Dear Diary!

[Rachael03]

After some reflection managed to come up with a solution for night-time temp fluctuations... extra covers placed on left side as mum lies on the right with a 'breathable' pockets of space on the latter; worked reasonably well thank goodness!! Had similar issues last year and utilised same approach with positive effect then too Mum still sleeping less (haha) which eats into my own 4hours zedding time but at least she's more comfortable now.

Hi @Eddcorner this is interesting for me tp here. My own mother seems to be having problems with overnight sweats. We regularly go through 2-3 pairs of underwear and pj trousers. She sleeps under a massive hwavy duvet but if we moved it to a lighter one, she wouldnt fall asleep. She complains of being cold all the time. I knew myself it must be dementia interfering with body thermostat but sounds like that might be common.

What do you do to fix your mum in middle of night if drenched in sweat? I try to be minimally invasive as sleep is so important to her and want her back to bed as soon as can manage. Thanks

 

[Eddcorner]

Well @Eddcorner you must have trained yourself to manage, as I'm sure I couldn't cope with only 4 hours sleep each night on a long term basis. It probably helps that you're younger, stronger, more resilient than us oldies.

Not so young anymore @Chizz!! I've never needed a lot of sleep but four hours is pushing it somewhat, however at the beginning of our journey together it was a lot less as mum literally only needed a couple of hrs to recharge. Been about four or five years now at this level of zedding time but as you know yourself in supporting our loved ones we just adapt sometimes without even realising it.

 

[Eddcorner]

Hi @Eddcorner this is interesting for me tp here. My own mother seems to be having problems with overnight sweats. We regularly go through 2-3 pairs of underwear and pj trousers. She sleeps under a massive hwavy duvet but if we moved it to a lighter one, she wouldnt fall asleep. She complains of being cold all the time. I knew myself it must be dementia interfering with body thermostat but sounds like that might be common.

What do you do to fix your mum in middle of night if drenched in sweat? I try to be minimally invasive as sleep is so important to her and want her back to bed as soon as can manage. Thanks

Hi @Rachael03

Yes the 'autonomic nervous system' can cause a myriad of challenges for those suffering with brain-fog.

It's different for each person I suppose... mum will usually have three personal visits per night although she's been known to have more. If on one of these or I'm doing 'temperature control duty' she needs changing I do it then, my overriding concern is that during one of her fluctuations the sweat cools against her skin causing the shivers; I'm also worried that it may cause skin irritation/breakdown or areas of redness and inflammation. We're fortunate we have a well established routine and personal visits or a pyjama change can take as little as five minutes. as mum feels fresh she usually falls asleep straight away when her head hits the pillow. Sleep is a priority so I understand your position, it's taken us several years to get mum sorted quick-smart pit-stop style you just have to weigh up what works best for your loved one.

A difficult query - wish I could offer more clear advice!

 

[Rachael03]

Hi @Rachael03

Yes the 'autonomic nervous system' can cause a myriad of challenges for those suffering with brain-fog.

It's different for each person I suppose... mum will usually have three personal visits per night although she's been known to have more. If on one of these or I'm doing 'temperature control duty' she needs changing I do it then, my overriding concern is that during one of her fluctuations the sweat cools against her skin causing the shivers; I'm also worried that it may cause skin irritation/breakdown or areas of redness and inflammation. We're fortunate we have a well established routine and personal visits or a pyjama change can take as little as five minutes. as mum feels fresh she usually falls asleep straight away when her head hits the pillow. Sleep is a priority so I understand your position, it's taken us several years to get mum sorted quick-smart pit-stop style you just have to weigh up what works best for your loved one.

A difficult query - wish I could offer more clear advice!

This is helpful, thank you. I have been wondering if theres anything else I can do to "control" her sweating but it happens no matter what, so definitely a dementia symptom. It looks so unpleasant to wake drenched in sweat as well!!

Im so fortunate my beauitful, gentle mother is no trouble for a quick overnight change most of the time. So will keep doing what we are doing. But definitely need to get a few more sets of pjs for her...we do through them at a crazy rate! Amazon trip tomorrow! Thank you again ☺️

 

[Eddcorner]

This is helpful, thank you. I have been wondering if theres anything else I can do to "control" her sweating but it happens no matter what, so definitely a dementia symptom. It looks so unpleasant to wake drenched in sweat as well!!

