Crazed Sleep Patterns

Kevcoy

My DH has always gotten up and made the morning coffee.  I don't know if it is the change off daylight savings or the days getting shorter but in the last few weeks he is getting up at 2am to make coffee.  I tell him it is too early and to go back to sleep.  Then between 3am and 3:30am it's the same thing again.  When he does it again around 4am I just tell him to go ahead and let me sleep at least another hour.  But like this morning it was 4:10am comes in and tells me the coffee is brewing.  4:20am the coffee is done.  4:35am are you coming to drink your coffee?  I have now pretty much been up since 2am and have to be at work at 7am as a substitute teacher.  I'm kind of glad we have to wear masks because I'm yawning the whole time.  Any suggestions?  This is whacking me out.

On another note I'm so disappointed in Netflix discontinuing Glee on their programming.  Even though DH didn't really understand the story line he did enjoy the singing and dancing.  Any other entertaining shows out there your loved ones like to watch?

June45

Love coffee, but not that much!  Not a clue what you can do, but I sympathize with you. My husband is up and down  2 - 3 times every night. He gets up "to go home",  "to go to the grocery store", "to find a wrench to fix the car",  "just wants to know what is going on" and so on. The sleep medication that the doctor prescribed didn't work, but just made things worse.  As I have posted elsewhere, the fact that I don't get much sleep almost every night will be the reason I eventually place him. I will be interested to see if there are any magic remedies but I am afraid it is the nature of the disease.

loveskitties

If you have dvd player you can order some or all of the Glee seasons from Amazon.

If you have a smart tv or one of the streaming services you might be able to get on one of those services.

Jo C.

Gosh; wish I had a good answer.  With my LO, had to finally stop the afternoon snoozes; also gave a snack before bed with a little protein and carb thinking that hunger may have woke him up; seemed to help, but that may have been coincidence.  Is there a way to have him get more physical exercise which may tire him?  Just throwing thoughts out there . . . .

J.

Buggsroo

My husband goes to bed at 4 pm after dinner around 3 pm. He then gets up around 9 pm. Then he gets up around midnight. Again he wakes up around 2 am, gets fully dressed and wanders the house for the rest of the night. 

He then wakes me at 8:15 and I growl so he goes away, then at 15 minute intervals, he tries to get me up. I tell him I am going back to bed. So that is pretty well how it is now. I work part time, I honestly could not envisage working full time. I am sorry that you are experiencing this upset. I have learned to live with it. 

ButterflyWings

Also sleep deprived here. He is up & down -sometimes every hour, and I have to follow due to his current activities like urinating on the floor (2a.m. and 4a.m. this morning), leaving water running, or fridge open, fooling with electrical cords and plugs, or actually trying to leave the house. 

Sometimes melatonin helps (10mg liquid). His Dr just increased the evening dose of his Seroquel but we have not found the magic sleep elixir yet. Kevcoy, your story reminds me of an example from the great “Understanding Dementia” article by Ghent-Fuller. She describes a PWD who got to work earlier and earlier (by hours) as his dementia progressed. Hang in there.

billS

I am also sleep deprived due to my wife frequently popping out of bed, wandering the house, moving chairs, kitchen items, you name it around the house. Her doctor has run through a series of antipsychotic drugs (seroquel, risperdal, zyprexa) at various dosages, none of which has stopped her "energizer bunny" night time activities. The doctor said Ambien can cause problems for dementia patients so she is reluctant to prescribe it. And over the counter sleeping aids did not work. But friends have suggested cannabis gummies of specific strains known to help with sleep and the doctor had no objection to trying that. Cannabis is legal in our state so last night I gave her a small cannabis infused "candy" an hour before bed. I got the best night's sleep I've had in six months. She got up only once around midnight and after guiding her back to bed she slept like a log until past sunup. Tonight will be test number two. Wish me luck!

abc123

Dear BillS, Good luck with the cannabis sleep aid! I sure wish we had had that option when my mom went thru the energizer bunnie stage. Please let us know how it turns out. 

Kevcoy, is that an option for you? I hope you find something to help with that issue!

billS

abc123 wrote:

Dear BillS, Good luck with the cannabis sleep aid! I sure wish we had had that option when my mom went thru the energizer bunnie stage. Please let us know how it turns out. 

Kevcoy, is that an option for you? I hope you find something to help with that issue!

Night 2 was mostly successful. I woke up around midnight to find her wandering the house, I calmly guided her back to bed and she again slept like a log. She is still zonked out now at 7:30 AM. This I can deal with.

billS

Night 3 with the cannabis was a mixed bag. She got up and wandered several times but was very quiet about it so I put in the ear plugs and just let her do her thing. This morning I didn't find the usual evidence of things moved around, so she seemed to get into less mischief than before the cannabis.

billS

Night 4 with cannabis was good. She got up once, apparently because her Depends were soaked, took them off and wandered around a bit moving things around the house. With ear plugs in I only became aware when I awoke and noticed she was not in bed. I led her back to bed where she slept calmly for another hour and a half. By then it was time to get up. So, so far giving her a sleep specific cannabis gummy has been a life saver for me and I see no side effects for her.

mrl

My DH took Trazedone 50mg before bed, pretty much slept thru the nite.

Good Luck,

Michele

LadyTexan

A decent night of sleep would do me a world of good.

DH wakes up several times during the night. Generally he states he needs to go to the bathroom. Sometimes he wants a smoke or a drink of water. Because of he is a fall risk, we are pretty much attached at the hip, and I get up with him.

DH often wakes at 2 am and states its time to get up. I try to sway him to stay in bed until 4 am. I am rarely successful. 

I have always needed a good night's sleep. Alas, it is just a pipe dream now.