Sleeping all the time
- Thread starter lis66
- Start date
My Mum has been very reluctant to get up of late and is going to bed earlier in the evenings. Her appetite is also reduced yet before Christmas she was eating very well and staying up until 10-11pm most evenings. I am taking her to drs on Monday. Mum did have a UTI just after new year and hasn’t seemed herself since so I wonder if that has anything to do with it? Or is this a normal progression? If you get any advice please share it with me.
Sleeping a lot is very common.
The brain gets tired from the exertion of trying to cope with the confusion of everyday life and age and medication probably also play a part. This is above and beyond any sudden change that may be brought on by an infection(which should always be checked first).
My wife would sleep all day if I let her.
The brain gets tired from the exertion of trying to cope with the confusion of everyday life and age and medication probably also play a part. This is above and beyond any sudden change that may be brought on by an infection(which should always be checked first).
My wife would sleep all day if I let her.
My mum has slept a lot since her diagnosis three years ago. At first I took her for lots of blood tests but finally realised that this is how she copes. She sleeps most of the day and night and when she is up she doesn’t move from her chair. But she is happy and feels safe x
Hi,
I posted a thread on here few days ago about my mum having very sleepy days.
She has a day a week which if she's left would spend all day in bed.
I try and get her up for a change of scenery but she can be quite nasty with whoever is doing the rousing..even me.(she's generally quite placid esp to me).
She can fall asleep brushing her her hair ,eating her food,mid conversation etc.
In mums case, the next day she's back to her 'normal 'self and has no recollection of the sleepiness.
She is in Chronic heart failure but I'm not sure if this is part of that prob or the Alzheimer's?
Any help would be appreciated!
Thankyou
I posted a thread on here few days ago about my mum having very sleepy days.
She has a day a week which if she's left would spend all day in bed.
I try and get her up for a change of scenery but she can be quite nasty with whoever is doing the rousing..even me.(she's generally quite placid esp to me).
She can fall asleep brushing her her hair ,eating her food,mid conversation etc.
In mums case, the next day she's back to her 'normal 'self and has no recollection of the sleepiness.
She is in Chronic heart failure but I'm not sure if this is part of that prob or the Alzheimer's?
Any help would be appreciated!
Thankyou
My mum has been the same since around November ( officially diagnosed Alzheimers last June)
She too has had multiple blood tests and GP visit and referral to Elderly care, to check her over, it doesnt appear to be related to anything specific, so just seems to be a combination of weariness boredom and an underlying feeling of safety when snuggled up in bed, and now the drs have ruled out anything l feel able to just take each day as it comes and let mum set the pace for getting up or just staying in bed,sometimes sleeping, sometimes listening to the radio and dozing.
She too has had multiple blood tests and GP visit and referral to Elderly care, to check her over, it doesnt appear to be related to anything specific, so just seems to be a combination of weariness boredom and an underlying feeling of safety when snuggled up in bed, and now the drs have ruled out anything l feel able to just take each day as it comes and let mum set the pace for getting up or just staying in bed,sometimes sleeping, sometimes listening to the radio and dozing.
I can sympathise - my dad has just started behaving in a similar way. Not sure what the answer is and whilst I can't give you any medical explanation I feel a bit more reassured that this isn't just happening to us. Hopefully hearing that others have the same experience makes you mums behaviour a little less alarming.
I've not posted for ages but have been reading your posts and can identify with so much you say. Mum would stay in bed all day every day given the opportunity. We eventually 'allowed' this at weekends providing she was drinking and accepting a little food but weekday mornings she had her clubs and went to day care - which was a must for me as I work part time and needed some space.
She would very often just refuse me but we managed to find two excellent carers who took it in turns to get her up and washed/showered in the mornings. Mum found it more difficult to disagree with third parties but we did have to use a lot of deception. The carer would call me when she was about 7 mins away, I would take mum tea. This would prompt her to need the loo and by the time she got in there the carer was with her, clothes on the radiator and suggesting that 'while we are in here' she washed/showered. It worked for us until mum, sadly, passed away last year with a physical problem that the dementia had hidden from us.
Had she lived I had planned to have her go into full time care last autumn as I felt that I had reached the end of my ability to care properly for her, especially with the worry of her sleeping so much and the threat of dehydration this caused.
I appreciate that not everyone can find/afford an outside carer!
