home.
- Is there an exercise program you want her in? The CDC names exercises that make your legs stronger and improve your balance, with tai chi as an example. Which one is the doctor's call.
If nobody is with her at night, that can change before the appointment. New Plan Care is an independently owned non-medical in-home care company that pays for a labelled slot on this site. Overnight presence in Ballwin, Chesterfield, Eureka, Glencoe, Grover, Pacific, Valley Park and St. Louis. New Plan Care, Call (314) 405-0887.Paid placement, disclosed on the front page and in the footer.