Husband shouting at night while awake?

Good idea. In the meantime, try an over the counter sleep aid.

my mother does the same thing at night she yells out a bunch of words that dont make sense, and talks to herself thinking that she is talking to someone but no one is there,also she has been hullusinating,(i probably spelled that wrong)but has been doing that alot more then usual,and she has been seeing the nuologist( spelled wrong to) to early in the morning for me) but she is in the middle stage of dementia, so yes it probably is dementia that your husband has,i feel for you because my mother is getting worse, for the past week she kept saying she has fuzz on her hands which there was nothing on them but was just in her mind, her dementia is really getting bad and the meds that shes on is not really helping,they upt her meds so many times and still not helping, i really dont want to put her in a nursing home because i already lost a aunt and a brother in the nursing home and when my oldest sister found out the same day she had past away that night

Yes!it is hallucinations. My mother does that too. Very loud in the middle of night and I have to get up and give her a small shouting to stop it. Lest it disturbs the neighbours.Can't help. Feel sad to see her in this state.

I think all of Us Who Lived with our elderly Parent's experienced this, at least I know I did but it never alarmed Me since I put it down to dreaming while asleep. I often said to My Late Mother YOU WERE TALKING MAD IN YOUR SLEEP LAST NIGHT, and Mother would have asked WAS I REALLY? oh yes You were having a right good natter. But it was harmless. I'd suggest not to worry.

There are many causes for hallucinations, and a neurologist, as well as some psychiatrists and others can help diagnose. Yes, some are just sleep talk, some can be treated, and two hours worth a night can keep everyone awake, making him worse. My Dad talked in his sleep, but I couldn't make sense of the few words that I understood. He said he was dreaming of talking to people from his past. He also spoke to people he saw in his room, like his dead brothers, or his sergeant from Pearl Harbor days. It's a lot for you to have to deal with. Take care, and let us know how it works out.

CherokeeLady, When my Mom was having these symptoms (especially the seeing "huge bugs" that I needed to squash and "a man coming after her" - causing her to wreck her room as she fought him off, etc.) - we found that 5 mg of Namenda every evening with her dinner totally took care of these symptoms. 10 mg was too much and we didn't even try the Namenda XR because it still provides 10 mg over a day and she only needs or responds well to 5. If she's not already taking it, it might be worth a try. It has been our "miracle drug" for 8 years an if we miss a dose, we can tell the difference immediately. She sleeps calmly through the night now -- no talking to hordes of people I can't see, hovering at ceiling level. It must have all been absolutely terrifying for her - and it was pretty scary for us, too. Amazing that a tiny pill with a tiny amount of a chemical can sometimes "click" things back into place. Lots of resources warn that it's effects are temporary so I keep praying that our "temporary" will continue to be longer than the norm.

Wish Namenda worked miracles for my mom. She's been on it for years. I've given it to her different times a day with no difference in sleep pattern. I've tried no meds for a few days with the same results. There are usually a few shouts day and/or night, without provocation. With my mom, it's almost always "Get out of my house!" She may or may not be combative, throw things, may or may not be in bed or sitting in a chair or looking out a window during the day So my tiny pill is either a bit of Ativan or mirtazipime that I can resort to if this goes on for hours at night. Most of the time, I don't have to use those. Her seasonal allergies seem to provoke worse behavior, and even with the doc saying to use Flonase spray, I don't notice a difference. She's less rowdy around other people, does fine at the beauty shop so far, may or may not behave herself when we eat lunch at my sister's with the grandkids and dogs there. She's quiet enough in the car. I've gotten used to the shouting and work around it when it's just she and I in the house, though it always makes me feel bad for her, especially when she can't at least enjoy her food because of the ugly mental distraction. Good luck at the neurologist's.

My husband went through a year of what you describe, most of the time I would just gently reach over and hold his arm for awhile & he would stop, but other times it would be very angry aggressive shouting, no touching then as arms could swing out then I just piled a couple of pillows between us. He is on TRAZADONE at night as well as SEROQUEL 25mg and he sleeps through the night and no more episodes. Thank goodness, they are scary waking one ( me) out of a deep sleep.

A very common cause for hallucinations and babbling can be a vitamin B12 deficiency. B12 by an IV may be necessary (as opposed to an oral supplement) and the behavioral problem may stop. My sunt and my husband were both diagnosed with dementia automatically. A second hospital and a smarter doctor diagnosed my aunt's B12 deficiency 20 years ago. I had to press to have my husband's B12 checked 3 years ago. He was cured of his "dementia" within 8 hours. Definitely ask that B12 be checked (a simple blood test) before having a loved one endure more complicated diagnostic measures.

My husband does the shouting out and also flailing his arms and legs a lot. We have tried different meds and different doses, but haven't found the perfect answer yet. He was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia.

Lately my 91 year old mom has been having such episodes but not as bad BUT it's my cue to check for a UTI and after antibiotics, she's okay. Yet now I think it's her advancing dementia cuz it's happens a bit even when I know her UTI is gone. I did not know about Nemenda as per an earlier response. Gotta talk to her doc about it during her next appointment. He doesn't want to prescribe a sleeping med. I know she's not B12 deficient as per a different response cuz of a recent physical she had and all was well. So I have been giving her melatonin gummies each night which helps. I just know she needs to be able to sleep well. Great insight here which I treasure because docs not always helpful - maybe if they had to care for loved ones in their disease as ours do they would understand our situations. I feel like I'm learning on the job but I'm not a doctor - understandable. And we have a compassionate doc but he doesn't seem to get it. Know what I mean? I'm not looking for a quick fix but I don't want my mom to suffer if there's something that can ease her mind due to dementia. It's about quality of life for her and my life and my marriage.

Whatever medications your husband is on have manifested themselves into hallucinagenic actions/thoughts, etc. Meds can make the person "mutter," say words, smell "faux" smoke and more.

Alexander4, has anyone diagnosed your husband's sleep disorder as RDB? Is he seeing a specialist who understands LBD and is experienced in treating it? RBD is very common in LBD and Parkinson's (and not with other conditions). It is fairly easily controlled -- at least it was for my husband. What meds have you tried so far?

Patsyretired, this is a strange question, but are you sure your husband is really awake when this is happening? In certain kinds of dementia the boundaries between sleep and wakefulness get blurred.

Many responses mention hallucinations, but I don't see anything in your post that indicates your husband is seeing anything that is not there. He is just shouting words, right?

When is his neurologist appointment? Your observations about these episodes will be valuable input. Please let us know the results of the appointment. We learn from each other!

This could be dream talk or he could be in a mid stage. Whatever the reason, the neurologist will work on getting a handle on it. Meanwhile, trying to do all that you can to keep things calm before he goes to bed and keeping the bedroom comfortable may help. If you take notes each night about the timing and the conditions, that may help the doctor with a diagnosis.

Some melatonin may help as well though you may want to give his primary doctor a call before you try it.

I hope that you'll check back in with us for an update.
Take care,
Carol

Thank you all for your replies it was just nice to know that somebody else has had the same experiences. My husband isn't on any medication yet as we are still waiting for an appointment for the neurologist and I don't want to go private as I think he would refuse to go. Anyway night shouting has gone back to 15-20 mins and he is awake because in the 2 hour session he said he thought he was going mad because he could not control the shouting. Thank you all again I shall draw from your replies when I do get an appointment.