Sundowning in the Morning?

yardman49 · March 20

A question for the community, My DW has been waking up the past week or so with a continuation of the sundowning attitude and demeanor she was experiencing the prior evening. Is this a common experience others have experienced with Alzheimer's?

Is this an indication that my DW condition is in further decline?

jfkoc · March 20

I would rule out other causes for the behavior like a silent UTI.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/expert-answers/sundowning/faq-20058511

CindyBum · March 20

Oh yes. I would check for a UTI, but my wife's sundowners went from just in the evening to her literally unable to sit down for 24-36 hours at a time. I can now see that it was the point where she began her final decline to her passing in Feb. 2026. I would be looking at what medications you can give her to help her suffering with this. I never quite got a mix of meds to calm my DW completely, but I at least found a combo that let her sleep at night.

Dio · March 20

So sorry, and so frustrating for you. Did you check with your DW's neurologist? There was a time my DH was up for 36 hrs straight…nearly killed me because he wouldn't let me lie down to rest/sleep, kept pulling me out of bed. I finally called 911 and he was sent to the local ER. At the time, we didn't have a diagnosis of dementia yet. We just thought it was a mental breakdown. No matter the label, it was horrifying. He did not have UTI and not sure if it could be labeled as sundowning, but it was a brutal period for me.

SDianeL · 12:51AM

while sundowning is due to many factors, this could be progression. What specific behaviors have you noticed? Here’s the DBAT tool that may help: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6372d16ea4e02c7ce64425b7/t/63f7b80d80d8aa3e3aa4a47d/1677178894184/DBAT.pdf

Sundowning in the Morning?

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