Sleeping Awake

Michael E

Registered User
Apr 14, 2005
619
0
Ronda Spain
Got a new event happening now.

Monique has become an even bigger sleeper in recent times. Sometimes till mid afternoon - She does of course wake during the night - quite frequently, wanders around then I persuade her to get back in bed.... OK that's all fine and you can argue that the night awakenings balance the day sleep...

What is concerning me is that I am not certain at all that during the morning/afternoon sleeping she is actually asleep. Some of the time but at others I can speak with her and she makes various excuses for not getting up.

My impression is that there is some sort of deep depression going on and staying in bed is her way of coping....? The last few days she has be arising about 16.00 and having her pills et al then we spend time together - I make dinner have some wine and then she wants to go to bed again around 22.00 - making a grand total of a 6 hour day awake plus some relatively brief night time excursions..

She cannot read, write, or even concentrate on TV but can still be quite 'bright' - a recent visitor asked if the diagnosis was correct after talking at her for and hour or so... That's the Ebixa kicking in I think which certainly improves the awareness although as I have posted before I am not 100% certain it makes for a happier person.. Just would like some feed back please.
Michael
 

BeckyJan

Registered User
Nov 28, 2005
18,971
0
Derbyshire
My impression is that there is some sort of deep depression going on and staying in bed is her way of coping....?
 

BeckyJan

Registered User
Nov 28, 2005
18,971
0
Derbyshire
Hi Michael.

I cannot really comment on this sleeping thing (David has never spent time in bed during the day although he may catnap in an armchair). I am sure you are right - its a way of coping with this deep depression. Also because the concentration is so poor for tv etc they are at a loss to know what to do with themselves. In Monique's case it looks as if she is 'sleeping' to overcome this I have another type of problem which I may post separately about - to do with 'losing control' and the bad mood swings that go with that.

I do understand totally about the 'brightness' when visitors arrive. David seems quite normal when people outside chat to him - even his memory seems to return. Then within minutes of their departure he can forget whether I am his wife or daughter!

As Churchill would say KBO Best wishes BeckyJan
 

BeckyJan

Registered User
Nov 28, 2005
18,971
0
Derbyshire
Sleep - Depression

Hi Michael.

I cannot really comment on this sleeping thing (David has never spent time in bed during the day although he may catnap in an armchair). I am sure you are right - its a way of coping with this deep depression. Also because the concentration is so poor for tv etc they are at a loss to know what to do with themselves. In Monique's case it looks as if she is 'sleeping' to overcome this I have another type of problem which I may post separately about - to do with 'losing control' and the bad mood swings that go with that.

I do understand totally about the 'brightness' when visitors arrive. David seems quite normal when people outside chat to him - even his memory seems to return. Then within minutes of their departure he can forget whether I am his wife or daughter!

As Churchill would say KBO Best wishes BeckyJan
 

Margarita

Registered User
Feb 17, 2006
10,824
0
london
My mum is just the same about sleeping during the day ,I get her up wash her give her breakfast ,then she go back to lie down if she sits on a high back chair that I got for her to stop laying down in bed she naps ,then when I wake her she says that she was not sleeping , then she says please let me lay down on my bed .so I do ,but she still denies that she is sleeping .

I organised for mum to go to AZ day centre 2 time a week, so she has some motivation, mum does not wonder at night yet, as maybe because she sleeps in the same room as me .

Mum is on Ebixa & after a year on that the wondering stop mum been on Ebixa for 3 years now. Also mum was on ant depression tablets, but they took them away when they gave her the Ebixa,

I wonder sometimes even if the doctors did give her the ant depression tablets, with her consecration so low can’t read or nit for more then 5 mins , would it really help ?

Like you mum ,my mum can talk a lot to when people come around ,but then feels tried & go back to her nap land & I do believe the Ebixa slow it all down .
 

janew

Registered User
Mar 28, 2005
51
0
58
Dear Michael,

I don't have the problem with my mum sleeping during the day but she does ask to go to bed really early (usually about 5pm) but mostly sleeps through the night - thank goodness (except had a really bad night on Sunday when I didn't get any sleep with her at all). She is busy Monday-Friday at Day Centres and Nursing Homes when I am at work, so I am sure that this keeps her busy and by the time she gets home she is ready for bed.

This weekend my mum is going into respite, although I am really looking forward to the break it will seem very strange her not been around as its the 1st time I have been at home without her being with me.

Take Care
Jane
 

Brucie

Registered User
Jan 31, 2004
12,413
0
near London
I was always scared when caring for Jan at home of the possibility of her 'timeshifting' - that is, getting into a pattern of sleeping days, and treating night time as daytime.

But it does happen to some people, all a part of loss of faculties.
 

Sheila

Registered User
Oct 23, 2003
2,259
0
West Sussex
Hi all,although it may not happen to all sufferers, I did notice that my Mum started to sleep more and more as the illness progressed and she lost interest in things. My MinL is now doing much the same. Love She. XX
 

Canadian Joanne

Registered User
Apr 8, 2005
17,710
0
70
Toronto, Canada
My mother has had a couple of stages of extensive sleeping & staying in bed all day. We seem to be moving into a third stage of doing this.

At the time of the second stage, I persuaded the doctors to prescribe Ritalin (generic name methylphenidate) for her. It certainly seemed to help, as she started getting up earlier & staying up and generally becoming more involved.

6 weeks ago, she was taken off Ritalin and seems to be drifting back into her "sleepy" mode. I'm meeting with the specialist next week & this is on the agenda for discussion.

I think it is a phase of the disease but I also think that depression or just apathy can play a part. This is why I had the Ritalin prescribed, which took about 6 months persistent, polite nagging on my part. I had read how it had been used in a couple of cases & was willing to try anything.
 

