While my father in law does not suffer from typical Sundowner’s sources, i.e. dementia and the like, he has Parkinson’s and his night times difficulties are coming to a crescendo.
His Parkinson’s is to the point that he can barely be mobile and as of today has to use an interesting walker that projects a laser beam to aid patients who’s bodies freeze up and are stuck in their standing position. Some of the manifestations of his Parkinson’s are that he has next to no muscle control, no balance, shuffles when he walks, is slooooow in every movement, dozes easily when in a seated or reclining position, lose of neuromuscular functions including bladder control requiring him to wear Depends at night.
His night times are horrific for my Mother and him. He gets up typically 5-6 times a night to go to pee. Sometimes he makes it sometimes he doesn’t. To get him up he needs to be helped out of bed, guided to the toilet, Depends pulled down if not changed, lowered on and adjusted to the toilet, helped off the toilet, cleaned if necessary, pull up undergarments, guided back to bed, and placed in bed. Placing him in bed in it self is a 5 minute process, getting him up takes about two minutes. He is easily confused and has little acuity or logic ability.
When he is sleeping, he will call out for random things, laugh, cry, make gibberish sounds, until he wakes himself and then starts the process of this again.
I have been spending nights at their house to help them out. Next week he will more than likely moving into a care facility that will assist him in the 24 / 7 care he now requires. Funny thing, he is a man of great wealth that happens to be a part owner in the care facility! When looking at local posh care facilities available, he thought it ironic that he will be lining his own pocket….
************ PLEASE READ IDEA BELOW THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO SUNDOWNERS PATIENTS **************
In thinking about my father’s Sundowner like issues, I had an idea that may be worth pursuing for those with dementia type Sundowners. It may be a novel idea but what if the patient changed their sleep cycle 12 hours? If the issues of confusion and terror are occurring as a function of the night time, why not reverse the roles of sleep and awake? Daytime will now be a time of sleep. Shades up, natural light, normal daytime conditions. Nighttime will now be daytime. At night have the lights on and function as if one would during the day? It may be a way of fooling the body by role reversal.
I would love to hear if anyone has tried it or would review the idea with medical staff and see if it’s worth a try?
My 98 yr. old father has been diagnosed with 'Sundowner's Syndrome'. He woke up three nights banging on my bedroom door saying that the carbon monoxide detector was going off and we need to get out. I'm a light sleeper and did not hear the alarm. On one of these nights he called the Fire Dept. and within minutes we had two fire engines here and firemen going through the house. They told us the entire house was clear, with no detection of carbon monoxcid. This was at 3:00 AM. My father still insists that he heard it. He also has anger issues and some dementia. I took him to his primary dr. and he said he has 'Sundowners'. He also made an appointment for me to take him to a phychiatrist. He has been taking 5 mg. of Lexapro for a year. Is this the normal procedure in treating this?
I wish that my husband just saw things. I'm 72 years old and he thinks I have a young man living in the house with us. It's gotten to the point that I can't go into the front bedroom without him thinking I'm having an affair. What do I do??? I deny it but he still believes it...should I just confess and promise never to see this phantom lover again? I'm at my wits end. It's making both of us very unhappy.
My husband has been in and out of hospitles and rehab for about 10 months. he had back surgery, and when is one or the other after about 1 week all of it starts. I have to stay with him aay and night or the caregivers can't take care of him. As soon as I get there he is ok, and when I do go and try to get some sleep he calls me all night. He see's all kinds of things, and if he thinks he see these thing, he want belive it is not right no matter who tells him it is not true . The thing is when he gets back home, most of this stops, and when he does see something he will belive us that we are right. I think this is sundowners. I could be wrong.
Cougar, just hang there and your at the right site where others have past experience and advice if you need it. I'm pretty sure the NH knows how to deal with patients that r diagnosed with AD for they have skilled nurses on staff. I'm not sure if she will have a phone to herself in a room unless she gets a private room n they r not cheap I don't think the NH will be doing any calling to you for they have their hands full watching other people in the NH. I m puzzle how she can call you if she don't even remember calling you in the first place? I know my mnl don't even know how to use a phone anymore.
That happened to my Mom too a few months back. Luckily we got her out of the hospital before anything like sedation had to happen. It is just heart breaking. All of this is. Hugs to you, good luck.
Oh and by the way she has no memory what so ever of the phone calls or being restrained my brother brough up her phone call with him and she had no idea what he was talking about.
