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She seems to be on a lot of medication for someone her age. Dosages may need to be adjusted down, or even a particular medication eliminated altogether for the very elderly. Sleeping so much is often a sign of liver distress and may be a sign that her body is trying to purge and heal from excess toxins from the medications.
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Just looked online for Lexapro side effects one of them is increased sleepiness or drowsiness. Google Lexapro side effects the first listing that comes up lists them.
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Lexapro may be causing the increased sleepiness. L is taking Viibryd as an antidepressant and one of the side effects is increased sleepiness. So I give it to him at night and it seems he is sleeping better. What time of day are you giving her the Lexapro? Maybe it is making her sleepy during the day? And elders seem to be more susceptible to side effects. Check her other meds as well? Maybe there is something you are giving her during the day that should be at night? Just a thought. Or maybe the Lexapro is interacting with something else? Then ask the pharmacist.
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A really good elder care doctor is one that asks questions to the patient directly but also looks at you to see your facial expressions or yes nods or no nods which will tell him/her that the patient has a different memory as to what is going on around them. I try not to correct my parents when they answer wrong but sometimes its hard to hold it in :(
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Dehydration can cause fatigue. And it can happen quickly. I speak from experience.

I'm not familiar with Lexapro and/or its side effects or interactions. But some meds do take a while to reach "critical mass" before they're effective and/or could potentially interact with other meds.

If the doctor you've taken her to doesn't take her seriously, I'd say it's time for him to be phased out of the picture. Any doctor that doesn't at least offer a possible explanation of an issue should have the opportunity to find other patients.

Please let us know how this works out. Something like this could help others who may eventually have a similar problems.
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Thank you to all who responded!! I truly appreciate your advice and thoughts. How comforting to get some input on this situation. I am stressed and upset by my mother's declining condition and your comments have calmed me and are helping me think more clearly.

Gardenartist, you have made some good points. My mother has been dozing on and off all day for a while now, but yes, the situation has worsened in the past 2 weeks. Good suggestion about the meds - the only thing that's changed is the Lexapro for depression, she's been on it for 6 weeks. I'm wondering if this fatique is at least partly due to boredom and depression. I'm also wondering about dehydration? That's why I really want her to receive a decent evaluation. In prior visits to the doctor she always "perked up" and appeared to be doing better than she was. I would describe how she was at home (listless, tired, depressed) but he never took me seriously. I'd take her home and we'd be back in the same boat. However, I have a feeling she won't be able to put up a front if we make it to this visit, and that's why I'm thinking he might want to hospitalize her. I do think I have a better shot at getting her to go to the doctor as opposed to the ER, so I'll have to mull that over for a bit. And yes, I've thought about calling EMS as a last resort, because she really needs to be checked out. Good idea about the tape measure, thanks! Oh, and good point about taking her during the day so they can see what she's like. I only hope we can rouse her enough to get her out the door and into the car. And I agree - as soon as I saw the edema I knew we had to get her medical attention for it.

Thank you for the info about the hospitalist gladimhere, and for the heads-up on the mini-stroke. Very helpful! We would be able to transport her in the car, but I am so afraid she will just refuse. And I didn't know a UTI could cause such severe problems, definitely looking into it.

Thanks for the tips on the ER freqflyer, and for the info on the pills - I'm going to check into that. Oh, and thanks for the heads-up about taking her medications.
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I agree 100% with what GardenArtist has said above.

If you plan to go to the ER, make it early Sunday morning around 8 a.m., you will receive much quicker service be it by ambulance or if you drove your Mom to the ER. Weekend nights at the hospital ER are extremely busy. Check the hospital website, some have an ER "wait time clock" that is in real time.

Curious, did your Mom get any new refills for her medicine? Sometimes a change in manufacturer of the pills can cause new side effects because of the fillers that are used in pills... fillers make the pill large enough to handle and fillers are used to bind and coat the pills. Check the old pill bottle against the refill bottle to see if the mfg name is different. Same with vitamins.

Oh, that reminds me, bring along to the ER all the pills that your Mother takes... bringing in the pill bottles is recommended.
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Jayne, my Mom has been hospitalized three times in the last year. Not once did her own doctor see her. Instead a Hospitalist from her PCP's office saw her and handled referrals to the specialists needed. If possible get her in to see her doc. But if you are concerned about the sleeping I would get her to the ER of the hospital you want her to be seen. It may be an urinary tract infection, these send my Mom over the edge, more sleeping, increased confusion, agitation and the list goes on.

The edema in her legs is a concern and would justify calling an ambulance for transport. But make sure you tell them that you would not be able to get her in the car unless there is an actual emergency. It is possible that she may have had a stroke. The aggrenox is supposed to help with curbing them. But, L is also on Aggrenox because he had a series of mini strokes early in the year, it was obvious to me because of the decline of his cognition and then confirmed by CT scan.
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So the excessive sleeping began about 2 weeks ago? Were there any medication changes at that time?

I think you're wise to be concerned about admission by a doctor to a hospital which is sub-par. I think you have a few options:

1. Keep the Monday appt. with the doctor and see if you can get a better idea of what's going on. Then go to the ER of a better hospital after the appt.

2. Go to the ER of another hospital now. But don't go at night, because the ER staff would assume she's sleeping because, well, that's what people do at night! Go during the day so they can see the extent of her drowsiness and weakness.

The edema in her legs is a justification for an ER visit, combined with the excessive sleepiness and possible UTI. And given that it's a weekend, you can't get in to see a doctor immediately. You don't have to mention the planned Monday visit.

If you try to find another doctor affiliated with a better hospital, it may be a few weeks before she can be seen. But if you have confidence in the existing PC doctor, you can try to get an idea of what's going on now.

As to breaking rank, you have every right to seek a doctor who meets your standards and who is affiliated with a hospital that does as well.

On the issue her possible refusal to go, would you have any justification to call EMS to take her to the hospital? The edema in her legs would be a real concern to me, especially since she's basically inactive.

I didn't check out the meds she's on so I don't know what they're for (other than folic acid). If she's not on a diuretic and is inactive, I'm assuming that excess fluid isn't going to exit quickly.

I can think of a number of potential causes for her excessive sleeping, including lack of proper diet because she just isn't hungry, medication conflict, depression, and I'm sure other posters can identify even more.

But the edema in her legs is something that should be addressed one way of the other, and the sooner the better. You might do as home care nurses do: get a tape measure and measure her ankles daily to determine if there's any change, for better or for worse.
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