My 93 year old mother has advanced Alzheimer's/dementia, and her night sleep pattern is very erratic. Would a mild sedative be a bad idea?

I tried to 'knock out' 94 year old mother in law out with the Ativan that the hospice nurse gave, but that just made her WILD! One night I gave her Ativan at 10PM, then at 1AM I gave her a hydrocodone dose, then at 3pm because she was still wide awake and I had to be a work by 7AM I gave her .2 mgs of liquid morphine. Well, that morphine finally knocked her out and the old gal slept for probably 24 hours. I felt terrible about it, but she did awake pretty much rested and hungry. I thought that was the end for her, but she rallied! The next time she was restless? I gave her benadryl and it worked better than the prescription drugs did.

My mums relaxant night medication Mirtazapine did not work until week three so be patient.

Yes, Doctor's advice is always the first place to go. My Experience with this: Mom 96 and taking Ambien. Why? Because it is Humane...it is peaceful, it allows her (blind) to sleep soundly and not roll out of bed and fall onto the floor because rails on beds are illegal in CA AL, because, what - at 96 she is going to become "dependent"? Decisions when a loved one is headed to 100 years old and is severely compromised by body and mind ARE different than if a person is 30 years old. Medicare charges a fortune for Ambien, but if you use the free GoodRX site, it is very cheap (coupon for local pharmacy - cash purchase, no insurance needed, just a prescription from her doctor) at 1/10th the price of the co-pay that many insurance plans charge.

You need to talk to her doctor. Has anyone suggested Melatonin? That was all my mom needed to help her sleep.

10Mg Melatonin has worked for my Mom. Anything else wreaked havoc on her brain.

Ativan had the completely opposite effect on my mom than what is intended. We had to experiment with medications to find out what would work for her. Check with the doc to try something else.

Yes, great advice here. Any elder person (even young) need a good night. There are several natural sleep aids. Melatonin , Valerian & L Trytaphane (the stuff in Turkey that's makes you sleepy) I actually just got my Mom off Ambien, she would sleep all day and take her meds then STILL not sleep.... Her sleeping pattern is messed up. Her Doctor agreed. She is now on Melatonin and doing much better. It's hard to keep someone active who doesn't want to be bothered. It's complicated but a work in progress as she ages.

If the melatonin is not working, CALL HIS DOCTOR. He clearly needs something else.

Try a couple of spoons of Tart cherry concentrate from Pure Planet and/ or spoon(s) of honey one hour before bedtime. They're quite effective!

You should speak to her physician before proceeding with any medication.