I give my mom a cup of green tea which is mixed with her cup of cocoa. That helps a lot. I also give her a cup of coffee in the morning. Keep her up during the day so she won't be wandering all night. I also walk my mom every single day. She uses a walker but she can ambulate 1/4th of a mile and does so daily. THere were times she got restless in the afternoon so I walk her again. That takes care of that problem.
My husband has multiple dementia (vascular and Parkinson) and Parkinson disease. He was wandering at nighttime with hallucination. His neurologist and psychologist stated that he has what you called "sundowning dementia". He is on medication and is not wandering at nighttime as often. It has really made me feel less stressful. Good Luck and God Bless.
Be aware of all the stimulants she may be eating to keep her awake at night i.e. chocolate, coffee, etc. Even a high protein dinner will give her more energy. Try one tablespoon honey, one tablespoon apple cider vinegar (mixed together) and drink about one hour before bedtime. You can also try melatonin (OTC and inexpensive). Do not nap during the day or she won't sleep at night. Also, get double locks on the doors, and you hide the key so she cannot get outside. I once put a mattress on the floor for my mother (with dementia) and she slept next to our bed. It seemed to be comforting. Try anything that works so you can get some sleep. You cannot be a caregiver if you need caregiving.
exactly, we had just got to the point of seeing about respite and medication, but this was going to be the kicker to having to get more help or doing something, though, honestly, at this point, I'm not sure what we would have done, for a lot of reasons, so, bad as it was, in one sense, it was a blessing, though it was still horrible and I wish we'd at least possibly gotten the alarms earlier, maybe both door and bed, though not sure knew about the bed ones then; even the hospital still had just had - though this had been a few years - the floor ones, though think by the time we wound up back there - or somewhere I saw - the bed ones - and the door bolts might be good - just know we were told couldn't lock them in - seems rather strange when that's what they do in memory care units, but anyway - for all that, like was said, that only deals with half the problem because it's still there and you still have to deal with it so we had also just begun to ask about more medication but hadn't gotten that resolved yet, but, yes, the caregiver has to be able to sleep, especially if they can't just go on their schedule, which was the answer the home health agency gave us for a friend of mine's mother, but not everybody can do that, which is why you almost have to have the 24/7 people somewhere re sundowner's my mom got that in the hospital with her hip surgery, something nobody told us about till it happened, got better after she got home, another reason for not sending her to rehab, but still there somewhat, hard for dad to deal with - this was before he got worse, after she ended up passing away
Thanks everyone for your advice and input. I'm going to give her doctor a call and make sure it's ok to try some melatonin along with all the other meds she's on. I like the idea of the bed rails also. I am also looking into a deadbolt for the front door. The other doors are surrounded by the fence and she doesn't know how to unlatch it. They also have alarms. Bethany...I've had my mom in physical therapy and it was great for her. Her caregiver is suppose to be doing exercises with her at home. Unfortunately, I realized the daytime caregiver has been dishonest and hasn't been doing it. I also have cameras in my home. That is another issue I'll need to deal with. I have found a respite close to home which I plan to start soon. It will be good for her to socialize with others.
A bed alarm is a great idea. We just got one for my client. It has a remote alarm you can put anywhere in the house that chims when she get up. It works great.Also as suggested med change may be in order to help her sleep better. The getting up at night was what finally broke my sister resulting in mom moving to adult family home. You can only go without sleep for so long.
Set up a card table with a puzzle on it in her room. Get books from the library to read and magazines for her to look at until she feels calm and sleepy again. Get her a diary to write in..... hook rug, cross word puzzle book.....
I am dealing with the same issue right now. Doors are bolted at the top so she cannot leave the house, gate is at the steps, a bedside commode is in her room so she does not have to leave, and, the doctor just increased her Melatonin to 10mg. I have a chime attached to her door and I am up the second it goes off so that I can usher her back into her room and into bed. No, I get no sleep and my mother is on a waiting list for a nursing home. I have come to realize that this is Alzheimers and this is the way it will be until she is bed bound or goes into longterm care. Find respite care occasionally for your own mental health until you can find a permanent solution. Good luck.
This drove me over the edge also. I nicknamed my husband "wide awake Willie". He had vascular dementia and was a great risk for falling. A door alarm isn't really going to help because you still have to wake up to deal. I got a bed alarm that chimed when he sat up. I still had to deal, but at least I could get to him before a fall. Ultimately his doctor put him on trazadone and that really helped. The doctor made sure I knew the med doubled the risk of falling but I countered with it should help decrease the chance since he isn't wandering. He has passed now and I must admit it was a relief when he could no longer get out of bed alone. All alarm products can be found on line. Good luck!
Talk to her doctor about a condition called sundowner syndrome it's a serious condition that starts like that and progresses and can be dangerous it's one where they end up days and nights mixed up there is medication and in home day physical therapy can help
Something that has saved me, is that I got a motion detector from the Alzheimer's store in GA. It goes off when he gets up (a remote I have with me) I keep our bedroom door locked, and changed locks to outside doors. I should have said about the Melatonin that it was recommended by the Director of the Sleep Disorder Clinic at KU, we started at 3 mg and now using 12. It is over the counter, comes in 3 mg tabs. It cannot hurt.