Im so fortunate my beauitful, gentle mother is no trouble for a quick overnight change most of the time. So will keep doing what we are doing. But definitely need to get a few more sets of pjs for her...we do through them at a crazy rate! Amazon trip tomorrow! Thank you again ☺️

Good luck and best wishes to you and your mum, fingers crossed for you both

 

[Eddcorner]

Bangin' headache for the last couple of hours... then domino effect - knees, back, shoulders haha! Mum just laughed and gave me that look 'really?', us chaps have a low tolerance for pain but no sympathy there regardless

 

[Eddcorner]

Not so achy today but headache has reasserted itself just :/ ah well... Still no sympathy haha mum in excellent spirits though.

 

[jennifer1967]

Not so achy today but headache has reasserted itself just :/ ah well... Still no sympathy haha mum in excellent spirits though.

its so heavy outside. weve had pouring rain but its been warm. stupid weather!!!!

 

[Eddcorner]

its so heavy outside. weve had pouring rain but its been warm. stupid weather!!!!

I know... same again this evening too totally draining for both me & mum as a consequence. Very stupid weather indeed @jennifer1967!

 

[Eddcorner]

Humidity levels sky high again this evening, all our gadgets are on to mitigate same... very challenging for mum. On the positive side although I dislike her grinding teeth mum has been utilising this behaviour to communicate when she wants a personal visit, has been spot on each time! Yes it's been a more frequent exercise but has given us both a massive lift today, left me wondering however how many times I might have missed other cues before she hit on this one as a winner 🤔

 

[Knitandpurl]

What about a little hand bell on table by her chair? Teeth grinding can cause jaw problems.

 

[Eddcorner]

What about a little hand bell on table by her chair? Teeth grinding can cause jaw problems.

There are some challenges regarding such unfortunately; mum has limited functioning due to her RA plus at this stage of our journey might find it difficult to process/learn a new action. We are occasionally successful introducing new interventions/support mechanisms but it can be a bit hit & miss... I'll give it a pop regardless, fingers crossed 🤞 and thanks @Knitandpurl

 

[Knitandpurl]

🤞

 

[Eddcorner]

Mum letting me know in no uncertain terms she wanted a personal visit and not to go to bed! Pulled me on it the other day too... I do prefer to be put in my place haha, sharp as a knife she is

 

[Eddcorner]

Made plans to go out today... wrong thing to do!! Everything higgledy-piggledy from beginning to now, also had a very frustrating phone call with the most non-empathetic individual who thought I had all the time in the world to engage in conversation :/ Put me in a right proper bad mood, obvs I had to put these feelings away as to not impact mum but left me seething internally nonetheless. I'm an ordered individual who does not appreciate chaos.

 

[Eddcorner]

Mum is so exceptionally on the ball this evening, I mean right on the button! Has expressed her choices well and had me fetching & carrying - must have been the radishes

 

[Eddcorner]

Well as most peeps know I support mum with personal visits 3x per night... woken up on a further two occasions by 'teeth grinding' but can't complain as she was successful both times Importantly I do tell mum if she wants to go outside our set times or have a drink (or anything else for that matter) to let me know and I'll act on it. Always sharpest during the night!

 

[Neveradullday!]

Always sharpest during the night!

Yes, @Eddcorner it never ceases to amaze me how sharp our loved one's with this [shall remain nameless] are during the early hours. Who needs sleep when you're as fresh as a daisy? 😉

 

[Eddcorner]

Yes, @Eddcorner it never ceases to amaze me how sharp our loved one's with this [shall remain nameless] are during the early hours. Who needs sleep when you're as fresh as a daisy? 😉

Yes @Neveradullday! plenty of energy in reserve with my twenty hour days haha but her cognizance reaches a high-point during this period... and if she wants a personal visit I could never refuse. Challenging but manageable - mostly Slightly wilted daisy!!!

 

[Knitandpurl]

Personally I struggle without enough sleep and could not manage on your 4 hours, I am in awe. But I agree re personal visits etc, we have to do our best for them. If hard for us so much worse for them needing our help.