My lovely father-in-law has been living with us for just 10 days and to be totally honest he is not as bad as the hospital portrayed. However the nights are proving a real test for our stamina. I get up at least 20 times during the night to recover him pick up the pillows from the floor and actually walk him to the loo. Initially he goes straight to sleep but after approx. half hour he becomes extremely restless, reaching out, pulling the bed clothes and nothing I do settles him. He has seen the doctor several times during the past 10 days and although the doctor is aware of this behaviour she does not offer any medication. Surely he should be offered something to help him. Does anyone know if there is actually a medication out there for dementia sufferers?
No medication offered.
- Thread starter Goldsmith
- Start date
You need something to help YOU - you cannot do without sleep like this for any length of time. It wrecks your health.
GPs often seem reluctant to prescribe anything for sleepless nights, because they are afraid it will make the person dozy and at increased risk of falls.
There are others here who have been in the same situation and have been prescribed effective meds - I am sure someone will be along soon with relevant advice. But you may have to be a bit of a pest with the GP.
GPs often seem reluctant to prescribe anything for sleepless nights, because they are afraid it will make the person dozy and at increased risk of falls.
There are others here who have been in the same situation and have been prescribed effective meds - I am sure someone will be along soon with relevant advice. But you may have to be a bit of a pest with the GP.
Our GP did not hesitate to prescribe Zopiclone sleeping tablet. This was topped up some months later with Trazadone. It is not possible for carers to continue without sleep. Go back and insist on something. Our GP told me to bring forward the next memory clinic appointment as they can prescribe something stronger.
Some doctors seem to have no first hand experience of dementia so shrug off these major issues.
Some doctors seem to have no first hand experience of dementia so shrug off these major issues.
This might be a bit early to get too excited but my FIL has slept right through for two nights running now after we tried him on a paracetamol. The care agency we use was unable to provide a sitter until next week and as a result I was getting desperate for sleep. These past two nigthts have allowed me to recharge my batteries so hopefully we can cope until we have establised a routine with the carers.
It is a problem that quickly gets out of control as you get more and more tired, but is so common. My mother is given memantime at night which I think helps a bit, but indeed you need to seek help for proper medication. I had to organize for her to see a psychiatrist to really get the medication as good as it can be.
However the reality is that there are no magic bullets on the sleeping front, dementia sufferers may respond badly to some drugs and because of the increased fall risk they are less likely to be given others. So it may be necessary to rethihk whether you can cope alone or need a night-time carer or whether indeed a point will come when only a care home can cope. i know what it is like and your own health will start to suffer really quickly if you don't get enough sleep, plus your responses to the dementia sufferer will start to be impatient and snappy, doing both of you no good at all.
However the reality is that there are no magic bullets on the sleeping front, dementia sufferers may respond badly to some drugs and because of the increased fall risk they are less likely to be given others. So it may be necessary to rethihk whether you can cope alone or need a night-time carer or whether indeed a point will come when only a care home can cope. i know what it is like and your own health will start to suffer really quickly if you don't get enough sleep, plus your responses to the dementia sufferer will start to be impatient and snappy, doing both of you no good at all.