Agree with jeannegibbs and bonnie pages. Nocturnal wandering is part of the disease. It doesn't hurt to try any and all of the suggestions especially if it makes you feel involved. Increasing light exposure in the evening, white noise are also things to try.
I agree with the others. She may need hers meds increased or changed or something else added. I didn't like to medicate my Mom, either, but sometimes that is the only thing you can do. She was up all night, too, running around and screaming. I was afraid she would fall. And she would sleep most the day, so we had to get her to stay awake during the day. That was difficult. Also, a good point about the caffeine.
There are some evenings when mom wants to go to bed at 5 p.m. and will actually sleep through to maybe 4 a.m. Other nights, it's 8 p.m. to bed and up at midnight and several times more. Fortunately, I'm able to lie down usually around 9 p.m. and manage to get enough sleep most nights, but I know without an occasional half of a mirtazapine (Remeron) pill, it would be awful for me, and she'd be in a memory care unit right now. The prescription is old, from her previous doc, and I'm likely never going to be able to get a refill as her current doc knows what I'm doing and disapproves, but it usually will put her to sleep on her really bad nights (combativeness, sleeplessness) so that I can get enough rest. I guess you learn that when possible, you rest when they rest. Come January of this next year, I can retire early, not need to rely on the caregiver contract I have, and mom could be placed at that point. Knowing that makes things bearable.
All of the above give great advice. I ultimately had to get a person at night to keep my husband safe. We used alarms,baby monitors etc.Finally, I had a person who was out of work (not an agency aide)come and watch him at nite.She was much less expensive and happy for the work. You NEED your sleep.Bonniepages had the best advice.
I agree. We. placed my mom shortly after that in a memory care unit because the only way I could be assured she was safe at night was to sleep with her with inner locks on the doors. I couldn't do it for a long period of time as she was up often. The nursing home still gives her modified sleeping meds but they have 24/7 staff to keep her safer.
My mom would wake me up 12 times a night to use the bathroom. Which each one involved a 20 minute ordeal. After three years I decided she needed to go In her bed. I bought a very comfortable 4,000 bed and put railings up and put her on temazapan. She got used to urinating in her diaper and sleeps thru the night without residue. No chance of fall. I give it to her when she is already in bed along with her antidepressants which have a tiny bit of sedation as well. Wakes up same time everyday very happy.
anonymous52412, she is not wandering because she isn't getting enough activity. She is not wandering because she is not on effective meds. She is not wandering because she watches too much television. All those issues are worth addressing, but the fact is that she is wandering because that is a symptom of her disease.
You can try to minimize it. You certainly need to try to keep her safe in spite of it. But basically you have to accept it is part of Alzheimer's. Sorry.
If there were an effective way to stop this wandering behavior, there would be little need for secure "memory care units" in assisted living and nursing homes. One of the quite pleasant and communicative guys in my mother's nh could still do his adls but tended to wander right out of the building. One day in the dining room he showed everyone his ankle bracelet intended to keep track of him. It was hard to tell whether he was bragging or complaining. A few weeks later he wasn't around anymore and we learned he was "upstairs" in the dementia unit. Apparently the bracelet wasn't sufficient to keep him safe.
If professionals need round-the-clock supervision and a secure facility to keep wandering dementia patients safe, don't be hard on yourself if you are having a hard time doing it in a private home, all alone.
(I think the caregiver not getting enough sleep is one of the top if not the top reason for placing dementia patients in care centers.)
re sundowner's my mom got that in the hospital with her hip surgery, something nobody told us about till it happened, got better after she got home, another reason for not sending her to rehab, but still there somewhat, hard for dad to deal with - this was before he got worse, after she ended up passing away
Bethany...I've had my mom in physical therapy and it was great for her. Her caregiver is suppose to be doing exercises with her at home. Unfortunately, I realized the daytime caregiver has been dishonest and hasn't been doing it. I also have cameras in my home. That is another issue I'll need to deal with. I have found a respite close to home which I plan to start soon. It will be good for her to socialize with others.
All alarm products can be found on line. Good luck!
I should have said about the Melatonin that it was recommended by the Director of the Sleep Disorder Clinic at KU, we started at 3 mg and now using 12. It is over the counter, comes in 3 mg tabs. It cannot hurt.
You can try to minimize it. You certainly need to try to keep her safe in spite of it. But basically you have to accept it is part of Alzheimer's. Sorry.
If there were an effective way to stop this wandering behavior, there would be little need for secure "memory care units" in assisted living and nursing homes. One of the quite pleasant and communicative guys in my mother's nh could still do his adls but tended to wander right out of the building. One day in the dining room he showed everyone his ankle bracelet intended to keep track of him. It was hard to tell whether he was bragging or complaining. A few weeks later he wasn't around anymore and we learned he was "upstairs" in the dementia unit. Apparently the bracelet wasn't sufficient to keep him safe.
If professionals need round-the-clock supervision and a secure facility to keep wandering dementia patients safe, don't be hard on yourself if you are having a hard time doing it in a private home, all alone.
(I think the caregiver not getting enough sleep is one of the top if not the top reason for placing dementia patients in care centers.)