My mom gets up just about every hour at night to go to the bathroom. What can I do to get her to sleep through the night?

Please don't feel guilty. You are under incredible stress from lack of sleep. Your mom's short term memory issues may be dementia of the Alzheimer's type and the trauma of a broken hip and subsequent hospitalization may have pushed her dementia farther down the road. This is a documented issue with hospitalized elders, especially those with AD.
Your mom is remarkable to have recovered this well from a broken hip at her age. Statistics about this would make a complete, long term recover quite rare.
First of all, of course, you need to talk to her doctor about this, and you should also discuss your health with your doctor. You can't keep this up. If her doctor has no better ideas, it's entirely possible that, even though you won't want to hear this, for both of you it may be time for a good nursing home where they have staff shifts who can deal with this. You are placing too much on yourself, and this will affect your ability to be a good caregiver, to say nothing of putting your own health at risk.
Who will be there for your mother if you go down? If she is in a good facility (assuming the doctor has no better suggestion), you will still be there for her as a caregiver and her advocate. Please take care of yourself. She would feel horrible if her situation damaged your health irreparably.
Take care,
Carol

Maybe hire a night nurse? And you sleep in your own room. Cheaper than a nursinng home and you can still keep her at home. If your like me, I want to keep my mom near as long as I can take it. My health is declining from stress, but I'm going to hang on.

I am really new to this site but have been caring for my grandfather-in-law for the last 5 years off and on but the last 2 years continuously. We had the same problem except we have a 4 year old that without fail he would wake up every single night when he made his rounds. After a few weeks the lack of sleep got to me as well! I tracked the extended potty breaks to 2 things. The first problem was that after he went to the bathroom he wasnt able to go back to sleep because there was nothing going on at 2AM. I went to Walmart and bought some glow in the dark stars that simply stick to the ceiling. I put a few around his room and a few on his ceiling fan. Now when he lays back down he can watch them until he falls back to sleep. (I did the same thing with my daughter) The second reason was he wanted to check on all of us and make sure we were breathing and havent left (which we have never done) in the middle of the night. My solution for that was a baby monitor. I put one in his room and one in ours. I told him that our end was a mic and his was just a speaker so that if anyone got up or if there was a problem he would hear it. The catch is that I never turned our end on. As long as the green light is on in his room he thinks he is able to hear everything that goes on. Then he doesnt worry about us. The monitors dont actually have to work so you could probably find a set on craigslist or worst case scenario they are like $15 new for the cheapest ones!
I know its a little dishonest but I needed sleep! We are going on month 2 of not waking up in the middle of the night!
Hope it helps!

Hi there, I also went thru this with my mom who lives with me. She got up so many times and its drove me crazy after her broken hip and they think maybe from the catheter, never knew. Then, I went thru it with her again about a year later and it lasted almost a year. I will tell you what I did. I begged the doctor to treat my Mom for an UTI even thou the urine culture was negative, it helped off and on. Also, I have her door cut in half with a hook lock on the outside. She got up, stood there and said "hi" and went back to bed at least 15 times a night. (kind of like a Mr Ed door if you remember that show, I can see her from my bed)
3rd, she went on depakote and it relaxed her brain and she started sleeping.
(Have you listened to her, do you hear her pee?) My Mom also wen thru a stage where she dropped her pants and peed all over the floor many times!! I had to make her pajamas she couldnt get off! I think your Moms is probably just aggitation from the dementia but try them all , one WILL work!! I have to tell you, I sometimes didnt sleep more then 2 hours a night , my cna came, and I still went to work. When someone else at work told me they were tired I felt like slugging them! LOL What you are going thru is horrible, but it will end and My Mom also is/was a great Mom so I put up with it. She now sleeps 12 hours a night on depakote and she doesnt have any attitude outbursts. Hang in there, you're a fabulous daughter!

As a long time night nurse(RN) I know the importance of unbroken sleep and how to promote it. Always always get a bedside commode at least for nights. If you can afford the extra there are BSC's which look like attractive cushion chairs. At night, you can remove the seat so she just has to get out of bed directly onto the commode. There are plastic bags to go in the commode so you don't have to scrub every day. Also keep on hand paper blue pads to cover the to seat of the BDC. If incontinence is in bed it is useful to buy large washable bed pads especially for nights on the bed. Another factor is that protein promotes wakefulness and carbohydrates promotes relaxation and sleeping. So save the protein for lunch or afternoon snack. Myself, if I am just lying in bed too awake I get a small glass of milk and 5 gingersnaps and always go to sleep after that. Heating the milk makes a chemical that promotes sleep.Peace of the lord who will provide.

I'd suggest getting a portable potty that you can set next to her bed. She won't have to go far to get to it so maybe she can do it herself.

Don't minimize this, KJSpradlin. It is not "just" a getting up at night issue. That is often the critical factor that tips the decision to out-of-home placement. Sleep deprivation is, after all, used as a torture device. It is not trvial or unimportant.

Bringing in night help is one good idea for keeping Mom home. You HAVE to sleep. Get someone else in who can stay up reading or knitting and help Mom when she needs it. Get a bedside commode. Would Mom be able to handle it without your help?

But the best solution would be for Mom to sleep through the night, too. Could you convince her to wear Depends at night. If she has the urge but doesn't really produce much volume (losts of false alarms) maybe not getting up would work. But I would go back to the doctor with facts in hand. The list with when she got up, how long she stayed up, what she did. And a clear summary of what this is doing to you. If the doctor understands that solving this is what is going to allow you to keep Mom at home, and that that is very important to both of you, he or she may be able to get a little more creative in the solution.

Good luck!

Many elderly people develop "nocturia"- the urge to urinate many times a night. Walking to the bathroom when lightheaded, sleepy, heavily medicated, and in the dark is a recipe for disaster. In those cases we advise a bedside commode near to a SuperPole (or Friendly Bed balance pole)- a simple grab of the pole to stand and pivot onto the commode (and back onto the mattress) means no risky walking. Doesn't reduce the urge but almost eliminates the risk of a night time fall. Many people are one crash away from leaving their home forever so the right assistive products can be critical. Good luck.

Addition to my above earlier post- we work with many people with bed mobility problems and often it is the caregiver that is ready to fall apart. When your sleep is broken up you never get into quality REM sleep which your body requires for proper rest. Lots of good advise being offered but if a person can safely use a bedside commode then why torture a caregiver with sleep deprivation? Proper assistive products based on the person's abilities/disabilities can often be a great solution.

I am elderly and get up 4 to 5 times a night. If I lived with one of my children they would go crazy with my getting up and wandering around the house. I was able to cut down on bathroom trips by no liquids after 6pm. In case of accident I wear depends. The commode by the bed would help me but not ready yet. It is dangerous getting up at night and try hurrying to the bathroom. The depends gave me a much more secure feeling. It is weird at first thinking I was wearing a diaper. I have pull ups. Give her the OK to go with the depends. Hope you find a solution. Wonderful caretaker you are.
It's a progressive situation. Get your rest. Present this solution to her in as a dignified manner as possible. Bless you

Find the patience. You do have it good. Your mother is 94 and is trying her best not to be incontinent which is your blessing. Get a bedside commode next to her bed this will limit her in her room and less walking around at night. I dropped the arm next to Mom's bed who doesn't walk at all. She can stand and pivot onto the commode. Good luck.