He is confused and doesn’t know why he is up or what he is doing. He was sleeping at least 3 hours at night before waking. We get up with him take him to restroom, change his depend to avoid bed messes, and put him back to bed but an hour later he is up. He sleeps in a calm room with no noise or other activity going on. Please help with any suggestions.
The doc can no doubt give you many options.
You need your sleep! I imagine dad sleeps/dozes all day long and so his circadian rhythms are all off.
I'd like to give you MY problem, or a least a portion of it. My DH (pretty healthy at age 68) and if he is not actively working, he is asleep. I've seen him sleep 22 hours straight, more than once. Then he gets up, eats something, goes to the bathroom and is back in bed for another 22 hour 'nap'. He gets in cycles where he will do this for up to 5 days. Somehow he manages to still work 70+ hrs a week, but he does nothing else.
I wouldn't want your problem, but I'm not a fan of MINE!
Good Luck. This must be exhausting!
YOU need sleep. I agree with talking to his doc ASAP and seeing if a med can help him sleep more, for your sake. Is he waking up from pain? To pee? Or just who knows why? Maybe try melatonin?
Is there any noise that could be waking him? If so, maybe put a white noise machine in his room? Works for my grandkids!
Yes, you're getting that UTI check, but ask for a culture, if possible. When I first joined the forum and saw all the suggestions for UTI test, I was a skeptic. Mom's first UTI at MC resulted in major sun-downing! No pain, none, just every afternoon/early evening she HAD to get out, she had guests coming and had to go home! She set off every door alarm. In the morning, she was fine. Any relatively sudden change in behavior, habits, demeanor, do check that first. It's easy and cheap, just to rule it out. UTIs (and apparently other infections) can really wreak havoc on elders, without the usual symptoms. This seems to be especially true for those with dementia.
That said, mom's second UTI showed up as night time bed wetting. SOAKING! They would have to change her nightgown, briefs AND bedding! Despite briefs with another pad inserted. Once treated, no more bed wetting.
For the sleep issue, maybe if he has a UTI and it is treated it will resolve. If it doesn't, during mom's first UTI episode they Rxed anti-anxiety, mildest dose. I'm not a big fan of medications, but this worked first time, every time and there's no need to wean off if it doesn't work. It was just enough in the evening to take the "edge" off, but it also helped to keep her asleep. They do warn it can be a fall risk, but mom was still mobile at that time and never had any issues. The only tumbles she ever had there she wasn't taking it - it was only used during the UTI treatment, then kept for "as needed", but they didn't need it.
Hopefully it is a UTI. If not, there should be something they can prescribe to help him sleep. If he still pees like a racehorse, you'll want to add some extra padding on the bed to protect the mattress. Meanwhile they should do more investigation to find out why he goes so much. Definitely need to resolve this so you can SLEEP!
If that's not it, look into trying sublingual melatonin. Melatonin taken as an oral swallowed pill is much less effective.
If that doesn't work, talk to the doctor about something to help him sleep through the night. I'd be asking about Trazodone. I've found it to be the best way to regulate the Circadian rhythm with the fewest side effects.
It helps a little to give him a small snack like a muffin and a glass of milk late when he wakes up.
Also, started giving him 3 mg of melatonin at night.
My Dad doesn't really like being by himself, it's like a child being scared of being left alone and he doesn't eat a lot but seems to want something to eat every 2-3 hrs.
He has now chosen to sleep in his Recliner verses his bed, seems to relax him better.
Prayers
Make sure he stays awake the majority of the day. If his sleep needs occur during the day, he will be up at night.
Take him outside into the sunshine daily and make sure he has plenty of light during the day. His circadian rhythm will be better adjusted when he gets plenty of light to recalibrate his wake-sleep cycles.
Limit naps to 20 minutes.
Have his prostrate checked. Enlargement causes the feeling of always needing to pee. This could cause him to wake frequently.
Talk to his doctor about medications to help with sleeping.
Please make sure that all caregivers in the family are getting enough sleep (7-9 hours) themselves. Being on constant "call" will eventually mess with your health.
We checked and checked for UTI, tried melatonin, tried adjusting other medicines, etc.
It all ended when she had a mild stroke towards the end of last summer.
Recently, she had some trouble with hallucinations keeping her up at night. Her hospice nurse advised giving her a very small dose of anti-anxiety medicine at bedtime. It does make her sleepier, even during the day, but she is sleeping through the night now.
I have since wondered if the constant trips to the bathroom and the use of all the over-the-counter medicines was due to anxiety. It's worth thinking about if other remedies don't work.
Good idea. Couldn't hurt. Anything to calm a person down.
This isn't easy and for us it was nearing the end. We lost my dad about 5 months after his sundowning became more than we could handle.
I wish you and your family the best and I'm sorry for this sadness, many of us have been there and understand what you are going through.
Nothing worked unfortunately for us. He continued to wake up and be tired all day!
I really like this meditation music for reducing anxiety/ calm nighttimes/ sleeping-
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-vvpsIiUVKY&t=3110s
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jK2hS40pr-g
, and has alzheimers, 4 month ago the doctor put him in quetiapine 25mg at nigh and is working for know, Thank God.
Alzheimer’s patients are strange, and will develop new and different behaviors over time. In other words as soon as you address an undesirable behavior they may start a new one. Therefore I would be careful using drugs to address any situation.
Make sure he doesn't take long naps during the daytime. This will interfere with his nighttime rest.
Make sure to keep him on a consistent schedule - regular bedtime and regular wake time.
Some folks have better luck with non-prescription medications: melatonin, Benadryl, and CBD oil (not a fan of this because of lack of quality control).
Doctor appointment. Physician can prescribe medications to help him stay asleep since falling asleep is not his issue. Doctor can also check to make sure prostate is not causing problems.
Many folks with later stages of dementia do get confused about days and nights. Getting outside daily and bright lights during the day may help. If not, hiring a sitter at night may at least help the rest of the family to get more sleep.