In need of advice

yadit0

Registered User
Mar 26, 2014
21
0
Leicestershire
Hi I have been living with and caring for my mum with Alzheimers for the last 5 weeks. Day times are not t bad, we keep active and do a lot of things together, its the night time I am having problems with, Mum goes to bed around 9pm and sleeps for about 2 hours then shes wide awake and gets up, I take her back she stays in bed for about another hour and up again, this goes on all through the night. After 5 weeks of constant broken sleep for me and her I now need advice how I can change this. I have spoken to her GP hes reluctant to give her anything to help her sleep, but my lack of sleep is getting me down.
 

susy

Registered User
Jul 29, 2013
801
0
North East
Is she on any medication at all? I've known others on here say that paracetamol often settled the person they were caring for and often gp's will prescribe a light sedative to help. I'd be inclined to give the paracetamol a go and see what happens.
 

Summerheather

Registered User
Feb 22, 2015
160
0
Hi I have been living with and caring for my mum with Alzheimers for the last 5 weeks. Day times are not t bad, we keep active and do a lot of things together, its the night time I am having problems with, Mum goes to bed around 9pm and sleeps for about 2 hours then shes wide awake and gets up, I take her back she stays in bed for about another hour and up again, this goes on all through the night. After 5 weeks of constant broken sleep for me and her I now need advice how I can change this. I have spoken to her GP hes reluctant to give her anything to help her sleep, but my lack of sleep is getting me down.


Why is her GP reluctant to give her something to sleep? If you have constant broken sleep how can they expect you to be able to continue to care?
 

yadit0

Registered User
Mar 26, 2014
21
0
Leicestershire
Is she on any medication at all? I've known others on here say that paracetamol often settled the person they were caring for and often gp's will prescribe a light sedative to help. I'd be inclined to give the paracetamol a go and see what happens.

susy Mum is not on any medication at all after speaking to her gp and having test ecg bloods etc. they decided on no medication and the adult mental unit discharged her. I went back to her gp and hes referred her back to them.
 

yadit0

Registered User
Mar 26, 2014
21
0
Leicestershire
Why is her GP reluctant to give her something to sleep? If you have constant broken sleep how can they expect you to be able to continue to care?

Hi Summerheather her gp said it would not help, he could give her 5 days medication to try to get her back into a pattern of sleeping, she does not sleep during the day as i try to keep her active to see if that would help but to no avail. Shes 87 and i know older people do not need so much sleep.
 

AlsoConfused

Registered User
Sep 17, 2010
1,952
0
The stark issue is how can you get enough uninterrupted sleep under these conditions? It was the lack of sleep (and the worry about his poking around with the closed stove unsupervised) that stopped my family caring for my grandfather at home.

You'll be entitled to the enhanced Attendance Allowance, I think. You could probably splurge the week's allowance on paying for a sitter just to do one night's worth of care. If it were me, I'd think the cost worth it.

Are there any family members / very good friends whom you and your Mum would trust to "sit" for another night or two each week? Maybe Social Services would help.

The GP's attitude is understandable - it's not in the patient's interests to take sedatives usually.
 

Tin

Registered User
May 18, 2014
4,820
0
UK
If she is on no prescribed medication then why not talk to the chemist and see if they can recommend anything over the counter.

As a carer its really hard to deal with broken nights sleep, it has been on and off in my home for almost 2 years, although these days not as bad as it used to be. Getting up through the night for my mum was full of anxiety [probably sundowning] and I just could not find anything to help. Falling asleep for mum was no problem, but staying asleep!!! Our gp did eventually prescribe something and it has been a bit hit and miss, did get more than 4 hours sleep but it almost seemed like the medication was making the dementia worse the next day - far more confusion and really sleepy.
 

Summerheather

Registered User
Feb 22, 2015
160
0
Hi Summerheather her gp said it would not help, he could give her 5 days medication to try to get her back into a pattern of sleeping, she does not sleep during the day as i try to keep her active to see if that would help but to no avail. Shes 87 and i know older people do not need so much sleep.


