Home » Health Conditions » Sleep Disorders » Questions » My mother suffers from night terrors and…

My mother suffers from night terrors and cries out for help until 3 am. How can I help her?

Asked by mimi15236 | Mar 17, 2010

Answers 1 to 10 of 10

Mar 18, 2010

Does she ever tell you what she's screaming about? I mean, is it a dream she's having or what? Does leaving a light on in her room help? This would get old really fast being woken up at 3am.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report this Post

mimi15236

Give a Hug

Mar 19, 2010

my mother 93years old,has lived with my family for 39 yrs. My husband is a saint! Now, its just the 3 of us. recently, she broke her hip & had partial hip replacement surgery.She was in rehab/nursing home for 21 days. She has been home a couple of days and is afraid to go to sleep,cries out in fear and talks almost all night. I try to comfort her. The dr. gave her meds to sleep which is not working. do you think this will pass when she gets more familiar with beeing home again? also, she has dementia/alzheimers.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report this Post

N1K2R3

Give a Hug

Mar 19, 2010

If the meds are not working, the physician should be informed. Different medication for her to sleep should be administered.
p.s. Ambien may have just the opposite effect, I've been told.
May not help one to sleep at all !

Helpful Answer (0)

Report this Post

Char123

Give a Hug

Mar 19, 2010

I'm not sure if this is the same as a child's night terror. My grandson has night terrors, they last from 20 min to 45 min. While talking to a friend who's 2 sons have had night terrors all their lives she found a research article that linked stomach problems to this event. They started taking OTC antiacid meds such as Prilosec and it controls the problem, won't hurt to try - check with any interaction with any other meds that the person is taking first and possibly with the dr.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report this Post

Jaye

Give a Hug

Mar 19, 2010

I would encourage you to get a medication for your Mom to help her rest!!! I am not a big advocate of "snowing" people... however she does need to rest and so do you!!! God bless, J

Helpful Answer (0)

Report this Post

ksue5036

Give a Hug

Mar 19, 2010

If she has Alz's it could be sundowners. They get worse when the sun goes down. Ask your doc. for something to help her sleep. And calm her down. It is not good for her or you to be up all night.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report this Post

Sandy48

Give a Hug

Mar 20, 2010

I find the regular Ambien works better than the Ambien CR. Yes, both of you need to sleep. Talk with her doctor.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report this Post

LynnPO

Give a Hug

Mar 23, 2010

Here's what we did with my grandfather - no food 2 hours before bed time, ensure that he had good glass of water with supper, leave the bathroom light on or a small light on the table across the room. Tho he didn't complain of indigestion during this period, he suffered from it all his life so Mom suspected it was a problem for him. He would often wake up a time or two, go to the bathroom but when the light was on he was generally okay.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report this Post

Jaye

Give a Hug

Mar 23, 2010

I do think sometimes complete darkness is hard for those with dementia or alzheimers disease... Nightlights are wonderful!!!

Helpful Answer (1)

Report this Post

ksue5036

Give a Hug

Mar 23, 2010

nightlights noise like a tv or radio on low so not to scare them. The tv on low can be a nightlight and a little noise at the same time.