Looking for advice from any of you who have had a similar problem. Dad, age 95, is getting very hard to wake up. We have tried Trazodone in two dosages and none at all. He is currently taking 50 mg of Trazodone to help him sleep through the night. (Without it he's wakeful for several hours in the middle of the night and rummages through things, some of which he breaks or puts away in new places.) He goes to bed around 9 pm but is hard to wake up before 1 pm the next day.
We started trying to get him up around 11 am, but he is grumpy and insists on staying in bed. He lives with Mom in an assisted living facility. She is up early, dressed, goes down for breakfast. When he finally does wake up, he is confused and wants to know where she is.
We'd like to have the nursing aides make a plan to wake him up for sure at 11am, make sure he gets dressed, and joins Mom for lunch. But he is very angry about being wakened by anyone. I (daughter) am usually able to cajole him, but it takes a good hour or more. Any advice from anyone who's had this issue would be appreciated!
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At 95 and with Alzheimer's he deserves to sleep as long as he wants. He will eat if and when he wants.
You are making this harder than it needs to be.
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It takes over an hour to get him up and ready for late afternoon doctor's appointments. Any appointments, outings, are always after 1pm. He simply does not function well if he has to be up before 9am.
It's easier to work with his schedule than to enforce what doesn't. There are so many other issues to deal with now, best to be flexible.
Sleeping longer is one of many signs that Hospice will use when a patient is recertified for Hospice.
With increased sleep he may miss meals so keep things like fruit, yogurt and other snacks in the apartment. Monitor for weight loss.
If you think he may qualify for Hospice I would have him evaluated. (Hospice is not just end of life my husband was on Hospice for almost 3 years)
1. We use melatonin 10 mg. instead of trazadone. That works well for sleeping through the night. So you might want to try a variation on the meds.
2. Why insist he get up? Is this for him or for you? Why put rules on an elderly person like having to get up, get dressed, go to table? Leave him alone and give him the respect you want when you need to sleep in. Let him live out his life in peace.
Sometimes we have ideas how things should be. That is so wrong. Let things be as they are. Let a person be themselves. Stop pushing societal norms on anyone. There should be no expectations. Just love him and leave him alone.
Glad your mom is not waiting around on him to start her day.
My mother slept up to 20 hours daily in her final six months of life and passed away at age 95.
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