sleeping all the time

arbaber01623

Registered User
Jul 2, 2013
2
0
Mansfield, Notts
Hello JTSA. Your contribution has opened my eyes to the possibility of an alternative approach to vascular dementia (so much nicer than VD) and its effects on sufferers and carers. The first thing that struck me was your "early stage" and your Join date of Jan 2011 - perhaps the CADASIL (which I had to google) is the lead factor.

I care for my wife of 79 who suffers from COPD and was diagnosed with vascular dementia 12 months ago. I have felt quite guilty about the difference beteen our life styles. She goes to bed at 10.30 and stays there until 9, sometimes later. I stay up until 2.00 and arise at 7.30. The difference in the times is classed as "my time" and is jeaslously (albeit guiltily) guarded. During "my time" I ensure she is OK by means of a baby monitor and I take extreme care to avoid making any noise that might disturb her.
Like you and many other sufferers as described in this thread, my wife spends much of the day asleep but more often than not she complains about how badly she sleeps at night and utters "I never closed my eyes all night". My protestations that sleeping during the day is the probable root cause and "You are supposed to close your eyes" fall on deaf ears.
I suspected that the daytime sleeping could be a way of coping with loneliness so some afternoons I sit with her only to find that I too have fallen asleep - not because I am tired but because she is asleep. On awakening I cannot help thinking about the time I have just wasted.
In September we are going to Skegness for a week. This will be our first time away from home for three years. We are both looking forward to it but privately I am dreading that it will turn out to be a rather expensive SLEEPover. Ever hopeful I will pack her bikini, sun lotions and our surfboards.
Thank you again for your contribution JTSA, best wishes. I am certain that my thoughts will be with you.
 

hillym

Registered User
Jun 4, 2010
4
0
south east
My husband has Parkinson's and Lewy Body dementia, both early onset. He sleeps much of the time. If not actually sleeping he is slumped in a chair, looking blankly at a TV or computer screen with very little interaction etc. it is all so sad. However there are times when I see him asleep in his bed he just looks normal and peacefully sleeping. Surely this is a lovely place for him to be?
He is 65 and I'm still in my 50's and very active. Feel so sad that he is just disappearing, like he is being erased before my eyes. I try to keep him motivated but....
Like you ARBABER I wonder about holidays but as you say it could be an expensive non event. On a lighter note I don't think you will need a surfboard at Skegness!
 
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WarwickCV

Registered User
Jun 29, 2013
12
0
Warwick
My wife is the same and I agree with the conclusion that this is better than unwanted activity. Psych's comment helpful
 

Kath1947

Registered User
Jun 28, 2013
6
0
Manchester
My husband also sleeps for England - if there were sleep Olympics, he would get a gold medal!!! :)
His psychiatrist told me long ago that as only a proportion of his brain works normally, he wears himself out just living so he sleeps to recover.
Put like this it makes sense.
However, I think that he sleeps to escape from his illness - if he is asleep then he doesn't have to deal with things - however he knows I will!! (Or is that just a man thing?) :confused:

I have been so worried about the amount my husband (76)sleeps, he goes to bed about midnight but doesn't get up until at least 15.00 (very grumpy) he can be up 30mins then he's off again I thought I was on my own with this problem but reading your post I feel so much better, thank you.;)
 

stanleypj

Registered User
Dec 8, 2011
10,712
0
North West
As has been suggested, living with AD, particularly if you are in your eighties, must be quite tiring (to say the least) so probably nothing additional to worry about.

But if it is suspected that a medication is adding to the tiredness, it might be worth investigating.
 

moonshadow

Registered User
Aug 22, 2013
16
0
As has been suggested, living with AD, particularly if you are in your eighties, must be quite tiring (to say the least) so probably nothing additional to worry about.

But if it is suspected that a medication is adding to the tiredness, it might be worth investigating.

Yes, some medication it does and that's also is be given to 'calm down' restless patients. But with mom I realized that even if this medication was cut to minimum possible, yet she is sleeping more with the progress of dementia.
 

moonshadow

Registered User
Aug 22, 2013
16
0
Sleep and pressure sores

While we, caregivers, seem rather pleased when our beloved dementia patients sleep long, the unpleasant side effect are the pressure sores from too much laying down & sitting and not enough walking and moving around.
 

njc

Registered User
Jul 28, 2013
14
0
Thornham, Norfolk
Well the lady I care for sleeps around 4 hours a night, rest of the time she is running around shouting, crying, banging things, panting like a dog, ranting and raving about various hallucinations etc and I have no outside help, just the two of us in this house, so I would love it if she started to sleep more.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Talking Point mobile app
 

woodchippy

Registered User
Jan 10, 2012
2
0
RUTLAND
My wife has just been diagnosed as having the beginings of Altzimers.
She is in the very early stages of the disease and all the comments you have posted all ring true to me. She is begining to sleep a lot during the day but doesn't sleep in the night. Thanks for the comments they are helpful.
 

phoebe101

Registered User
Dec 9, 2013
2
0
Portsmouth
My 88 year old mother was diagnosed with Alzheimers 4 years ago, the progression has been fairly slow and gradual, she is pleasant and manageable, has been on the GP's Seraquel, an anxiety tablet for about 2 months now. Likes her bed and gets up late. Sometimes she sleeps for an hour after breakfast (noon-time) after her morning tablet. But recently she has been sleeping more and more during the day. Is she mercifully slipping away I wonder or is this just a phase?
Hi topsy
As a dementia support worker I see a lot of people worrying about this, as dementia progresses the internal body clock starts to confuse night and day (Most common problem being people sleeping through the day and getting up during the night). Your wife is just responding to her internal body clock which is telling her that she needs sleep. Or look at the possibility that if her dose of medication has increased she may be more drowsy and therefore sleeping more.
Please do not worry that this is your wife slowly passing away, it just that her body is telling her that she needs more sleep.
If you start to see other symptoms arising please do not be afraid to go to your GP, Remember, just because someone has dementia, doesn't mean that all there health problems are caused by dementia.
 

Optomistic

Registered User
Jul 24, 2014
127
0
Manchester
My husband has early alzheimers and has been asleep a lot today i think its because he is taking antibiotics for an infected toe nail. Some days he is good and we go out a lot but today he fell asleep in the bingo. Wonder if its the tablets that are upsetting him i do find he does have a couple of bad days every week. Somedays he seems miserable and quiet and others really good.