Sleeping people

[angelmarbella]

Can anyone tell me (Chemmy, I think your Mum is like this) why and at what stage residents in CH's who are sleeping most of the time are at?

When I go to my Mum's CH I would say the majority of residents are inactive and are slumped in their chairs dozing or asleep. This is one of the shocks I had when we settled her in a few weeks ago although I was aware to a certain extent that this was how it was when I went to visit.

I had been to see several CH's and it seemed to be like this in most although I was limiting by choosing one which would accept Mum's dog.

My mother was active when she went in but she is feisty and emotionally up and down and there was an incident of aggression with another resident and some other disturbances - she is medicated now (no medication whatsoever before she went) and when I have been to visit she is also asleep or sleepy and stumbling when she walks. When the meds are wearing off, she is walking again, more active and chatty (though less coherent now) - but she is calm and seems happy which is the main thing. Even so, I would say she is one of the more "active" ones - her whole day is certainly not spent slumped in a chair and chats to a couple of other residents who seem perfectly normal until you speak to them and realise they don't make sense or are just repetitive.

Is this kind of scenario the norm in these CH's? And, again, why and when do people just sleep in their chair? And is this the same for everyone with AD?

I would like to know what to expect.

Thanks for your advice.

Angel

[Nanak]

My Mum is cared for at home and is asleep 23 and 3/4 hours out of 24. Her eyes never open she rarely responds to us talking to her and even if she says hi it is a very breathless sound and she still won't open her eyes.
Mum is at end stage alzheimers but has been increasingly sleepy for the last year or so.
Nanak
missing what has gone and scared of what is to come

[angelmarbella]

That is so sad Nanak and also scary.

How does your mother eat? I assume you have to feed her whilst she is asleep?

This is such an awful disease.

[sussexsue]

My mum was the same for the last couple of years, both at home and in a CH. Basically unless she was directly interacted with, she would be asleep. Having sat through several activities at mum's Care Homes I found even then residents would all drift in and out of sleep, but TBH they worked hard to keep them involved and awake.

I do wonder if the sleep is more that they cannot understand what is going on around them and therefore just shut there eyes and drift away with their thoughts, rather than going into a deep sleep.

[2TT charlie]

My father is at home and just on Exelon, but he is 92 which I think is why he falls asleep at the drop of a hat. He's still mobile, but a bit unsteady and some days he's asleep for 8 or 9 hours and then sleeps most of the night from around 9pm to 6am. Occasionally he's awake most of the day and then we have to go for a drive or something to stop him fretting about not 'doing' anything.

[Chemmy]

Have you read this (it's scary reading at first, but surprisingly accurate and comforting to realise what's 'normal' once you progress through the stages)

My mum's now at 7e.

When she first went in to the CH in Feb 2005, I'd say she was at late 4/early 5. She was horribly aggressive and paced the corridors in her hat and coat. Now she's one of the old dears slumped in the chair.

But as you see that's to be expected in stage 7d.

I now know the next thing in her decline is that she will lose her ability to smile, so I admit I do cherish those I still get

[Butter]

I think all rules are made to be broken - in the sense that everybody is different. My mother was never really really sleepy all the time. She fought and fought - and when she gave up fighting to get out of the CH she started to fight to die. But indeed there are other residents who have bee asleep for years.

[Katrine]

"My mum was the same for the last couple of years, both at home and in a CH. Basically unless she was directly interacted with, she would be asleep. Having sat through several activities at mum's Care Homes I found even then residents would all drift in and out of sleep, but TBH they worked hard to keep them involved and awake. I do wonder if the sleep is more that they cannot understand what is going on around them and therefore just shut there eyes and drift away with their thoughts, rather than going into a deep sleep." sussexsue

Absolutely spot on, Sue, as far as my mother is concerned. She is cared for at home but apart from going to the kitchen for her meals, or being assisted in the bathroom, she is either dozing in her chair or in bed. She is in bed at night by 8.30pm. She goes for her breakfast about 9.00am (in the kitchen) then returns to bed. Her carers aim to have her dressed and in her chair by 11.00am. Lunch is at 1.00pm then she goes back to bed from 2.00pm to 5.00pm.

She constantly tries to escape back to bed as soon as she has had her meal because why else would she be up? She makes less and less effort to tune in to what other people are saying to her - you can see the shutters go up after a couple of minutes, like "Boring, I'm going back to my inner cinema now, it's more interesting." I think she is very busy living an alternate life inside her head. She calls it her daydreams.

[Mun]

As I've commented before on a different thread,my dad whose 89,has AD/VasD and who still lives at home,sleeps on average 13-18 hours per 24 hours & has done this for several years now. He's up for maybe a couple of hours at a time & then goes back to bed ! no real pattern to it,I've known him on rare occasions stay awake for 9+ hours & other days not really see him at all.
I do worry,particularly with this hot weather about his fluid intake & the risk of him becoming dehydrated,but not a great deal I can do,can't pour fluid down his throat whilst he's sleeping
Just try to get mum to encourage drinks with him when he IS awake !!!!!
Val x

[angelmarbella]

Have you read this (it's scary reading at first, but surprisingly accurate and comforting to realise what's 'normal' once you progress through the stages)

My mum's now at 7e.

When she first went in to the CH in Feb 2005, I'd say she was at late 4/early 5. She was horribly aggressive and paced the corridors in her hat and coat. Now she's one of the old dears slumped in the chair.

But as you see that's to be expected in stage 7d.

I now know the next thing in her decline is that she will lose her ability to smile, so I admit I do cherish those I still get

Thanks very much for the link Chemmy. I have printed it off to study and sent it to my brothers.

Angel

[Witzend]

My mother sleeps a lot now, though I'm sure part of it's down to age, not just AD - she's nearly 94. Until a year or so ago she would be wandering around a lot, day and night.

It's not down to lack of stimulation from the CH. She was never a 'group' person and was never really interested in any of the jolly activities. It's no longer really possible to have any sort of conversation with her and she no longer reads or is interested in the television. If I take her out now (she used to enjoy it) she just frets that she ought to 'get back'.
TBH I'm not surprised she sleeps a lot - what else is she going to do? I'd rather she was sleeping than fretting or constantly wanting to go home, as was so often the case before.
Whenever I go to see her now I take a book to read, since quite often she'll only rouse enough to say hello, or maybe just long enough to drink one cup of tea, and I don't like to chivvy her into waking up properly if she doesn't want to.

[frazzled1]

Thank you for the link to explain the stages of AD.....not sure we could get to stage 7 before our hearts would break.

G was never one for the "jolly activities" but surprisingly he doesnt sleep more than one hour a day. Until the other day we would do a lot of outings in the wheelchair and really enjoy everything. Now he is becoming paralysed, dont know why, it just suddenly happened that he woke one morning and some of his limbs stopped working. thats so cruel.....when you WANT to do physical activities and your body wont let you.

He is so confused he cannot figure out how to turn right to walk to the right ; or left, to walk to the left, but he always remembers to point to the sky, and say it is time he joined his wife in Heaven.

[turbo]

My mum has sleepy periods in her care home but she also has times when she can be awake for a couple of days without sleeping. I read somewhere that for people with dementia, tryng to make sense of the world is like sitting a major exam every day. Care homes are usually so warm and I think that can make residents sleepy aswell.


turbo

[Chemmy]

Thank you for the link to explain the stages of AD.....not sure we could get to stage 7 before our hearts would break.

It's hard to explain - and may be hard to believe - but I've found it all easier to accept the further down the road we are. You get to a stage where you appreciate the good moments (like a fleeting smile) and you don't dwell on the bad ones (when the lights seem to have gone out behind her eyes).

I can remember reading about the seven stages back in 2004 and being horrified at what was to come; but now I appreciate knowing about them because it gives me insight into what is happening to Mum, and what to expect next.

[Pheath]

Hi Angel
I visited a lot of care homes prior to moving dad and the alertness of residents varied a lot. In the homes with more going on – music, activities etc. people certainly seemed more engaged in their surroundings although there were always some more advanced in their condition who were slumped over and sleeping regardless of what was going on around them. However other homes where there was very little going on, even the ones who might otherwise be awake were sleeping too, perhaps through boredom and lack of stimulation. Out of interest what medication is you mum on? Dad has also had an incident of physical aggression in his new care home against a female resident and I know the psychiatrist is coming to review him in the next few weeks. I’d be worried in case they put him on anti-psychotics as I’ve heard the chances of falling are greater and also read they could be dangerous for people with Lewys Bodies Dementia which is what the home feel he has. I’m glad your mum has been able to keep her dog with her, I’ve heard animals are very therapeutic for people with dementia so it’s probably cheering up other residents too and could help in keeping them awake!