I am a 85 year old man. I’m still walking fine, but I can’t stand for long: I get the feeling that I’m collapsing. My doctor recommends more salt use and high shoes for firmness. What do you think?
Anonymously
Joris Bartstra, journalist with medical diploma
I don’t understand your doctor very well. If he advises you to eat more salt, he may think you have low blood pressure. But low blood pressure is not so common in the elderly. If your blood pressure is really too low, you want to see this substantiated with measurements, otherwise taking extra salt is not healthy.
An adjustment to the shoes assumes that you have a muscle weakness. That’s possible, but why? At your age, the cause is often a narrowing of the spinal canal due to osteoarthritis, which causes the nerve to become trapped. You can surgically ‘clear it out’. Whether this is the explanation, whether you are fit enough for an operation and whether it will help you is the question.
It therefore seems that the GP has made many decisions for you without you being able to participate in a well-informed discussion. Talk to your doctor about it. You can also ask the opinion of a neurologist or neurosurgeon about the problems with standing for a long time.
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