Sleep Problems more info

ripscott

I am the caregiver along with my sister for our 101 year old father. His dementia has gotten worse since a recent 3 week hospital stay. He is home now but dependent on my sister and me for everything, He is obsessed with going to the bathroom multiple times a day, most of the times he doesn't go at all. Since he needs help that means I spend what seems like half my day in the bathroom. Even with that,  the worst thing is at night after he goes to bed. Every night shortly after he goes to bed he starts talking and yelling - mostly gibberish. This goes on for hours. He doesn't sleep and my sister and I don't get any sleep. None of the prescription drugs or over the counter drugs have helped at all.  Nothing has helped and we are lost as what to do.

He was on Seroquel and Tradazone and neither helped. Melatonin and CBD gummies haven't helped at all. He had a UTI while in the hospital but antibiotic cleared that up. He was on Flomax foe awhile but the doctor took him off.

 His vision is bad and getting worse. He is also hard of hearing so communication is difficult. He mainly just sits all day and. stares.  He doesn't initiate conversations and doesn't engage when we try. He can't see well enough to read and no longer has any interest in watching TV at all. He naps some during the day ( quietly in the day time)- Everybody tells us don't let him sleep so he sleeps at night- how are we supposed to keep him awake. Why does he nap quietly during the day but yell at night? He can't remember anything and doesn't understand anything much anymore.

I realize I haven't painted very bright picture. We're trying to keep him at home and as healthy and happy as possible but it is getting very hard. The yelling at night is hard to take. We talk to him about it every night but 30 seconds after we talk he starts yelling again.

What can we do to keep him busy and happy during the day and to sleep without yelling all night.

Any suggestions??????????????????????????

jmlarue

Are you in a state where cannabis is legal? If so, you might want to try him on a low dose of THC gummies. I use a 10mg. THC (Indica strain) gummie cut in half given about 1 hour before bedtime. Be sure it's the Indica strain - it's best for calming, sleep inducing, and mild pain relief. Choose a gummie that is soft to chew, especially if he wears dentures. At 5mg you should not see any intoxicated effects - no euphoria - but do stand by to assist when he stands to walk to be sure he's not wobbly. It will take about an hour for the gummie to digest and begin to relax him. The calming effect should last 4-6 hours.

If he has swallowing issues, another option would be a THC tincture (under the tongue with an eye dropper) or added to fruit juice. Hope this can help you. It's been a real sanity-saver in caring for my DH with vascular dementia and vivid dreams.

May flowers

We had similar issues after my FIL’s hospital stay. I wrote about it here https://www.alzconnected.org/discussion.aspx?g=posts&t=2147559636

I mentioned what worked for him in your previous post. I hope you find something that worked. 

My FIL had a UTI only a few weeks after being treated for one in the hospital, so it may be worth checking out.

M1

ripscott I'd also wonder about the Seroquel dose.  If he tolerated it but it was just not effective, I'd try increasing the dose.  You can go as high as 800 mg/day (used in schizoprhenia); most doses for people with dementia are much smaller than that.  Just a thought.  Sounds awful, truly.

MN Chickadee

You might talk with his doctor about the medication. Each PWD requires something different. It could be a different med or dose would be the answer. Trazadone did not work for my mother for sleep. Mirtazapine did. Does playing his favorite music near him help or can he not hear it? Music can be very soothing to PWD even in late stages. How is his swallowing and eating? Is he losing weight?