restlessness during night

[parkfield1.]

My partner was diagnosed with Alzheimers 3 months ago. I am a novice in adapting to the changes in him. Recently he has started wandering around the house during the night and I don't know how bothered I should be if at all.

 

[karaokePete]

My wife does that so I secured the door (she nearly ended up outside wearing next to nothing one night!) and put her meds in a pill mill so that she was less likely to overdose as she double dosed a couple of times.

 

[margherita]

I think it is quite common for PWD wandering around at night. It seems it is a phase of the illness.
My husband listens to music when he can't get to sleep, but doesn't get out of bed.
So far I haven't had to cope with wandering.
So far..

 

[SoAlone]

My OH doesn't wander about at night but wanders around the house all day, even during meals, it is a bit off putting but I try not to make anything of it. If it happened at night I would probably follow the advice already given and secure outside doors and put meds away

 

[Philbo]

My wife often used to get out of bed at night, mainly to go to the loo but sometimes to look up at the ceiling, as she kept thinking she could see flashes of light.

The biggest problem for me was that she had a habit of leaping out of bed and rushing about and on more than one occasion, this led to her having a fainting episode (probably due to a sudden drop in BP - though the last time this happened and she fell heavily and broke 2 bones in her foot, the paramedics said her BP was normal).

After that, I got a plug-in LED nightlite for the hallway, plus I dusted off the child-gate we had for the grand-kids and put this at the top of the stairs.

In fact, even though she no longer gets up during the night (she's incontinent now so doesn't go to the loo of her own accord), I still use the gate for peace of mind.

 

[Early Girlie]

I'm into year 3 of Hubby's night time wandering. We have hallucinations as well which can be both amusing and frustrating. The biggest risk of wandering is safety. I lock the doors as he has gone outside on a few occasions. If there's anything in the room that causes shadows or reflections, that can also trigger wandering. I cover the burglar alarm sensor and the mirrors. With the hallucinations, I just roll with whatever the story is. Jeremy Corbyn often hides in our wardrobe but by the time Hubby has made him a cup of tea, he's usually had to go off to a meeting, I find. The little kid that swings on our light fixture is more difficult to get rid of, but I offer to watch out for him so Hubby can get back to sleep. As time goes on, the worst of the wandering is the toilet search. If I don't get the light on fast enough so that he can see the bathroom door, he wees in the dressing room. I was steam cleaning the floor at 2am on Wednesday.

Welcome to the world of dementia. It's sad, and you need deep reserves of love, compassion and patience, as well as a really good washing machine.

EG

 

[Susisuster]

My husband doesn't wander but wakes really early about 3.30 am, and gets up I am aware he is up, but he stays in the house he expects me to be up around 6 sometimes earlier and makes sure I am awake! Sometimes I just long to be able to stay in bed and relax but those days are gone.

 

[Amethyst59]

My husband has wandered at night for about 18 months now. We found a huge improvement when we followed the Admiral nurse's advice and left the bedroom door open and the bathroom light on. Now I only have to actually get out of bed to help him, probably less than once a week. He still wakes me every night, but it is not nearly as bad as it was.

 

[Diannie]

I am also having the same problem with my husband during the night. Before I go to bed I have to hide coffee, tea, kettle and toaster etc. He is up constantly during the night ensuring I am awake as well. Recently at times when I have been so shattered and grabbed a couple of hours sleep I woke up to find water poured into the toaster, knocking the electrics out when I unknowingly plugged it in. A boiled kettle with no lid which after hunting high and low found it buried in the coffee jar. Tea bags down the loo etc. But worse than that I find when he is in bed the constant jerking of arms and legs and getting in and out of bed every few minutes is driving me mad. I am writing this at 3am and feel I can't go on. I wish there were Night centres as opposed to day centres where I could send him off overnight just so I could sleep for a few hours at least. Sorry about the rant

 

[cuppatea]

My husband also wanders at night and it's a worry because his mobility is poor and he has a catheter. He has a leg bag on all the time as he was dragging the night stand round with him. I always have low lights on upstairs but I don't use the stair gate as it felt he could topple right over it and I decided that was a bigger risk. He never moves out of his chair during the day.

 

[Everton Annie]

Diannie my husband had a sleep pattern similar to your husband's. In the end I went to our GP who prescribed Mirtazapine for him to take at night. Partly to help lift his mood but also to help with his sleep. Had a few adjustments but he sleeps better, can't say his mood has improved. The point is none of us can keep up with caring 24/7 unless we get adequate sleep, it simply isn't safe. I made a double appointment so I could speak openly with the GP before she saw my husband. I am fortunate that she is a brilliant GP as it helped not having to talk about the issues in front of my husband. Wish you a peaceful night

 

[Diannie]

restlessness during the night

Diannie my husband had a sleep pattern similar to your husband's. In the end I went to our GP who prescribed Mirtazapine for him to take at night. Partly to help lift his mood but also to help with his sleep. Had a few adjustments but he sleeps better, can't say his mood has improved. The point is none of us can keep up with caring 24/7 unless we get adequate sleep, it simply isn't safe. I made a double appointment so I could speak openly with the GP before she saw my husband. I am fortunate that she is a brilliant GP as it helped not having to talk about the issues in front of my husband. Wish you a peaceful night[/QUOTE

 

[Diannie]

Restlessness during the night

Thank you for your reply. I have had a call from my husband's Dementia nurse this evening telling me she is asking our GP to prescribe Melatonin as this helps a person to stay asleep. Apparently it's a hormone which stops working in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's and helps with the wandering and jerking movements keeping him and me awake.