Any recommendations on sleep aids when traveling with dementia patient?

A small glass of dry red wine at bedtime. Just one.

Marijuana cookie (or other edible).

I would try melatonin first

While I believe in some homeopathic med. I would be very careful of giving it to anyone who is on western mess as some interact with them. Best check with dr first.

All the above may make sense, but also PAY ATTENTION to her VITALS as they WILL CHANGE(lower or higher)since she will.be taken.out of her comfory zone and familiar/ safe enviroment. Experienced it first hsnd with my mother in law on a cruise(only 3 days). From the
first day of the trip, till 7-10 days after, ALL VITALS HAVE ELAVETED
(all med's same as before !!!). Good luck, and good trip.

My FIL gave MIL antidiarrheal medication and she ended up in the ICU. They were traveling and she had loose stools and he thought they would just plug her up long enough to get home. Two months later, she finally made it home, but nearly didn't.

Personally, I wouldn't travel with a Dementia patient. They don't do well, as they have said, out of their comfort zone. Then there r rest stops where you may need to clean up or even change clothes. We have a family wedding in Oct at that time I will put Mom in respite care. Sounds selfish but after 2yrs of caring for Mom in my home, I need to get away and be able to enjoy myself.

I no longer will travel with my inlaws and they aren't demented. If an event is under an hour by car, we make every effort to get them there. But as for trips involving planes or trains - absolutely not. I don't want to do all the travel prep and inevitable cleanup of accidents anymore. I don't want to work around poorly designed hotel rooms. I don't want those looks I used to get wheeling MIL around the airport all slumped over in her wheelchair. And I don't want to be responsible for delaying an entire flight of passengers because something went wrong. I don't feel selfish or bad about it. It is what it is.

I did all that at the airport and it was still a nightmare. I got the wheelchair at the curb. I did curbside baggage check. I went through TSA in a separate lane where MIL and her wheelchair were rubbed down with "wands" and all her private parts patted down. I got priority boarding and we even flew first class once because we all got upgraded using points. All that sounds great until....

Flight delayed! Then, "holding it" because it was a short flight is no longer an option. MIL, who is catheterized, is not simple to toilet. She cannot do it herself anymore. I've used many handicapped bathrooms at airports and, unless they were just cleaned, they often smelled terrible. I've even gone looking for a janitor.

I've done the pre-boarding. Big deal. It does nothing for the reality of MIL's comfort because the bathrooms on planes are too small for my MIL and me to toilet her. She's had accidents in flight. Do ***you*** want to sit in her seat after she's had an explosive event? I don't think so! I've been on a flight where the previous person in my seat spilled all over it and it delayed the flight by 20 minutes until maintenance brought me a new seat cushion with seat belt.

I won't travel with my inlaws because I think it's thoughtless and selfish to subject a plane full of people to their frailties. MIL has spilled tomato juice all over herself, the seat next to her, and into the aisle. MIL has had accidents that smelled bad and we all endured it for hours. We once were that medical emergency.

I would think long and hard about whether or not you must fly a person who is frail, incontinent, and/or demented. I won't do it anymore because I think I've tried everything short of hiring a private jet.

NYDaughterInLaw: What you experienced NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED! I myself was a medical emergency on a flight from Manchester, NH to Baltimore back in the day and was handled with respect and care!