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My husband is in slow cognitive decline at 76. Both his mother and brother had AD, so I'm assuming it's AD. Recent change after the death of his first granddaughter at 29, is more sleeping than awake during the day. Is this depression or Dementia?

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Is he self medicating? Is someone managing his meds? Have Dr. re-assess his meds. Treat the cognative decline. He maybe "giving up" and the depession is enough to push him into his life long issue he has had about how long "I should live".
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First Grand daughter. Yes, he may very well be very depressed, understandably.

Don't know when this happened, but take that time into consideration as well as his response. He was very close to her. Probably hit him very hard..

Here comes that fine line between sadness, depression, or something more physical that was triggered from this tragedy. If you are very concerned and not certain of what is going on, then please call his primary doctor, make the appointment, and take him. It is okay. Plan the whole day with him, Wake up, make him a light breakfast. take him to doctor, scenic route to a lunch place. Pick up lunch and go to a park with picnic benches table, etc. table cloth or something, and place the food out, have a nice quiet meal together in the park away from everyone, except the SQUIRRELS.. Of course you know, you can't have a picnic without a squirrel. :)
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Imho, he needs to be seen by a neuorologist, which is the gold standard to determine if he has Alzheimer's.
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The symptoms of depression are: increased or decreased sleeping, irritability, decreased appetite, tearfulness, loss of interest in daily activities. Sometimes there is a pseudodementia due to the depression. I'm thinking it may be depression due to your granddaughter's death. The question is ow much was he sleeping prior to this? I think contacting his primary care physician and discussing the situation is in order.
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There is a high likelihood that it is a combination of both. Individuals with dementia are more likely to experience depression. You know your husband best and rely on that. The loss of a family member, especially a younger person is particularly difficult. Were they close?

It would be completely reasonable to request an evaluation from his PCP to rule out something medical going on. Is he sleeping at night? Concurrently, it might also be beneficial to have him see a Behavioral Therapist to work through his grief. Are you able to help him to be more active during the day?

Regardless, grief effects everyone differently. Best of luck.
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Sadly, many very old people cannot sleep at night and therefore doze all day. I have seen many such cases. Akways, prescribed meds plus a lack of activity during the day were involved. Nowadays, a lot of so called antidepressants and or other powerful mind altering drugs cause confusion and poor nightly sleep. In any case, your poor husband needs evaluation by really good doctors. i hope you can find them. I hope he can avoid overmedication and become more active daily. Love
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Could be anything. How can anybody diagnose something like that online? Get him to the EMERGENCY ROOM. Could be infection. Take him there. Now. Today.
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Years ago, my MIL became convinced that her husband, FIL, had fallen into a deep depression. He was falling asleep all the time, didnt want to get out of bed in the morning. She declared at a family dinner that she was making an appointment for him to see a psychiatrist (Fil was sound asleep and snoring at the dinner table during this conversation). It was suggested that before the psych visit, MIL get him a comprehensive physical at his PCP.

FIL's kidneys had failed.

He went on dialysis and lived for several more years.
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As the answers thus far indicate, it could be either depression or dementia or both. A medical evaluation would be helpful. I would not rush to the conclusion that if it is dementia there is a genetic link to the family. If cases of dementia began in members of the family before the age of 55 ("early onset dementia"), that is a possibility. However, if the dementia in family members began after the age of 60 or later, the dementia is not hereditary.

It could be that the sleep is helping him to deal with the dementia. There is evidence that as dementia progresses, sleep helps the person to deal with both the tau-based tangles and the amyloid-based plaques in the brain. Sleep does not remove the underlying brain condition, but it seems to diminish the impact of the dementia. That is happening with my wife, 10 years into Alzheimer's who sleeps soundly for 12 to 13 hours a night, and then has morning and afternoon naps, so she is regularly asleep for 16 to 18 hours out of 24. However, she is still able to relate to those around here with considerable self-awareness. For example, last week she told my daughter and me, "I'm trying to think." A few days ago when our daughter wiped her face with a washcloth, she said, "It didn't used to be this way." Our daughter said, "You mean you used to do this for me?" to which my wife replied, "Yes."

Keep an open mind and move ahead steadily. Don't try to do everything yourself. Get help from agency carers (I find Home Instead reliable, but each local group would need to be checked out). Each of us are unique persons.

Prayers and hope for a viable future for both of you.
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DILhagen2 Jun 2020
I’m so glad you offered an explanation to excessive sleeping in regard to dementia. My mother has severe short term memory issues and sleeps 18-20 every day for the last 6 mo. She just turned 80. She’s been evaluated w/ extensive cognitive testing and yet neurologist won’t put a label on it. Not sure why. My 87 yr. old father is her caregiver and realizes how fortunate he is that she sleeps most of the time. She doesn’t wander, she isn’t up w/ repetitive strange behavior which can really annoy. This seems to be a better scenario for my Dad than the alternative.
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First...I am sorry for the loss of your granddaughter.
It could be both.
A trauma like that can cause a more rapid decline in the dementia as well.
Can he verbalize how he is feeling?
You might want to schedule an appointment with his doctor and as for a full evaluation. You are "assuming" it is Alzheimer's but there is no firm diagnosis so that would be an important thing to get.
Scheduling an appointment with a therapist might also be a good idea depending on how verbal he is and how well he can express himself. It all depends on what areas of the brain are effected. And if this is a possibility I would call around and find someone that has experience with dementia, it can take someone with dementia a lot longer to verbalize what they want. I would look for a Neuropsychologist. (I just Googled..check out OHSU)
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It could also be kidney failure.
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If DH is going to object to the doctor’s visit, sell it as being a check on sleeping changes.
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It sounds like he is depressed, losing his granddaughter is traumatic. I would call his PCP and ask for a referral to have him evaluated asap. So sorry to hear such sad news. I will keep him in my prayers.
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Sounds like depression.
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I have found that what may appear to be depression can be signs of dementia and the opposite can be true as well.

It is hard to say which one it is over the internet; however, if the sleeping through the day started when his granddaughter passed away then it could be depression. However, pts with cognitive decline will have some depression. He needs to see a Dr to make sure that he gets the right Dx so that he can get Tx.

Dementia is to big and complex to figure out on your own.

Best of luck to you and your hubby.
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Your husband can certainly have depression with AD. Depression is not unusual for some with AD. Certainly the loss of a young grandchild could cause depression. Your assuming he has AD? You may be right seeing two of his first degree relatives had it. However, he still needs to be evaluated for both conditions. Although it's difficult to diagnose, depression can be and should be treated. Start by consulting with your PCP. He/she may suggest further referrals.
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