Not Sleeping

[Libbybookworm]

Since my husband returned from a week's respite care his sleep pattern has altered dramatically. Whereas he was sleeping from 15-18 hours a day, he now doesn't go to bed until about midnight and is waking up at 5am. He follows me around all the time, asking me what he's doing and wanting constant hugs. He is still crying on and off. I realise this is probably caused by anxiety and I have booked a face to face in a couple of weeks time with the GP to discuss medication, but wondered whether anyone else had experienced such a change. It's causing me such stress that I can feel everything bottling up inside me.

 

[karaokePete]

Hello @Libbybookworm

The disruption to the sleep pattern may have been caused by the respite stay. I hope that it's this and that it will resolve. My wife was somewhat disoriented after her first respite stay.

The shadowing behaviour is something that my wife does and, in her case, is caused by anxiety. Anxiety is a common side problem and the meds that my wife takes for that help with the sleep. I certainly empathise with the stress that this behaviour causes as it just gets to be too much at times.

I hope you have a fruitful consultation with the GP.

 

[Libbybookworm]

Hello @Libbybookworm

The disruption to the sleep pattern may have been caused by the respite stay. I hope that it's this and that it will resolve. My wife was somewhat disoriented after her first respite stay.

The shadowing behaviour is something that my wife does and, in her case, is caused by anxiety. Anxiety is a common side problem and the meds that my wife takes for that help with the sleep. I certainly empathise with the stress that this behaviour causes as it just gets to be too much at times.

I hope you have a fruitful consultation with the GP.

Thanks @karaokePete. I hadn't been able to find out anything about this change in behaviour online, so your experience has confirmed my suspicions. I hope the GP will be able to prescribe something to help with his anxiety, which will in turn resolve his sleep and shadowing problems.