Staying up ALL NIGHT?

jmack8

My Mom was diagnosed about 6 months ago. We have struggled to find the right medicine combo for her—initially trying to treat her with just Zoloft and Gabapentin, but after so many days of truly despondent mornings, we decided to Zyprexa.

At her initial dose, she had a very quick improvement in mood (though an increase in hallucinations too, which was strange—I thought the anti-psychotics were supposed to help cut down on delusions and hallucinations?) BUT she had 5 ALL nighters in the course of a two week period. She'd be up interacting with her delusions. My Dad is the primary caregiver and would put her back in bed up to maybe 8 times per night? But she just kept getting out of bed and feeding imaginary children.

Then we increased her dosage of the Zyprexa and that seemed to help her get back into a regular sleep routine. That lasted for about a month? Maybe 6 weeks? But last night she had her first all nighter at the current dosage.

I guess my question is, is this a side effect of not adjusting well to the Zyprexa? (The routine began at the exact time she started this medication) or is this a dementia symptom? The pharmacist is not aware of this being common side effect of Zyprexa at all but I thought I'd put this out into the community!

Thank you!

SusanB-dil

Hi jmack8 - I looked up the side effects, and it says sleep problems, dizziness, and weight are the biggest issues. Do tell her doc what is happening. Maybe there is a different med to try.

Sometimes it can take a few weeks to see how any medicine will work.

Sorry you are dealing with all this.

Anonymousjpl123

so sorry you are dealing with this! I would definitely check with the doctor. Also, checking if she’s seeing a Geriatric psychiatrist? For my mom I would never have imagined what she was prescribed - seroquel - but it helped so much and did not make her hyper or a zombie. I guess my point is that dementia requires different approaches. Worth making an appointment with someone familiar (if your gp isn’t). I hope you find the right mix, bad things settle down soon.

elhijo

jmack8, happy new year for what it's worth. Sorry you're going through this. Any medication will have side effects, especially on the elderly, and especially when they have Alzheimer's. I would definitely check with the doctor and see. With my mom I tried different meds but they would make her more crazy, more agitated or turn her vegetable like. And I was afraid she would fall because the meds were so strong and back then she was still getting up from the bed so I was afraid she'd be so drowsy from the meds come morning time and just topple over.

Liquid melatonin worked for us for a while. It was the most benign of meds even though technically it isn't a med as you can get it over the counter. But check with the doctor before you try it, and don't be surprised if after a while it looses it's effect. It did for my mom.

Sometimes because Alzheimer's patients don't want to eat much during the day or drink much, they're just up all night because they're hungry or thirsty. Or because they don't get much stimulation in the day, go out, etc., they're up all night because they have pent up energy. It's just natural but because they can't communicate we mistake it as something wrong when it really isn't and is a simple fix. Like making sure the LO gets adequate food or drink throughout the day and/or taking them out walking so they tire and fall asleep at night, and doing this regularly to ensure consistent behavior. I just say this in case doing non-drug things can help you.

One last thing, your mom may have a UTI. UTIs can cause hallucinations and all kinds of strange things to happen with persons with ALZ which they don't/can't verbalize because of their condition. I noticed that for my LO, when a UTI would happen, the aggression would be off the charts and all nighters would be more common than normal. It was really hard to diagnose though given persons with Alzheimer's aren't exactly cooperative with the doctor on these things. When my LO's UTI was cured yeah she still had sleepless nights but wasn't aggressive or super agitated. You may want to ask the doctor about UTI's too and see what recommendations they have to help prevent them going forward. Can't hurt to know even if your LO doesn't have one.

Godspeed

H1235

I think you need to talk with her doctor about this. keep in mind if the doctor decides to try a different medication she may need to be tapered down on this one first and then started on a low dose of the new medication and increased very slowly. It takes time and is very frustrating to wait for results. I’m concerned for your dad. Would it be possible for you to be there a night or two a week so he can get some sleep. I hope you can figure something out.