I have just started caregiving and I am concerned about so much sleeping My sister and I brought him from sea level to Denver (mile High) 10 days ago. We keep him well hydrated, but all he wants to do is sleep and eat 2 meals a day. Is this normal?
I sure do understand your problem. My 87 year old husband does the same thing. I have never seen any one else on this site who has a similar problem. The doc recently put him on Adderall - speed, for short. It has helped. One problem, it is affecting his appetite. Since this is a new med for him, we may have to see if it's appropriate. This is a no win disease. We all try to do our best - and it's nice to know you aren't alone. Good luck with your dad and his care.
My dad loved to sleep his whole adult life. As he got into his 80s and 90s, he'd stay in bed until 10 AM and get up for a while and then take a nap and eat lunch and then go in and sleep for another nap. He'd stay up until 2 AM watching TV. He was never very social, and always loved to sleep. He lived until he was 92 and was pretty happy. That was just my dad.
I think your dad may adjust to the altitude more after a while. He's probably short on oxygen right now, which may make him sleepier. If he's still sleeping that much another month in, I'd get him to the doctor for a regular check up. He may be fine and just like to sleep. Or he may be depressed...if this is something new for him.
Do you know what his sleeping pattern was before he moved to Denver? I think blannie's idea of watching it for a while makes sense. Not only will you observe if it gets better or worse, but you may get some clues about the causes. Then discuss it with his doctor. (Have you located a geriatrician to be his primary care doc? That would be a good start.)
Sleep could be an escape -- all the changes he is experiencing might be overwhelming and he can only face them a little at a time. Depression is a similar possibility.
It could be habit. He lived alone and may not have had a lot of reasons to be up and active.
Excessive daytime sleepiness was a symptom of my husband's disease (Lewy Body Dementia). Medication helped a great deal. I don't know what other diseases this may be a component of.
He could be sick. Infections? uti? cold? flu?
As my husband neared the final stage of his life, he slept more and more. Once it became 20+ hours a day, we took that as a sign the end was nearing. BUT there were other signs of that as well. Earlier in his disease when he slept excessively we sought treatment and that improved his quality of life. At the end we accepted the normal processes of getting ready to pass. I'm not suggesting this is the case for your dad (you'd probably be very aware of it if he were in end stage) but it is one reason for shorter and shorter periods of being awake.
Thank you for your responses. You have given me sensible info to put to good use. I know he was sleeping a lot in Florida and this is a difficult change in so many ways. I have made a geriatric doc appointment for a week from Monday for lab tests to check for uti etc. again,thank you
My mother is 85 and she's been in a NH for a year. She's deteriorating terribly and sleeps pretty much all the time. There could be so many reasons your dad sleeps a lot but for my mother I know she will likely pass in the not too distant future.
I think your dad may adjust to the altitude more after a while. He's probably short on oxygen right now, which may make him sleepier. If he's still sleeping that much another month in, I'd get him to the doctor for a regular check up. He may be fine and just like to sleep. Or he may be depressed...if this is something new for him.
Sleep could be an escape -- all the changes he is experiencing might be overwhelming and he can only face them a little at a time. Depression is a similar possibility.
It could be habit. He lived alone and may not have had a lot of reasons to be up and active.
Excessive daytime sleepiness was a symptom of my husband's disease (Lewy Body Dementia). Medication helped a great deal. I don't know what other diseases this may be a component of.
He could be sick. Infections? uti? cold? flu?
As my husband neared the final stage of his life, he slept more and more. Once it became 20+ hours a day, we took that as a sign the end was nearing. BUT there were other signs of that as well. Earlier in his disease when he slept excessively we sought treatment and that improved his quality of life. At the end we accepted the normal processes of getting ready to pass. I'm not suggesting this is the case for your dad (you'd probably be very aware of it if he were in end stage) but it is one reason for shorter and shorter periods of being awake.