Michael E

Registered User
Apr 14, 2005
619
0
Ronda Spain
Just Blinked

Monique had a good day yesterday - got up around 09.00 and stayed awake. Went with some English friends for a Guinness at a nearby cafe, had a pleasant time and came back very 'up'! I made dinner and she seemed happy. Went to bed at 22.00 -

Bloody hell!!! She was up all night - wandering round - carrying on long conversations with 'absent' friends - getting dressed - At 06.00 I gave up any further attempts at sleep and got up - Monique to my surprise followed me into the living room - is now only talking French - convinced she is a school girl and I am her mother (must be the way I walk!!!). Thinks we are in the UK but thrilled we have a house in France to which she has kindly invited me to stay - for as long as I like!!

I of course am shattered - not sure how to respond - but it's all good fun I guess! Teach me to complain about her sleeping too much she appears to have been going strong for the last 36 hours!!!

Another day another buck!

Michael
 

Brucie

Registered User
Jan 31, 2004
12,413
0
near London
Sorry to hear this - sleep deprivation is always unwelcome on top of everything else!

I guess, with your career, improvisation skills must come in quite useful. Now, Michael, for this role you would be a French mother with a lovely daughter who is not feeling well at present. How would you play that?

You'll get the Academy Award, I'm sure....

Best wishes
 

ludwig

Registered User
Feb 8, 2006
28
0
Dear all,
the sleep deprivation I can identify with, however I have another sleep related issue.
My Mum (mid stage dementia) is very sleepy and sometimes will take many short naps during the day, other days will take few if any. She goes to bed typically 10pm, however she is very noisy. She talks in her sleep and will often shout and become agitated, sometimes waking up for short periods, but thankfully she is fairly immobile so does not go walkabout. She often wakes me up even sleeping upstairs.
Her GP has said her sleepiness is because she's not getting restful sleep and this is part of the disease process. He had prescribed some mild tranquilisers which she has refused to take (hates pills of any description) so we put them in her late night drink. They seem to be ineffective now, however.

Has anyone else had the noisy sleep problem and any suggestions?

Keep smiling,
Ludwig
 

Lila13

Registered User
Feb 24, 2006
1,342
0
My mother says she is not asleep, she is listening to music in her head, or going into her picture world, or going for a lovely long country walk.

And all our attempts to get her to get up and DO something are only interrupting what she thinks she is already doing.

Nurses say you shouldn't let her stay in bed, (because of bed sores), but no-one has suggested how we are supposed to stop her. Especially as no-one else lives in the same house.

At least when the weather is better she can spend more time gardening, and going for little walks, until she really has to move.
 

Margarita

Registered User
Feb 17, 2006
10,824
0
london
Michael

Really hope I am not putting my foot in it when I ask

Is Monique drinking alcohol? As I have read in other post she is taking exbixa(spellings may be wrong ) it may have an adverse effect on her.

By the way my daughter is called Monique
 

Michael E

Registered User
Apr 14, 2005
619
0
Ronda Spain
Margarita hi,

Not putting your foot in it at all - Monique does indeed drink and always has, along with the drugs. It is a real source of pleasure to her - one of the very few. About once week she goes with a friend to an Irish cafe on the front here in La Rochelle and has half a Guinness!!! (where she got the taste for that is beyond me) and we drink a bottle of wine with our evening meal - I take a bit more than half......

The recent changes do not appear to be related to any change in lifestyle except maybe because of the new shower - bathroom going in our bedroom is uninhabitable so I moved us to a spare bedroom and that caused more disorientation than I thought possible... We had a trip to London which went very well - not much stress at all but it was to a flat she knows although she was thrilled when I announced we were returning to France after only 4 days... I was pleased too....

Actually she has just had a really good couple of days - maybe its me being a bit stressed with builders, re-letting flats and then a couple of sleepless nights and thinking that would be norm and allowing panic to set in...

Thanks all of you for the posts and Bruce, I did actually play Charlie in 'Charlie' Aunt' for a long time but that did not require my wearing drag!

Michael
 

rummy

Registered User
Jul 15, 2005
700
0
Oklahoma,USA
Hi Michael,
Yeh, My Mom and Dad have their wine at happy hour and a brandy before bed. I know she probably shouldn't with her meds but, oh well. I figure at this point in their lives, if they want to drink, smoke or do cart wheels and it makes them happy, so be it ! I know my Dad resisted giving her antianxiety meds in fear it would interfere with happy hour but she has been such a brat lately that he is giving it to her in the morning so by wine time it won't zone her out completely. (Do I sound heartless and crass?)
Mom also is up all hours of the night and has run their gas bill up to over 400$ a month by turning on the gas fireplace ( perfectly safe) because she gets cold. Even the anti anxiety drug hasn't helped that much but it did mellow her out a little. I wonder if there is anything out there to get their sleep on track, has anyone tried melatonine?
Deb
 

Lynne

Registered User
Jun 3, 2005
3,433
0
Suffolk,England
Rummy - Melatonin

rummy said:
I wonder if there is anything out there to get their sleep on track, has anyone tried melatonine?Deb
Yes, I tried melatonin tabs to get over a bout of sleeplessness years ago, and did find it helped. You can't buy it over the counter in the UK, but it's freely available in health food shops etc. in the US, or you can research it/buy it over the wonderful Internet of course.
I found the melatonin did make me a bit sluggish 1st thing in the morning, with a very dry mouth. This (the sluggishness) could be a problem if you NEED to get up in the night - to attend to a wanderer, for instance. With a bit of experimentation (taking it quite early in the evening) I got to an acceptable compromise of benefit vs. side-effect.

I suppose I had better add the rider that you should check out with your Doctor or pharmacist that the Melatonin won't "clash" with any other medication you are taking.
 

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