My Mom’s sleep issues are really inconsistent. Some nights she does well however most nights she is up a lot, if not the entire night. She has hallucinations of people and children being in her house or things coming down from the ceiling or that her house is filling with water and she wants to go outside. On the nights when she up all night she falls fast asleep at 6am. My brothers are her caregivers and have most recently tried prescription sleeping pills and melatonin. They don’t seem to have any effect. They are obviously desperate for some sort of help but don’t know where to turn. The neurologist said aside from the sleeping pill and the antipsychotics which didn’t help, there is nothing else he can do. I’m wondering if these behaviors are simply dementia behaviors and there’s not much that can be done. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Has she been tested for a UTI?
This is especially true if this is relatively new behavior. UTIs can present with odd behavior. Please go with a culture test AND get a blood test at the same time. These can rule out infections (non-UTIs will increase WBC) and potential imbalances in electrolytes, etc.
If no infection or imbalance, take sjplegacy's advice. It stinks to have to have her spend so many days away, but it gives them time to find the right solution. Per your profile, she's also resistant to taking showers, meds, etc, so be sure to mention those behaviors as well. Perhaps they can find the right combination of medication to ease her nighttime woes AND make her less combative during the day as well. If they resolve the sleep issues, it might just make her more pleasant during the day by default too! We all need a good solid number of hours of sleep/night to get through the day!
It can be SO draining to have to deal with these battles every day, and worse for your brothers if this impacts their sleep too!
Find a geriatrician...this doctor doesn't sound very willing to think outside the box.
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