Loved one is too restless, won't sleep or rest

Richard67 · November 3

Hello, my wife will only sleep a few hours a night, and when she's awake she cannot sit still or lie down to rest for more than a few minutes. Then she wants to walk around the house, again and again and again. She needs assistance walking, so this need for constant attention puts a strain on myself and even our 24/7 caregivers. She takes Seroquel for her Alzheimers but her doctors won't prescribe anything specifically for sleep. I've tried adding Tylenol PM and melatonin to her nightly meds, but they don't seem to be very effective. The lack of sleep and rest is taking a toll on her body and mind.

CindyBum · November 3

What an unhelpful response from your doctors. They should be helping you find a medicine based solution here.

My DW is also on an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety pills. I'm about to talk with her Dr about Rexulti as well. It's for agitation. All of these meds make my DW sleepier. Perhaps if you frame it that she's anxious, depressed and agitated and they will react differently to prescribing other medications?

Good luck!

midge333 · November 3

How much Seroquel is she taking? It sounds like she needs a higher dose. My DW, who was a small woman, needed 75 mg three times a day. There is one study that shows 100 mg/day is no better than placebo whereas 200 mg/day was superior to placebo.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17316169/

Phoenix1966 · November 3

I’m so sorry you’re going through this, but glad you found this place.

My grandmother exhibited this behavior a few weeks before she died. Her doctor was also very resistant to having her “snowed”(his words), which left my mother and I, providing her 24/7 care, extremely exhausted. My grandmother was on a very low dose of Seroquel, donepezil and melatonin. If I had been knowledgeable at the time about geriatric psychiatry, I would have gotten her an appointment with one to help with med management. There might have been a solution that would have allowed her to rest. Or this behavior might have been terminal restlessness and nothing would have helped. But I’ll never know.

I would press for additional meds and seek out another physician if necessary.

ronda b · November 3

Is she on hospice? If not call them. They should be able to go through their Dr's. Your dr doesn't seem to know to much about alz.

Cynthiaa1937 · November 4

Seraquol might not be for everyone. My mom's got violent while on it and didn't sleep at all. Most likely she will need another type of medication or see a neurologist to prescribed a different type of drug for her. Hoping for the best for you and your wife.

Kat63 · November 4

My DH is under hospice care. He is taking Seroquel and we have increased the amount to 100 mg, three times a day for a total of 300mg. For the past several months it had helped with afternoon agitation. The past week or so he started having more trouble walking and at the same time became very restless at night and was difficult to get him to bed and was up and down at least 5 times almost every night. The hospice aide noticed him seemed to grimace as he was trying to walk. Hospice suggested we use the “abc” cream which is a compound of pain meds and narcotics, so have to wear gloves to administer. It certainly has helped and my husband is calm now in the evenings and falling asleep around 8:30. He still gets up twice a night to use the toilet, but comes right back to bed. So for us a combination of antipsychotics and pain relievers have helped.

SDianeL · November 4

so sorry you are going through this. I would ask for a referral to a Geriatric Psychiatrist which is the best type of doctor to manage meds for dementia patients.

Loved one is too restless, won't sleep or rest

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