She was put into the hospital because she fell and then they found that her sodium was extreemly low. the out bursts didn't occur until her sodium was almost back to normal the first time (during this stay) and last night she acted up again and her sodium was back to normal. I say during this stay because she was hospitalized in Jan for a fib and was found to have low potassium. During that stay she also acted out but was not agressive and didn't have to be restrained, she did call and yell and beg even after her potassium was back to normal. She's at home now and is hearing and seeing things while not as bad still kind of freaking me out. I'm just concerned about what is going to happen when I'm unable to take care of her any longer and has to be put into a home. The social worker at the hospital told me that the facilities that deal with az and dementia are used to dealing with sundown syndrome and will have no problems dealing with her. I just hope that when that time comes she either doesn't have access to a phone or that the staff don't call me because I know that it will be hard enough to deal with without having to go though the phone calls too.
Cougar, why was your mom put in the hospital in the first place? I know our mnl was put in but it was because her potassium was way too low n it caused her to act n say things that she normally would not. They had to strap her down as well until they got her level back to normal and then she was back to herself. As for sundowning, I'm not sure for she could be scared of being in a unfamiliar place n something else could be going on with her. You probable should talk to her physician and see what he/she thinks. Try not to take it too personally for she in the hospital for a reason n she may not be thinking quite straight.
My mom has been in the hospital for almost a week now and since she has been in there she has been showing agitation and aggression which the nurses are calling sundowing. She has had to be restrained and sedated twice now and she calls the house yelling at me to get her out of there and take her to the hospital. She then tells me that I'll get nothing and that I'm worthless. I try no to take it personally but its really hard to hear my mom saying these things to me. I was there the first time it happened and it really freaked me out. I left the room until after she was sedated and they thought that my being there would help but it just got her agitated again so I ended up leaving. She just called again and I hung up on her when talking calmly and reasuring didn't help. Probably not what I should have done but I was getting really shook up by it. The nurse then called me back and asked me to come up there but I refused and told her that the last time I was there when this happened I just seemed to make it worse. The Dr thinks that when she gets home she will be back to normal, and I hope so because if this is not the case I will not be able to handle this! I feel really awful because I refused to go up there but I've begun to realize that I need to put myself first some of the time. I know I'll have to take a panic attack pill tonight.
Has anyone else had experience with this type of an issue? If so please let me know how you deal/delt with it!
The article had some good tips for me for my mnl when it comes down to having 'Sundowners Syndrome.' We got two night lights and put them down the hall. That way I can change them out in the morning and leave one running for her 24/7 to prevent falling. However, trying to find out if she needs something seems to irritate her so, I just let her pace back to her room and back into the living room with us and let her rummage through her clothes. Getting her to do daily activities, reading, coloring, puzzles. especially walking is useless most of the time and she is very anti-social to other people. She will only shadow me or go out once a in blue moon with her Neice and she's been like this way before the diagnose of AD. All I can do is offer to do puzzles and stuff with her but when say's she don't feel like it, I've learned to let that idea go for she will get argumented. Luckily she is not seeing and hearing things that are not there yet.
I'm starting to belive my mother has Sundowners ,But with her it's out of control yelling and brow- beating my Father who we are starting to realize his Heart attacks may be brouhgt on by her verble and physical abuse-HELP!!
My husband isn't at that stage yet wouldn't it be better to let her sleep with her clothes on than force her into PJ's? Will she remember that tomorrow is Sunday and want to go to church? If so, you may be able to change her clothes easioer in the AM
Mom2all, I'm wondering if you can talk to the Dr. and see if your mother can take some otc Melatonin at night so she will get into a pattern of sleeping during the night and being awake during the day. Then find activities to keep her busy during the day (i.e. Scrabble, crosswords, looking through magazines, sorting through pictures, etc.). Another thing my mother enjoys doing: She cannot write well since her stroke so once a week I self address envelopes, put stamps on them, then give her stickers and stamps with stamp pads with messages on them and she decorates the plain stationary I give her. Sometimes she likes to have colored pencils to add a little flair. When she is done she can give them to the nurses to send, or I send them for her. Usually I add a typewritten newsy family letter to pop in as well. Please keep us updated.
My mother has dementia and can concoct the most outlandish stories. In her mind, they're true and she cannot be convinced otherwise. It's useless to try. The sundowning for her does not necessarily correspond with the sun going down. It can occur from about 4pm on. Also, during the school year my teenaged son comes in at 3:30. This represents an environmental change - from peace and quiet all day - to whatever "noise" teenagers bring. I can't expect my son to stop living, but I do encourage him and his friends to be sensitive of my Mom's condition. Bathing, too, often represents a severe environmental change for Mom. It's hard, I suppose, to go from dry to wet if such changes are uncomfortable.