Ring Social Services and ask them for a Carers Assessment. You are entitled to one, you can then ask to be referred to a Social Worker - if the GP won't give your Mum something so you can have sleep you will get Carers burn out.
 

hvml

Registered User
Oct 10, 2015
297
0
North Cornwall
My Dad is also wakeful during the night and I find he settles enough to drop off into a deeper sleep if he listens to classical music on an earphone. It doesn't actually stop him waking up, but it puts him in the right place for more restful sleep ( for longer).
 

yadit0

Registered User
Mar 26, 2014
21
0
Leicestershire
The stark issue is how can you get enough uninterrupted sleep under these conditions? It was the lack of sleep (and the worry about his poking around with the closed stove unsupervised) that stopped my family caring for my grandfather at home.

You'll be entitled to the enhanced Attendance Allowance, I think. You could probably splurge the week's allowance on paying for a sitter just to do one night's worth of care. If it were me, I'd think the cost worth it.

Are there any family members / very good friends whom you and your Mum would trust to "sit" for another night or two each week? Maybe Social Services would help.

The GP's attitude is understandable - it's not in the patient's interests to take sedatives usually.
Hi Alsocinfused at the moment mum gets attendance allowance the lower rate, can i ask what enhanced attendance allowance is.
 

AlsoConfused

Registered User
Sep 17, 2010
1,952
0
I think the Attendance Allowance when someone only requires help during waking hours is around £56 a week; the enhanced rate when someone is wakeful at night is around £89 a week. TP members who are more expert than I can confirm both the amount and whether I've named the benefit correctly.

As your Mum is already receiving AA at the lower rate, it'd presumably be just a matter of getting in touch with the AA administrators and saying that she needs help every night now - please advise how I apply for the higher rate? When you receive the forms please make sure you request that the higher rate be backdated to when your Mum first started needing night-time care.

My sister's going through this process now - we're asking for 4 years worth of backdating but probably won't get it!

Good luck.
 

fizzie

Registered User
Jul 20, 2011
2,725
0
Absolutely should be getting the night rate of Attendance Allowance - you are constantly attending to her at night and she wouldn't manage without you. I thought it was about £80 now.
Definitely a Carers Assessment - phone social services adult care and just ask, might take a while but well worth it. You should comfortably get 3-6 hours a week

Paracetamol - we used to give mum 2 at night and i think it did help altho there doesn't seem to be any medical evidence. We also used Bach Remedy sometimes. They don't like to give sedatives apparently because it makes some people woozy when they wake (half sleep) and people can be more prone to falling

Good luck x
 

Goldsmith

Registered User
Oct 21, 2015
18
0
Maldon, Essex
Paracetamol works (fingers crossed) for my father in law. He was sent home from hospital on two paracetamol and we were told he slept all night whilst in there. I thought Paracetamol was for pain and as he said he wasnt in pain I didnt give it to him. I was awake for 24 hours for over two weeks and in desperation asked our chemist for advice. He suggested restarting the paracetamol each evening and so far so good. Dad has been sleeping all night since then - hope this isnt too soon to speak.
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
0
London
The current amount for higher rate AA is £82.30 as opposed to £55.10 for the lower rate. If she is in receipt of the lower rate already, the form to apply for the higher rate is much shorter and easier. Bear in mind though that they will only pay from six months after first date of needing the night-time attendance, so let's say she first needed it two months ago, they will start paying the higher rate in four months. If the need arose more than six months ago, they'll want to know why you didn't tell them sooner - no idea how far they would backdate.
 

learningcurve

Registered User
Oct 9, 2015
22
0
69
Hampshire
I had the same problem with my Mum, she now has one paracetamol every night and she sleeps through from approx 11 pm to 8-9 am. She is now in a care home and they have continued to give her 1 paracetamol every night and she has no problems sleeping. Before this she would be up wide awake numerous times during the night. This has worked for her for the last 2-3 months.
 

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