Nightmares

Flyingtp

Hey there! I’m new here, my dad is 78yrs old and has cognitive decline. He’s starting to have more life like nightmares and wakes up really
scared not knowing where he is. Has anyone else experienced this?

H1235

My mom has vascular dementia. She does not have nightmares but it was something the doctor asked about and got the impression it is a symptom. You may want to see if there is medication that can help.

M1

Welcome to the forum. You also want to rule out a medication side effect—Aricept/donepezil has vivid unpleasant dreams as a common side effect.

sweet4utwo

> @"Flyingtp " said:
> Hey there! I’m new here, my dad is 78yrs old and has cognitive decline. He’s starting to have more life like nightmares and wakes up really
> scared not knowing where he is. Has anyone else experienced this?

First - you're not alone - my dad (same age) is having similar issues ...
Second - I'm new too - so looking for advise !

DTSbuddy

My DH has aphasia, so I'm not sure, but I believe that sometimes when he awakens at night, agitated and walking around the house, that he had a nightmare. So I try to help him forget it, look at the stars, reassure him that everything is ok, listen to some music, look at pictures of happier times, and then when he starts to act sleepy, show him his bed.

mike123123

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/219889#Comment_219889

Yes. We were told that by the prescriber for my dad. They say to stop it immediately if he had nightmares.

nancym97

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/70333/nightmares

Yes, my mom was on donezepil for a month or two and had nightmares, then paranoia and delusions. Multiple doctors didn't think that donezepil was the cause, but we took her off it. They started her on seroquel to tamp down the delusions, and that eventually worked.

mrsabaldwin

My mom experiences delusions and hallucinations. Her doctors say this is par for the course with mixed dementia. She is also late stage 5-ish. Her doctors explain that she has brain loss and no amount of medication is going to repair or restore it.

Janet60

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/219969#Comment_219969

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/220041#Comment_220041

Could you share the experience of going off of Donezepil? we need to do this as my sister experiences horrible dreams and it ruins the whole day. We have cut in half. Did you see a great decline when medication was removed??

debs13

Hello, new to the chat forum!
My dad is 80 and has vascular dementia and Parkinson’s. He has become increasingly depressed and is having a lot of nightmares and when I have gone to him he does not know who I am and I am finding it difficult to reassure him. Just wondering if any of you have and advice for this please? Thanks in advance and sending love to you all xxx