Dizziness
Hello. My brother had a stroke 10 months ago. He was doing really well. Going for walks. Popping out to get a newspaper and milk etc. But now, he gets light headed, dizzy, weak and wobbly and has lost his confidence and is scared to go outdoors in case this happens while he’s out. I was with him when this happened outside. We didn’t get far before he said “I can’t move. “. We got back indoors and he needed to sit down and close his eyes for a while before we could get back to his flat. Has anyone else had this? We have had visits to the doctor. Thanks Steph
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Hi @stephy1
Hello and a very warm welcome 
You have landed in a place where there are many friendly, empathetic, knowledgeable folk who are willing to generously share their experience
Well that all sounds very common. The light headed dizziness could be low blood pressure - postural drop is a reduction in blood pressure on change of posture. I had it about a year after my stroke for some months and my BP pills were fiddled with.
And or…
It could be the effort to walk and everything to see and listen to while trying to maintain balance - the operation of the vestibular system while moving/ eyes & inner ear processing becomes overwhelming. Especially when the legs don’t work well, possibly from lack of faithful interpretation of nerve feedback and/or lack of control which leads to freezing because then you don’t fall over.
That can be very fatiguing. 10 minutes with your eyes shut may well be a necessity.
Everything neurological, especially when you don’t have a track record to gauge it’s normalcy is best investigated. If it is just a post stroke adjustment it may clear quickly or linger for a long time. neither would be surprising and it’s important to predict in anyone’s specific case.
If you use the magnifying glass above to search you’ll find a lot of posts that will probably give you more context & avenues to enquire after than you’ll likely have by the replies that will accumulate here
You might find this post useful too
Ciao
Simon
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@Stephy1 hi & welcome to the forum. Sorry your brother has had a stroke.
Dizziness can be caused by many things. I get a lot of dizziness following my stroke & am waiting on an ENT appointment to investigate it.
Have the Dr’s given him any clue as to what might be causing it? I assume they have done some basic checks on BP, etc? Could it be an anxiety thing? Maybe his meds are causing it.
I would keep going back to the GP until you get some answers.
Best wishes
Ann
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Hi @Stephy1 welcome to the forum. Dizziness and balance issues are symptoms many of us have had to contend with post stroke.
It could even be something as simple as not enough food intake to fuel his walk. We burn an awful lot of fuel just in healing, that’s why its so important not to skip meals, and take regular healthy snacks between meals.
I’m type 2 diabetic and I know exactly what it’s like to have sudden blood sugar drops, so I have to keep a close eye on my blood sugar level before I’d even go for a walk.
It would do him no harm to carry glucose tablets around with him for a while when he’s out walking. Chew on 3-5 of them when he gets light headed and rest for a few minutes 'til they start to take effect might be just enough. A banana, chocolate would do or even a glass of milk if he’s at home, will tied him over until he can get some decent food inside him.
But it’s always best to have these symptoms thoroughly investigated initially before resigning yourself to any conclusion. It could be one of his medications, he could be low in certain nutrients…only a blood test could confirm that, as well as any of the other reasons already given.
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