sleep deprived vent

Judy.T.

My DH took off last night. He keeps trying to walk to Conway NH. That is only a little over 2,000 miles away. It was rainy & cold here. He was wearing one slipper & one sneaker. Carrying a belt, socks and the other slipper. Thankfully he was wearing his dementia watch, so I tracked him and picked him up a mile away. Then he woke up at 3am trying to go to work (he was a milkman). Luckily, I convinced him it was veterans day and there was no school so he didn't have to go to work.

It is now 6am and I am so exhausted! He will sit on the couch and nap all day. How do you keep going with out sleep?

M1

Judy, three thoughts: you need locks and/or alarms on the outside doors; i never faced this, but some recommend slide locks put way above eye level. second, I'd let his doc know about this, they may be able to prescribe something to help him sleep through the night. The other thought, of course, is to hire a nighttime aide or consider memory care. sorry you are facing this, I'm sure it was scary and exhausting.

Jeanne C.

Hi Judy- sorry you're having a rough time. When my husband was up and down all night, I usually napped when he did. It helped keep me from completely collapsing. But more importantly, like M1 suggested, I discussed it with his doc. She increased his nighttime dosage slightly so he slept better. It has made a world of difference.

Caro_Lynne

Judy, I had the same problem with LO escaping and me getting no sleep. As M1 mentioned, I placed slide locks on every door with outside access and installed door alarms as well. He doesn't know they are there (he doesn't look up). He tries to open at least one door most days; I tell him it's stuck and someone coming tomorrow to fix it. Next day, rinse and repeat. At least now, even if he gets up at night, I know he cannot get out and I am able to sleep! That is if he doesn't come in my room and wake me up, that's another story. Hope this helps.