Getting up at night

[artyfarty]

Hi all

My mum has started getting up at night and wandering around the house fiddling. She's so noisy - opening and closing her door loudly and marching up and down the stairs (70s style wooden floating stairs). I've tried to minimise the noise by putting a foam strip round her door frame and encouraging her to wear slippers but the slippers remain unworn and she's removed the foam strip.

This can go on until 2-3am in the morning and I am getting no sleep. I work so this is really doing me in. Anyone got any ideas on how I can get her to settle. I've tried warm milk and soothing music etc to no avail. Is this sundowning? (I'm a bit hazy on what that actually means). If so, is there anything I can do?

 

[Izzy]

Hi

I'm sorry I don't have any easy answers for you. My mum used to that kind of thing but she was always much worse during a urine infection. Have you ruled that out? Mum was also give the lowest dose of Risperidone to try to calm her agitation. I suppose it had some positive impact.

This Society Factsheet discusses unusual behaviour and gives some explanation of sundowning.

Barry has also written a useful piece on sundowning from the point of view of someone who suffers from it.

http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?54242-Read-of-the-reality-when-Im-Sundowning

 

[artyfarty]

Thanks - really useful links and Barry's post is really insightful. Don't think she has a uti but might get her down the docs just in case.

She has memory clinic appointment in a weeks time so might discuss it then.

 

[Hengell]

I had the same probs with my mother who lives with spoke to the doctor us, he gave her some meds, which seem to be working, but there is the odd night when they dont

 

[mancmum]

A tiny little bit of cork

I have successfully deadened teenage door noise by using a little cork stick on pad on the door frame. They are off a multipack of things I think from B and Q to protect wooden floors from chair legs etc. When they get too squashed to work I put another one on top.

 

[artyfarty]

I have successfully deadened teenage door noise by using a little cork stick on pad on the door frame. They are off a multipack of things I think from B and Q to protect wooden floors from chair legs etc. When they get too squashed to work I put another one on top.

Ooooh! Thanks I'll give them a go. Have bought ear plugs but am worried I might sleep though the alarm! Can't win gggrrr!