My husband has had increasing dementia for 2 years. He has frequently complained of extreme fatigue. Advice?

My husband has vascular dementia following a stroke 13 years ago. His sleeping has increased to 20 hrs a day and cognitive functioning decreased over the years. He's been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and has been put on hospice care, which is a great gift to both of us. It's hard to get enough food in him when he's awake so little, but I can prolong his awake time with rides in the car or playing cards or warching M*A*S*H or a movie on TV. He's very pleasant to be with, always joking or thanking me for what I can do for him. I found out from experience that it's impt to weigh him often to see if he's retaining liquid. That's a symptom of heart failure. It's a slow journey, but we're trying to make the most of it.

Ah, but I should add that exercise has helped greatly. We go to a fitness room at the senior center daily and it has made a huge difference. I talked to the blood lab guy about it and he said that they recommend exercise for fatigue.

Can't hurt to try--although getting my mom (90) to do the exercises was like getting a mule up a ladder. I finally gave up.

Globetrotter: You sound like me. I call myself The Google Doctor. For years I've been trying to diagnose my father (now passed) and my mother because their doctors are pretty useless, except for writing prescriptions. Know what I discovered? That Google-doctoring is a huge mental stress and gets me nowhere. My dad had a meningioma on his right frontal lobe, and IT wound up killing him this past June. He became SO weak on the entire left side of his body, that he fell & broke a hip, and then wound up falling 11x during the ensuing 10 months he remained alive. With all of these health issues, it's impossible to figure out what's causing what, and what to do about it. Palliative care wound up being THE best treatment for Dad, and physical therapy (which gave him Hope that he'd get out of the wheelchair one day, which he did not).

My mother has about 10 health issues with 'vertigo' being the newest and most confusing/troubling of all. She fell last Sunday, I took her to the ER (she lives in an ALF), and the doc said ALL her tests were 'normal' and that she's fine. Meanwhile, she wobbles & teeters around, losing her balance and 'almost' falling continuously. The treatment for vertigo is Valium, which exacerbates the wobbling & teetering BIG time. So I've decided to stop playing Google Doctor, put Mom on the medication administering program at the ALF, and put the rest in God's hands.

Wishing you the very best of luck with your Mom, my friend.

It is typical of some kinds of dementia. Are you seeing a specialist for the dementia? Has a particular type of dementia been mentioned?

How is your husband's sleep at night? Is he restless, acting out his dreams, frequently up?

Does he have any hallucinations?

What drugs (if any) is he taking for dementia?

How old is your husband? What did he do before dementia set in? What does he do now (besides sleep)? How is his demeanor when he is awake? Is he argumentative, calm, agitated, etc.?

Giving us a little more information might result in more helpful answers.

Even though excessive daytime sleepiness is "typical" of certain kinds of dementia, that doesn't mean it can't be treated for better qualify of life.

Polypharmacy refers to the effects of taking multiple medications concurrently to manage coexisting health problems, such as diabetes and hypertension. Too often, polypharmacy becomes problematic, such as when patients are prescribed too many medications by multiple healthcare providers working independently of each other. Also, drug interactions can occur if no single healthcare provider knows the patient's complete medication picture.

In all of our discussions here in the USA on all medical ills facing our communities we have a missing link. This blog should be tied to Medicare so participant's can reach the powers in that organization learn and understand the many problems that we all face when it comes to their inflexible regulations relating to preventive medicine. They accept the doctors initial diagnosis and limit what that practitioner and nursing home can provide and receive reimbursement. Entitlement seems to be a bad word but it implies that we as citizens deserve to be spared the path to death if other disciplines can correct illness that compound those incurables we are discussing. Until the researchers are successful with the dementias and reversal of brain deterioration they must appreciate the challenge. The medical profession is sitting on their hands in this fight.

There is nothing "typical" about dementia persons who are unique, but the anti-depressant would be suspect to me and thyroid levels can be checked by an endocrinologist. There is some dispute about what level one should have for hypothyroidism in order to take Synthroid medication. He needs to be stimulated every day so he is not sleeping that much, so get him up and exercising physically and mentally. My husband does word problems and reads history books. Do what he still likes...

My 85 yr husband W dementia can sleep till 3 or 4pm getting up to potty & try to get a meal in there. He reluctantly gets up when we must go somewhere & will stay awake. As soon as it is near dark he wants to go to bed but not w/o me. He is great W 100 pc puzzles so when he's up I keep one out so he may do 5 a nite. I prolong bed at least until 8 then turn bdrm TV on hgtv or cooking & he may watch or go to sleep. He is on aricept & anti depressent. I stay calm he stays calm & makes life happy where we are. The doc sees nothing wrong W his sleep so better than being bored. His exercise is walking from car to store & he gets worn out. We know what's at the end so make him happy at what he likes including sweets & sleeping.

IamAmy, glad I could help! Sometimes I hit "post" and then read what I've typed and some of my comments read like I've had a glass or two of wine while typing. Also, that could have been a Freudian slip too. Having my first 4 children in 32 months (no BC back then) made me think about "staying away" more than once! lol But we all survived and I even had #5 10 years later. I could write a book on what kids do and say. One lesson I learned was never say "my kids would never do something like that". Because they either did or were thinking about it.

Beautiful exchange with implied humor. Shows with all the strife of kids, caregiving and everything else we are all human and enjoy hidden meanings with a laugh.