Sundowning now all day



My DW has been sundowning for quite a while but this past week it seems to start up each morning. She goes to bed crying and wakes up crying. I can calm her down most times and get her redirected but next thing I know she is crying again. When I ask her what’s going on, she says she doesn’t know anything and doesn’t want to go there. I ask her where there is and she doesn’t know. She’s said recently that she just wants to die but never once mentioned killing her self. I’m thinking she just wants to go back to before her disease. The Neurologist has her on both Zoloft and seroquel. Any ideas on how any of you have handled a similar situation?
Comments
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Sometimes just being together with lots of hugs, hand holding helps…anything to reassure she is not alone. I sat and watched a lot of TV with my husband…programs not my choice. Looked at large picture books. Cut/pasted/painted/drew and colored at the dining room table. We also sorted non-important papers and folded laundry. Basically I was a full time, rather quiet tour director.
Oh, I forgot singing and dancing…lol
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I had similar issues with my DW and the symptoms have responded to increasing her seroquel dose.
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Ask if she can go on mitrazapine ( Remeron) too. It’s an anti-depressant and sleep aid. It and Zoloft helped my mom’s all day crying spells.
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I would definitely be finding the right medication to help her.
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I'm afraid only finding the right medication for her will help. My DH went through that too…36 hrs. straight no sleep. I couldn't function and had to call 911 because he wouldn't let me sleep and got very aggressive. I locked the bedroom door but he kept pounding on it so hard I thought it would break. I feared for my life. Then his psychiatrist surmised it was Lewy Body Dementia and prescribed Exelon. Thankfully it worked and DH slept like a baby that night, with usual anxieties gone in the morning. Sadly, soon after other symptoms surfaced and a different nightmare continued.
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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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