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What Causes Sudden Unbalanced Walking And Incoherent Speech?
Question: My wife was fine last week and all of a sudden she lost her balance, can't walk without holding someone, when she walks she takes little shuffle steps, brain won't function right, can't use a remote control, just started to talk but doesn't make a lot of sense. She is 57,doesn't appear to have had a stroke, she's not paralyzed on any part of her body, it's like someone flipped a switch inside her head.
Brief Answer:
Stroke is probable.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Even though she doesn't have signs of paralysis I believe the diagnosis of stroke is the most probable one. While classically stroke manifests with limb weakness in most cases there are brain areas the damage of which by stroke is manifested in other ways like balance issues or confusional state.
So since you describe her to have abrupt manifestation of lack of balance and coordination as well as a confusional syndrome (which could also be sensory aphasia - a language impairment with preserved fluency but lack of comprehension) a stroke is the most probable cause.
For that reason I suggest she is taken to the emergency room right away for an evaluation and necessary tests like blood tests to exclude other metabolic issues which could also cause similar symptoms and brain imaging for stroke.
I hope things work out for the best.
Stroke is probable.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Even though she doesn't have signs of paralysis I believe the diagnosis of stroke is the most probable one. While classically stroke manifests with limb weakness in most cases there are brain areas the damage of which by stroke is manifested in other ways like balance issues or confusional state.
So since you describe her to have abrupt manifestation of lack of balance and coordination as well as a confusional syndrome (which could also be sensory aphasia - a language impairment with preserved fluency but lack of comprehension) a stroke is the most probable cause.
For that reason I suggest she is taken to the emergency room right away for an evaluation and necessary tests like blood tests to exclude other metabolic issues which could also cause similar symptoms and brain imaging for stroke.
I hope things work out for the best.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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