My Dad has Dementia and just walks and walks is there anything I can give him to calm him down so he can at least sleep for 20 mins, i'd would think he would be Tired from all the Walking he does but that's not the case,
Trazadone 50 mg changed our lives for my mom who would be up every hour wanting to eat or "Go home". Now she's content.. A little unstable walking but that's because she is visually impaired. I work full time and used to be up all night. My dad age 94 is hime with Me too. I have companion care coming in for two hours a day 3 x a week. It helps. The state process takes time, but it is worth it. I plan to keep Mom 91 and dad 94 at home as long as possible . Taking them for long rides and ice cream .. Packing lunch and eating in the car.. Taking them out in their pajamas for a ride , even late night. We have Alert 1 medical system but Mom wouldn't know what to do. Dad does. It's always a risk. Lots if quiet tears but God will help us all . Leave snacks on the table. I prepare a pot of tea daily but if he can't use the microwave, won't help. My dad had three strokes but came through it. I just bought him one if the old time portable record players. And a portable cassette player too. He's playing all us LP's and tapes. He said it gave him New life! Have lots of company so he can interact too. This way he can be relaxed enough to sleep. My neurologist recommended SAM-e. Supplement ... Not a drug and safe. It worked for My dad but not for my Mom. Mom is now on namenda, a baby aspirin and trazadone. We are rescued! Jane in Mimford, Ct.
I made my dad some CD's of music that he used to like, some of which I had, and the rest I found on iTunes. Something about it really calms and relaxes him (most of the times). I'd also take the other suggestions and talk to his doctor, I know my dad was given a medication to help with the anxiety, and it seems to have worked to some extent. Hope this helps, and all the best to you.
Pl. see a neurologist. My mother had severe dementia and hallucinations which were hurting the family. The neurologist gave her 12.5mg of quitipin and GABAPIN and we are seeing a total change within 3 days. No more hallucintions. I am glad I visited the doctor.
A few years ago, my Mom went for five days without sleeping which kicked her (what turned out to be) pseudodementia into high gear. She also just walked and walked all night. With the doctor's help, we finally hit on a combination of trazadone and quetiapine fumarate (Seroquel) that worked almost immediately and she slept almost five hours that first night. Good luck to you and your dad.
Try some over-the-counter Melatonin 3.5 mg which is non-addictive and will replenish the melatonin which decreases as we age. You need to keep any areas he walks free from rugs and chairs so he won't fall or bump into something. If he does not respond, have a talk with his doctor for something stronger. Since the brain is abnormal in dementia, his sleep-wake cycle is disrupted so don't expect your sleep cycle to be in sync with his.
Don't give up if the above drugs and practices don't work. We tried music and it is calming but not enough for sleep. We try exercise, again calming but not enough for sleep. Seroquel didn't stop my Mom's hallucinations or reliably help her sleep at night. It did turn her into a drooling zombie during the day - which we did not like. Trazodone worked for a short time. It was recommended to try Remeral (Mirtazapine) instead as it leaves you less 'hung over' feeling in the morning and 'packs a more powerful punch'. It is working. Thank god. I work full time too and my stay at home husband has his own set of significant health issues. Not getting sleep was killing us all. Mom is now sleeping good enough ;-) Sometimes it's all night long. Sometimes there are 1-3 bathroom visits but most of the time she goes right back to sleep. Once in a while it's still bad - but then don't we all have bad nights sometimes?! Good luck.
May be your father has restless leg sendrime...and walking was the only way I could make it go away...... not be able to sleep until the doctor put me on Requip to help... now I am not afraid to go to bed. worth checking it out...Jan in North Carolina
I suggest a few things before using Pharma. Probably he is already on enough pharma already, right?. First is Magnesium supplementation. It gently relaxes the entire body. I use it just before going to sleep at night to calm the generalized anxiety that otherwise would wake me up. My friend takes the same supplement throughout the day to calm her anxiety. There are many formulations of Magnesium and I have experiemented with many of them. This is my current favorite, you can get it on Amazon.com. Jarrow Formulas Magmind Nutritional Supplement, 90 Count. It is Magnesium L-Threonate. I strongly advise this, it is not expensive. Don't try to save money buying something else, there are ineffective Magnesium supplements out there. Mercola.com has even a better L-Threonate but it is expensive. Secondly... from amazon - Source Naturals L-Tryptophan 500mg, 120 Capsules. The same natural calming chemical that is in Turkey. Best of luck!
You need to be very cautious about using Trazodone and Quetiapine. A MAJOR side effect for Trazodone is the hangover and imbalance that is almost universal. Trazodone is NOT intended as a sleep aid and is FDA indicated only for depression. Therapeutic doses are in the range of 300mg daily which rendered recipients constantly sleeping. Hence, it never caught on. Quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic, also causes weight gain, metabolic syndrome, drowsiness, and a number of other side effects such that a black box warning about its use in the elderly. If those meds are prescribed, they have to be monitored very closely by the prescribing physician. As a physician, I have not only had clinical experience but unfortunately have helped both my father and now my wife with dementia. Interestingly, I noticed a certain level of confusion, agitation, and or increased anxiety in them both which seemed to respond to liquid and solid food. My Dad's preference was little squares of chocolate from a large Cadbury chocolate bar at least every 2 hours or so. My wife has been eating Nature Valley granola bars and drinking EAS Advantage chocolate fudge carb control drinks. The former provide instantly available sugars and the latter provides slowly digested proteins which help support an extended effect. I am NOT advertising either of these products. Other brands exist that do similar things. Be careful not to overload the protein side with your approach. Usually, my wife noticeably calms within 15 minutes +/-. My wife also needs something every 2 hours or so. Good luck
Me too. I have companion care coming in for two hours a day 3 x a week. It helps. The state process takes time, but it is worth it. I plan to keep
Mom 91 and dad 94 at home as long as possible . Taking them for long rides and ice cream .. Packing lunch and eating in the car.. Taking them out in their pajamas for a ride , even late night. We have Alert 1 medical system but
Mom wouldn't know what to do. Dad does. It's always a risk. Lots if quiet tears but God will help us all . Leave snacks on the table. I prepare a pot of tea daily but if he can't use the microwave, won't help. My dad had three strokes but came through it. I just bought him one if the old time portable record players. And a portable cassette player too. He's playing all us LP's and tapes. He said it gave him
New life! Have lots of company so he can interact too. This way he can be relaxed enough to sleep. My neurologist recommended SAM-e. Supplement ... Not a drug and safe. It worked for
My dad but not for my
Mom. Mom is now on namenda, a baby aspirin and trazadone. We are rescued! Jane in Mimford, Ct.
Quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic, also causes weight gain, metabolic syndrome, drowsiness, and a number of other side effects such that a black box warning about its use in the elderly. If those meds are prescribed, they have to be monitored very closely by the prescribing physician.
As a physician, I have not only had clinical experience but unfortunately have helped both my father and now my wife with dementia. Interestingly, I noticed a certain level of confusion, agitation, and or increased anxiety in them both which seemed to respond to liquid and solid food. My Dad's preference was little squares of chocolate from a large Cadbury chocolate bar at least every 2 hours or so. My wife has been eating Nature Valley granola bars and drinking EAS Advantage chocolate fudge carb control drinks. The former provide instantly available sugars and the latter provides slowly digested proteins which help support an extended effect. I am NOT advertising either of these products. Other brands exist that do similar things. Be careful not to overload the protein side with your approach. Usually, my wife noticeably calms within 15 minutes +/-. My wife also needs something every 2 hours or so. Good luck
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