My mom is 87 and has mild dementia, had a TIA, not sure when (Dr. gave her a brain scan to find this) Her mind is good some nights and very bad others. She lives with two of my brothers who are single and my sister and I are over there frequently. Our problem is at night, getting her into bed sometimes. She'll insist on wearing her clothes to bed, even tried to leave her shoes on, I took them off and she was so mad at me. She'll start in the evening by saying she doesn't know what she's doing or what she'll be doing in the morning. She's had two hip replacements (same hip) over the years and moves EXTREMELY slow, has a cane but absolutely won't use the walker we got her. I feel bad because I was getting angry with her last night arguing about getting into her pajamas. She said no and to go home. She wanted to be ready to go to church in the AM. Some nights she's fine. What's up with this? Anyone know or have suggestions, just needed to vent a little. Thanks, Karen
my mom had hallucinations she was at the last stages of al dementia she was 92 yrs old she use to say that the side walk was her bed she sadi what are all these people doing in my room no one was there she said there was a baby in her room no baby. I lost mom December 10,2010 she lived with me for over a year i had to put her in nursing home her meds stopped working she was on namanda10 mg she kept falling she stppoed eatting i had her put in a hospital she was very hard for any one to care for her i can relate to whats happening here thie was scary for me,. i told her social workers at eh hospital she needed 24 hour care my sister and i couldnt handle it any longer she did get the help she needed she was in a home about a month she passedaway after her 92 birthday..
my 89 yr old grandma carries crosses and bibles around her house and now she says she sees things crawling on her wall unit, she also gets very aggitated when we try to clean her kitchen and get rid of rotten food. it's a hard job but i love her to death, good luck to all those caring for their loved ones and just remember their are a lot of agencies to help you through it.
My MIL used to do that. She has Alzheimer's Disease (AD). She would have hallucinations and would laugh at night. At first, I wondered what she was laughing about (because she was the only one downstairs). Her area was downstairs so that she could walk straight out to the hall and go thru the basement door to the garage. The only way she could get out is if the garage door was open. ...and I didn't call attn. to the garage door opener. There was also a gate between her area and the hallway. I didn't call attn. as to how to open it. When she asked how, I hesitated and then very quickly showed her so that she couldn't copy my movements. Back to the hallucination part, I finally went downstairs (I had to get her up anyway for her to use the b/r)--so it didn't seem odd to her that I was down there. When I went over to her bed, she was sitting up and laughing. She, then, pointed up at the ceiling and asked me if I saw them jump over the fence. I had to contain my laughter and said, "no." I felt at the time and still do feel that if I pretended to see the same things all the time, I might lose reality. Good luck!
Myother was sundowning alot she thought that her bed was the side walk curb she said there were paople in her room i beleave were either ghosts or spirits I'm not surprized. thais happened alot. tords the end her meds stoped working i had to put her in long term care facility ilost my mther December 10 from the last atages of demnstai alz heimers she was 92 yrs old
When my dad was in the final stages of Alzheimers I bought him a DVD that was on a continuous loop. It was of different beach scenes--very calming, and it never shut off. Also a plus was that it was all natural sounds of the beach--no narration and no human images at all-just palm trees and beaches--it calmed him greatly-just make sure he has no fear of water--my dad often confused TV images with reality (but the beaches never bothered him).
My Dad has had what seems to be Sundowner's Syndrome since he came home from a Nursing Home Rehab Center. We think he was traumatized at just being in a nursing home and has moaned every night from 4pm on into the night. I am trying the calming effect on him and just hope it will help him to rest better. Cin
Hallucinations can be terrifying for a dementia victim and heartbreaking for those who care for them. It's important that you recognize their emotions (don't dismiss the fact the fear is real, while the specific hallucination is not) and respond in a calm and supportive way.
Oliviajr, I hope someone can offer a suggestion that will help you to find a way to be out of the sight of your mother without her becoming angry. I believe babies can develop this same habit so I am wondering if you will have to treat your mother in the same way as you would treat a baby if it raised a ruckus every time Mom was not in sight. What do you think?
I am home with her 24/7 and lately she doesn't know if it is daytime or nighttime. I can't leave the room for more than a minute because she has no concept of time and she thinks I have been gone all day. I can't even go outside and do any yard work because when I come back in she is so made. I will even ask her if she wants to go out with me and she wants. Same thing if I am in the house if I am not in the same room she gets mad. What do you do.
