Dr. Gott: Leg weakness calls for medical testing

Dear Dr. Gott: I am a 74-year-old white male. For the past two years, I have noticed a progressive weakening and unsteadiness in my legs.

Although I still walk for about 45 minutes three times a week, I have to be very careful not to trip and fall. Going up a flight of stairs is becoming more and more difficult, and I’m very unsteady and slow going down stairs.

Is this condition something other than normal aging?

Dear Reader: As I have learned, advancing age is often the cause of poor coordination and weakness. So, in answer to your question, I’ll say “maybe.”

However, I feel obligated to recommend that you see a neurologist just to be sure. Your symptoms, although common, could reflect a nerve disorder or “mini” strokes.

You need further testing. Ask your primary-care physician for a referral to a specialist.

While awaiting your appointment with the neurologist, you should try physical therapy or balance classes, which are offered by most hospitals. These may help you, especially if your balance difficulties are simply the result of the aging process, as I suspect they are.

Dear Dr. Gott: My 49-year-old niece has had trouble all her life getting her hormones in balance. Now her breasts have gotten so large she is miserable.

She also has bouts of depression.

What can she do to improve her health and her life?

Dear Reader: Although your niece’s depression and breast enlargement probably would respond to a modification of her hormone therapy, she may be a candidate for breast-reduction surgery. If these options fail to relieve her depression, she may need to consider antidepression medication.

She should start with her gynecologist, who can coordinate the solution to your niece’s health issues.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my health report “Mental and Emotional Disorders.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.