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    Sleeping and Restlessness

    BillyB1979
    BillyB1979 Member Posts: 4
    First Comment
    Member
    in Caring For a Spouse or Partner
    I’m helping with the care of my mother with dementia. My father is the main caregiver but I step in often to give him a chance to rest and reset.

    Mom has recently started getting up multiple times throughout the night and refuses to go back to bed. As you can imagine both my parents are exhausted the next day and mom is more confused than when she sleeps the entire night.

    We’ve tried melatonin but that’s not helping. Any suggestions for help with sleep (and restlessness) would be greatly appreciated. Our family leans toward natural approaches but are willing to look into doctor prescribed options.

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    • blacksparky
      blacksparky Member Posts: 53
      25 Likes 25 Care Reactions 10 Comments 5 Insightfuls Reactions
      Member

      My DW uses a combination of melatonin and a muscle relaxer (Flexerall) which is a prescription. If she wakes up at night, she takes more Melatonin. Seems to work well for her.

    • jsps139_
      jsps139_ Member Posts: 258
      100 Care Reactions 100 Likes 100 Comments 25 Insightfuls Reactions
      Member

      My husband was getting up during the night, so the Dr started him on Seroquel 50mg at bedtime. It made him so sleepy the very first time he took it, and he slept all night. He takes 50mg in the am and 50mg in the pm now, and he always sleeps through the night. He also takes a few naps during the day.
      We too preferred natural approaches, but now I changed my thinking to “whatever works.”

      Sleep deprivation is unbearable for a caregiver. It is hard enough doing everything after a full nights sleep.

      I hope you can get this sleep issue resolved soon. It’s so difficult.

    • SDianeL
      SDianeL Member Posts: 1,355
      500 Likes 1000 Comments 500 Care Reactions 250 Insightfuls Reactions
      Member

      I asked the doctor if I could give my DH CBD and she said OK. I gave him gummy in the morning and one before bed. Unless he had a hallucination he didn’t get up except to go to the bathroom. The company I ordered from is FAB CBD. Quality product. Great company. If you decide to try it, start with 1/2 of one and increase after a week. If not, you should speak to her doctor for something for sleep.

    • Kat63
      Kat63 Member Posts: 120
      Fourth Anniversary 100 Comments 100 Care Reactions 25 Insightfuls Reactions
      Member

      My DH has had the same issue. He would get up in the middle of the night and dress and roam around the house for a couple of hours. After trying different prescribed medications that seemed to only help for short periods of time, I read posts on this site about what did work. Most had success with Seroquel. I asked the doctor for Seroquel and he prescribed the generic guetiiapine. It did take a few weeks to work and I now add a melatonin at night but my DH hasn’t dressed during the night for quite some time now.

    • Tetonman
      Tetonman Member Posts: 9
      5 Likes First Comment 5 Care Reactions
      Member

      Getting up in the middle of the night seems to be normal. Well as normal as this problem can be. My DW gets up about every 3 nights and showers. I just try to go back asleep. Only thing I think is that she thinks I'm awake so I start to shower and clean up. She returns to bed and sleeps. Sometimes I just want to laugh another times I want to cry

    • BarnesL
      BarnesL Member Posts: 11
      Second Anniversary 5 Insightfuls Reactions 5 Care Reactions First Comment
      Member

      Sleeping and Restlessness

      BillyB1979

      My DW had trouble sleeping at night. We found 2 Advil PM at bed time worked for her. Lately it's been just the opposite. She sleeps 12 hours a nite and naps a couple hours in the afternoon.

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    Commonly Used Abbreviations


    DH = Dear Husband
    DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
    LO = Loved One
    ES = Early Stage
    EO = Early Onset
    FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
    VD = Vascular Dementia
    MC = Memory Care
    AL = Assisted Living
    POA = Power of Attorney
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