I went back to my original profile when I first started posting. Actually, I remember this behavior DID start at night only. As the months went on, it started happening more and more--throughout the day and more severe. I remember the bad stuff beginning in the middle of the night. He had some weird obsession with the clocks and insisted they were going backwards and "taunting" him. This happened only at night and by morning it wouldn't be an issue. Then, as time went on, there was a CONSTANT obsession with time and clocks--so much that I even went to the point to stop several of the clocks at 3:30. It was 3:30 all the time around here for awhile. I figured that was a generic time--not time for a meal, for meds, for doctors appointments, for specific TV shows, for me to come home from work,etc. It sounds so odd now, but doing that calmed things down--after a short time, he wasn't constantly checking the clock anymore. Even odder is that he never, ever, questioned why it was always 3:30 either....
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Understanding and Minimizing Sundowning in Dementia Patients
His Parkinson’s is to the point that he can barely be mobile and as of today has to use an interesting walker that projects a laser beam to aid patients who’s bodies freeze up and are stuck in their standing position. Some of the manifestations of his Parkinson’s are that he has next to no muscle control, no balance, shuffles when he walks, is slooooow in every movement, dozes easily when in a seated or reclining position, lose of neuromuscular functions including bladder control requiring him to wear Depends at night.
His night times are horrific for my Mother and him. He gets up typically 5-6 times a night to go to pee. Sometimes he makes it sometimes he doesn’t. To get him up he needs to be helped out of bed, guided to the toilet, Depends pulled down if not changed, lowered on and adjusted to the toilet, helped off the toilet, cleaned if necessary, pull up undergarments, guided back to bed, and placed in bed. Placing him in bed in it self is a 5 minute process, getting him up takes about two minutes. He is easily confused and has little acuity or logic ability.
When he is sleeping, he will call out for random things, laugh, cry, make gibberish sounds, until he wakes himself and then starts the process of this again.
I have been spending nights at their house to help them out. Next week he will more than likely moving into a care facility that will assist him in the 24 / 7 care he now requires. Funny thing, he is a man of great wealth that happens to be a part owner in the care facility! When looking at local posh care facilities available, he thought it ironic that he will be lining his own pocket….
************ PLEASE READ IDEA BELOW THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO SUNDOWNERS PATIENTS **************
In thinking about my father’s Sundowner like issues, I had an idea that may be worth pursuing for those with dementia type Sundowners. It may be a novel idea but what if the patient changed their sleep cycle 12 hours? If the issues of confusion and terror are occurring as a function of the night time, why not reverse the roles of sleep and awake? Daytime will now be a time of sleep. Shades up, natural light, normal daytime conditions. Nighttime will now be daytime. At night have the lights on and function as if one would during the day? It may be a way of fooling the body by role reversal.
I would love to hear if anyone has tried it or would review the idea with medical staff and see if it’s worth a try?
Please post your thoughts and comments.
God’s Grace
Roger
I'm pretty sure the NH knows how to deal with patients that r diagnosed with AD for they have skilled nurses on staff. I'm not sure if she will have a phone to herself in a room unless she gets a private room n they r not cheap I don't think the NH will be doing any calling to you for they have their hands full watching other people in the NH. I m puzzle how she can call you if she don't even remember calling you in the first place? I know my mnl don't even know how to use a phone anymore.
She's at home now and is hearing and seeing things while not as bad still kind of freaking me out. I'm just concerned about what is going to happen when I'm unable to take care of her any longer and has to be put into a home. The social worker at the hospital told me that the facilities that deal with az and dementia are used to dealing with sundown syndrome and will have no problems dealing with her. I just hope that when that time comes she either doesn't have access to a phone or that the staff don't call me because I know that it will be hard enough to deal with without having to go though the phone calls too.
The Dr thinks that when she gets home she will be back to normal, and I hope so because if this is not the case I will not be able to handle this! I feel really awful because I refused to go up there but I've begun to realize that I need to put myself first some of the time. I know I'll have to take a panic attack pill tonight.
Has anyone else had experience with this type of an issue? If so please let me know how you deal/delt with it!
My MIL used to do that. She has Alzheimer's Disease (AD). She would have hallucinations and would laugh at night. At first, I wondered what she was laughing about (because she was the only one downstairs). Her area was downstairs so that she could walk straight out to the hall and go thru the basement door to the garage. The only way she could get out is if the garage door was open. ...and I didn't call attn. to the garage door opener. There was also a gate between her area and the hallway. I didn't call attn. as to how to open it. When she asked how, I hesitated and then very quickly showed her so that she couldn't copy my movements. Back to the hallucination part, I finally went downstairs (I had to get her up anyway for her to use the b/r)--so it didn't seem odd to her that I was down there. When I went over to her bed, she was sitting up and laughing. She, then, pointed up at the ceiling and asked me if I saw them jump over the fence. I had to contain my laughter and said, "no." I felt at the time and still do feel that if I pretended to see the same things all the time, I might lose reality. Good luck!
Thanks