She would very often just refuse me but we managed to find two excellent carers who took it in turns to get her up and washed/showered in the mornings. Mum found it more difficult to disagree with third parties but we did have to use a lot of deception. The carer would call me when she was about 7 mins away, I would take mum tea. This would prompt her to need the loo and by the time she got in there the carer was with her, clothes on the radiator and suggesting that 'while we are in here' she washed/showered. It worked for us until mum, sadly, passed away last year with a physical problem that the dementia had hidden from us.
Had she lived I had planned to have her go into full time care last autumn as I felt that I had reached the end of my ability to care properly for her, especially with the worry of her sleeping so much and the threat of dehydration this caused.
I appreciate that not everyone can find/afford an outside carer!
Reading these posts is reassuring - as ever, I know that we are not alone.
Mum used to be awake until about 11pm, and then up at 8am. But then bed time became earlier and earlier, and she had to be prompted to get up In time for her weekly day centre trip.
After a few weeks in hospital, she is now back home. I don’t know whether it is the hospital routine, but the first few days she was up at 9.00-9.30 (we had to wake her). Wanting to go to bed at 7pm. She was wandering in the night, so until we got the motion sensor from the council, we didn’t want her to go to bed too early, as she sleeps downstairs now, and we can’t always hear her moving. We now have the sensor in place, so at least we know she is up and about. These past couple of mornings she is insisting on getting up at 8am, then complaining that she wants to go back to bed even as she eats her breakfast. Is this because bed was an option in hospital?
If she slept well at night, I wouldn’t mind the early night, but she has us up to help her to the commode all evening, once in bed, then through the night. From teatime, she is lying down on the sofa, then once she is in bed, she Is constantly calling us.
I don’t know if we should let her sleep all day? Is it ok for her to be lying down on the sofa, rather than sitting? We cannot get her interested / active with anything. She will not even phone the family and friends who have left messages, concerned about her during her hospital stay.
*”we” = her full-time carer, and myself
** mum is not on any dementia medication
Mum used to be awake until about 11pm, and then up at 8am. But then bed time became earlier and earlier, and she had to be prompted to get up In time for her weekly day centre trip.
After a few weeks in hospital, she is now back home. I don’t know whether it is the hospital routine, but the first few days she was up at 9.00-9.30 (we had to wake her). Wanting to go to bed at 7pm. She was wandering in the night, so until we got the motion sensor from the council, we didn’t want her to go to bed too early, as she sleeps downstairs now, and we can’t always hear her moving. We now have the sensor in place, so at least we know she is up and about. These past couple of mornings she is insisting on getting up at 8am, then complaining that she wants to go back to bed even as she eats her breakfast. Is this because bed was an option in hospital?
If she slept well at night, I wouldn’t mind the early night, but she has us up to help her to the commode all evening, once in bed, then through the night. From teatime, she is lying down on the sofa, then once she is in bed, she Is constantly calling us.
I don’t know if we should let her sleep all day? Is it ok for her to be lying down on the sofa, rather than sitting? We cannot get her interested / active with anything. She will not even phone the family and friends who have left messages, concerned about her during her hospital stay.
*”we” = her full-time carer, and myself
** mum is not on any dementia medication
My Husband sleeps a lot these days, waking only for meals. He doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning and some days won't get dressed, when he is downstairs he sits in the same seat on the settee and goes between there and the dining room table to eat and that's it. The problem is if he won't get dressed we can't go out, I have only been out twice in the last 6 weeks. I can't leave him in the house or even a room on his own (my Son has got me a camera so when I go in the kitchen I can keep an eye on him). He is unable to find the toilet or knows what to do when he gets there so I do need to know when he is on the move. It a job to know which way to turn most days.
Oh yes,it's so difficult.It's hard to distinguish between how the UTI is affecting them and their natural dementia.I always knew a UTI had come on by her going off what I normally gave her to eat and drink,she would take to her bed more and not know what time of day it was.especially when the darker evenings arrive.It's so frustrating as a carer at these stages because you just want them to eat and drink as normal.Mum starting struggling with these episodes by year 6 but with treatment hopefully if just a UTI,you can get her back on track in few weeks and she'll be eating and drinking again.The wanting to sleep more is hard I know,your own timings and routine for the day of caring means you never know when they will get up or want to eat,so you end up waiting around more anticipating,or I did.I look back now and would give anything for those moments to have mum back but at the time,you live in the moment and just know what tomorrow brings.Look after yourself!
