Sleeping tablets

[banger696]

Over the past couple of weeks we have had some night episodes with mum getting up at 4am and wandering, then later shouting for help because she is lost in her own house. I have sleep apnea and usually put her back to bed then she is doing the same an hour later, I need all the sleep I can get and so does she as she looks wrecked on a morning. Anyone have any luck getting sleeping tablets from their GP to try and get a good nights rest? Not for me you understand.

Tim

 

[Aisling]

Over the past couple of weeks we have had some night episodes with mum getting up at 4am and wandering, then later shouting for help because she is lost in her own house. I have sleep apnea and usually put her back to bed then she is doing the same an hour later, I need all the sleep I can get and so does she as she looks wrecked on a morning. Anyone have any luck getting sleeping tablets from their GP to try and get a good nights rest? Not for me you understand.

Tim

Hi Tim,

I believe in asking...... The doc may not prescribe them but it is worth a chat anyway.

Aisling

 

[banger696]

Will ring her next week.

 

[Tin]

Unless there is a medical reason why not, the gp will prescribe something, probably Zopiclone. Explain to gp that your nights are disturbed because of mum's night time activities. Gp will only prescribe a few though.

My mum takes 3.75mg Zopiclone, does not take every night once or twice a week only. I have to make sure mum goes to the toilet a short time after taking and is wearing thicker pull ups. for my mum the next day is a bit iffy, she can be a little confused and honestly a little difficult but I have to decide whether this is better than a sleepless night for me.

 

[Kevinl]

Doctor's opinions seem to vary, some will do it, others not. The ones that do are probably taking a pragmatic view about what's best for everyone, other see them as possibly being addictive and once started can be difficult to stop.
K

 

[Tin]

Doctor's opinions seem to vary, some will do it, others not. The ones that do are probably taking a pragmatic view about what's best for everyone, other see them as possibly being addictive and once started can be difficult to stop.
K

That's why we only get 14 at a time and they are spread out over a 3 month period. Each time I need more I have to ring and book a telephone consultation with gp. they can become additive and then useless for purpose. Each time I give one to mum I have to decide if she really needs to take one? can I cope with a broken nights sleep? The time she takes it is critical too, sometimes she is way too anxious for the pill to help her.

 

[Katrine]

Worth discussing with the GP whether to try paracetamol at bedtime as a first step. It has a muscle relaxant effect. We find my mum is better rested and more with it the next day now she has this each night. It seems to help her get to that level of deep sleep she needs at the start of the night. Mind you, she's well past the wandering around in the night stage now, so it may not be appropriate for your mum's situation.

My mum was a long-term user of knockout barbiturate sleeping pills years ago, being a light sleeper and driven crazy by my dad's snoring. Then GPs stopped prescribing her drug of choice. Modern sleeping tablets do not KO you for 8 hours. She would complain that she'd wake up after 4 hours and then be sleepless again. Her dependence became more psychological than physical - so much so that for about 3 years she was given her daily aspirin at bedtime as 'your tablet', even though she didn't actual use sleeping pills any more, on doctor's orders (polypharmic patients don't need even more drugs). Then one day she said they didn't work and she would just stop taking sleeping tablets. We never let on that she hadn't been!

 

[little shettie]

My mum has been a poor sleeper since diagnosis 7 years ago. She has lived with hubby and me for 2 1/2 years and we had 2 of those years with her wandering around the house all night, keeping us awake. My husband has a very physical job and he cannot cope without sleep. I spoke to the GP about sleeping pills and she was reluctant at first to prescribe, but when I saw the doctor at the mental health clinic, he told me my sleep and health was as important if not more than my mums and prescribed zopiclone 3.5mg. They were effective for a few nights and then had no effect. So we got the dose upped to the max 7mg and they worked for a while then stopped. We have tried Phenergan, they have a sedative effect and again worked now and then but now we have tamazepam which mum can one one or two. I've been given her 1 but she still managed to get out of bed, then 1 1/2, then last night 2!!!! Yes I would say that they make her very sleepy for most of the morning even when shes slept all night, but the other alternative is she will slide out of bed (can no longer stand or walk due to fractured hip 4 months ago) and she lies on the floor in the cold until we discover her next morning. I would say its worth trying the pills because everyones different and you must explain to the GP that your health is suffering. I disagree with them being addictive in these cases, if you're controlling the meds then that won't happen but as in mums case, she fights sleep and is so strong willed my hubby says an elephant tranquiliser wouldn't knock her out!!! Said in jest, we have to laugh otherwise we'd cry!!! Good luck xx PS I've found that phernargan or promethazine as its known is good to calm mum, she gets really fretful and anxious late afternoon and one of these works really well with that.

 

[marionq]

My GP prescribed 7 mg Zopiclone without hesitation when my husband was up getting dressed for work night after night. He took this for over a year together with Trazadone and I slept well. He no longer needs Zopiclone and I am gradually winding down the Trazadone. No harm done and I am able to keep him at home. The GP in this case was a woman and I'm pretty sure she understood just what it takes to be a carer with or without sleep!

 

[Lawson58]

I am a classic insomniac and have taken sleeping pills for decades, every sort that is available and tried all the relaxation techniques including hypnotherapy. Nothing works particularly well anymore. My GP and I have discussed the issue of addiction but he takes the view that sleep deprivation is way more harmful than a mild and controlled addiction to sleeping pills.

However, I am in reasonably good health and though I am in my seventies, the only other meds I take are for high blood pressure and early glaucoma. It is a matter of finding the balance of what works for the PWD and the carer. If the PWD is quite elderly, does the issue of addiction matter too much? And it is so important for the carer to get the rest they need.