DW Waking up 3 AM

Hvbw

First time on this Forum. Some background my wife was diagnosed with EO Alzheimer when she was 58. Now 6 years later she has lost her ability to communicate, self care, and starting to have trouble walking. I am her sole caregiver (married 38 yr) and basically have to do everything like feeding, bathing, dressing.and toileting. I still work full time but I have been very fortunate to have been able to work remote such that I have been able to take care of my wife. Lately she has been having these middle of the night episodes (usually 3 AM) where she wakes up crying and aggravated. It usually last an hour to settle her down but last night we stayed up all night. During the day, caretaking while working is already exhausting, but adding lack of sleep adds another dimension of stress to me. I first gave her 10 Mg of Melatonin to let her sleep through the night and worked first but now not as much. Can anybody recommend what to give her so she sleeps through the night or something she can take when she has one of these episodes?

JDancer

My husband is at a similar place. I enrolled him in hospice two weeks ago. The qualifications are different with dementia patients. They provide a lot of support.

CampCarol

I'm not sure an OTC medication is the right route now that she's at this stage. Maybe speak to her PCP or Neurologist about this new behaviour?

Quilting brings calm

Sone doctors prescribe trazadone or mirtrazipine for sleep issues. Trazadone didn’t work for my mom, mirtrazipine did.

MN Chickadee

Speak with her doctor, you likely need a prescription strength med for her sleep. Mirtrazipine did wonders for my mom. She quit getting up at 4 am for the most part.

harshedbuzz

@Hvbw

FWIW, melatonin is meant for short-term (2 weeks or less) use to help a person fall asleep. It's not intended to manage fractured sleep.

I would talk to her doctor about this, s/he can prescribe something. Seroquel worked wonders for us.

HB

RetiredTeacher

My husband has VD and had extremely fragmented sleep for year. PCP prescribed Trazadone for sleep. Started at 50 mg but DH is a big guy. He's on 150 mg and it has helped significantly. The crying and agitation you describe may need something different. I hope you continue to pursue appropriate mds with her dr.

jsps139_

Seroquel 50mg gives my DW 10 or 11 straight hours of sleep. He gets 50 mg in am and at bedtime. It was a game changer.

SDianeL

welcome. Sorry about your DW. Risperidone is another anti psychotic medication prescribed for hallucinations and agitation. I would also recommend a Hospice evaluation. They offer so much help and resources that will help you both. Don’t wait. We understand the mental and physical exhaustion. 💜

Abby627

My DH takes 25 mg of Seroquel about 7 pm every evening when the sundowning symptoms first start showing up. So far it has worked like a charm. He’s calm within an hour of taking it and sleeps like a baby through the night. Good luck. I, like so many others here, feel your pain. It’s such a frustrating disease.