After dinner my husband becomes a different person. Roar, and he'll let me roar back at him. But he likes to shout, and he never has before. And now he's started pooping in his pants (depends) as soon as he gets up from the dinner table. Getting stuff off of him before he sits down on it has become a major trial and a lot of yelling goes on.
Has anyone found a med that helps with the sundowning? I thought the neurontin was supposed to but it isn't anymore...
I hear things like closing windows and turning on lights before the sun starts to go down. Problem for me.............we have windows way up high in a room where the peak of the vaulted ceiling is roughly 30 ft high. And those windows are triangular. Ugh!
briegull maybe ask the dr if you can up the dose of neurontin? i think it does mellow them out some- my DH takes 400mg and hes very easy now to manage so far. if yours has a schedule then right after dinner head for the bathroom and try to get him to 'sit' for a spell. sooner than later works best.:)this in itself will ward off alot of yelling-if he was like my DH he would get upset and yell before i knew what he was doing, cause he already knew i would be stressed over him not going to bathroom. maybe offer him a treat as dessert in the bathroom? i know, but you do what works! divvi
I really don't think there is a medication just for sundowning specifically and to get right down to it, I don't think that turning lights on or closing windows does a darn thing. My DH has been on this behavior for quite some time. Nothing I do seems to satisfy him. He is up and down and obsessing from around 4 pm to about 10 pm every night. I have to say it GETS TO ME sometimes.
Yeah, guys, I think you're right. He's only on 100mg twice a day of the neurontin; I'm pretty sure I can go up on that. I'll try it. I also have some seroquel here that he's not taking which really zonked him.
We watched The Producers (the old one with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) the other day - and my husband enjoyed it, as always - and I keep thinking of Bloom sitting there twisting his blankie and saying No Way Out, No Way Out... that's where I am tonite.
I have an appointment with our PCP for ME tomorrow, the yearly exam. For the first time, I'm going to see if he can give ME something.
When my husband went through his Sundowning phase, we'd keep lights on everywhere, beginning around 4 before there was the slightest hint of twilight. We have wooden shutters inside the house and I'd quietly close them so he wouldn't see 'outside'. It actually made a difference in our case. His sleep cycles were upside down and backward. His renown neurologist at Baylor College of Medicine put him on graduated doses of Seroquel and we worked out of it. He still has occasional outbursts, but absolutely nothing like he had before. No two cases are alike, however, so this might not be the answer to everyone else. As for the sleeping throughout the day,..I'm told (and I agree) to just let it be. What would he be doing if he was awake?
briegull start with a gradual increase if you are upping the neurontin. i did 50mg added at a time. say 150mg each time? we had no issues doing it this way-. if i gave a 100mg at once he got sorta zoned out more all day and slept alot. this may be a good thing too:) check with the dr tomorrow-good luck, divvi
This Sundowning is driving me crazy. How can someone talk with some sense in the morning and early afternoon and then after six completely change. He doesn't have a bed to sleep in, Does he have to pay someone for a bed. Who was that man paying the bills this afternoon? It was little old me that's who the man was. Now he is saying we are going to be evicted. Somebody will be here to get all our furniture. We own this house and we don't owe anybody a dime. Where do they come up with this stuff? Everyday I think things are going good and then the sun goes down. I truthfully don't know if I am going to make it. I tried the Seroquel and he was so hyped up that he wouldn't go to bed. Well, tomorrow is a new day and maybe I can keep my cool and not yell.
Bama, I was told the Seroquel will take almost three weeks to really set in. Did you try it for that long? It's not like a pain pill that kicks in an an hour or so.
Seroquel was the magic pill with my DH...and we have not experienced Sundowning for months. I realize many people don't have the same luck with their meds. Everyone reacts to drugs differently. I was advised to give the drug time, because in the initial stages our guys have different reactions that disappear in time.
I feel your pain,... and know the feelings you have when they begin to act up. All of his comments demonstrates his fear and paranoia which is the Devil Alzheimer scaring him to death.
I am finding that what works on one Alzheimer's patient (or more) doesn't work on all of them. No matter what I've tried, nothing gets my husband to sleep at night. Some of these medicines you are using successfully seem to make my husband stay awake more! As we have been told, if you have seen one Alzheimer's patient, you have seen one Alzheimer's patient.
My husband is on Mirapex for his restless leg syndrome. It eases pain in his legs. I have discovered that by increasing his dose these last two days (with his doctor's permission) he is now sleeping more at night!! These last two nights I have gotten more sleep and feel so much better!
My DH had recent med changes deluxe. He was a sundowner before, and remains so now. He now has Ativan PRN, and one time it helps, the next time it doesn't.
Last couple nights DH has been awake alot. First two nights home from his 16 day stay at behavioral health I thought I was on "Easy Street" with the night time sleeping. