My father (84) was recently presumed to have NPH. We had been led to believe that his condition was normal deterioration due to age. He had the foot stuck to the floor symptom long before he got incontinence (blamed on his prostrate) and confusion (blamed on old age) One morning he couldn't get up and saw a new physician in emergency who put the combination of Parkinson's-like symptoms together with the sudden dementia - as a stranger he noticed that my father was not "out of it", he was just a good few beats behind everyone else. He did a lumbar puncture and we noticed immediate improvement in speech and motor skills, although definitely not a recovery and although every joint and muscle could be operated independently his mind could not put them all together to walk. He was offered the shunt operation, but refused due to the high risk of stroke. He's now in a nursing home and has to be hauled in and out of bed by a hoist and wheeled everywhere. As early as his 60's and 70's dad complained of it being hard to get his feet moving after resting. I wonder whether these were early signs of an impending problem.

My husband is 70 years old. Three years ago he had lung cancer and had surgery to remove the upper portion of his lung. After the surgery he had problems with confusion and his gait was terrible. The family and I associated this to the severe pain he has 24 hours a day from the surgery. It has been over 3 years and he still has this gait and never any relief from his pain. He fell last year and was hospitalized. After several tests he has been told he has normal pressure hydrocephalus. He never had any confusion, walking or breathing issues until he had the major lung surgery. The doctor in the hospital said it appears he may have had several mini strokes previously. We are trying to get his weight up prior to discussing the possibility of a stint surgery. He weighed 209 pounds prior to the cancer surgery. He has had pneumonia three times this year and now he is down to 150 lbs.

*Unexplained falls, balance problems, fuzzy head, urinary problems

I was diagnosed at 33 years of age. I suffer from migraines and during a particularly bad one a CT scan was ordered. An abnormality was discovered, neurologist consulted and the case was turned over to a neurosurgeon who ordered both an MRI and MRA. I've had the spinal tap but no immediate relief was found. I've subsequent follow-ups over the years (now 46) and feel I've been symptom free. However I am beginning to suspect early signs with being able to extract thoughts, memory loss and some balance issues.

The biggest and most annoying symptom was incontinence. When I'd drink a glass of water or coffee or wine, within a few minutes it would pour out with no warning. Even using the largest pads available I still wet my pants a couple times a day. I had bladder sling surgery, took a few different pills, used a vaginal cream, and changed my diet but nothing seemed to help. I also had a symptom of falling and stumbling when I walked. I had what is called festination, taking lots of tiny shuffling-type steps that were very quick. I could not stop when I'd get going fast. The third symptom was that my mind seemed to shut down frequently. Sometimes in the middle of a sentence during a normal conversation with a friend my mind would simply STOP and I couldn't finish what I was saying. This was much more serious than a "senior moment". I started to lose my car in the grocery store parking lot nearly every time I'd go. The last symptom was a feeling of overwhelming fatigue. I felt very tired ALL the time. Reading the morning paper with a cup of coffee was nearly impossible, as I'd fall asleep before I'd finish the first page.

My wife of 55 years was diagnosed with NPH at 73 years of age, could not move her feet, was falling a lot, and had trouble focusing on anything. She had shunt surgery and could walk again but severe dementia set in and she was troubled with pain in the area of the shunt. It was not severe, just annoying to say the least. She could not longer drive, and dementia set in giving her the diagnosis of possible early onset Alzheimer's, possibly. Her short term memory became a severe problem and we are currently living one day at a time without much hope of things getting any better. At least she can now walk, with the assistance of a roll-around walker.

At age 61 I started to develop gait problems, this got worse with all the other symptoms including falls, for 5 years. It took that long for a diagnosis. Finally after an MRI the condition was found and I had surgery with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Three years of physio and I am now back to normal. I lost 8 years to this condition.

With my normal pressure hydrocephalus, I had unsteadiness, wide gait stance, and the sensation that feet were glued to the floor.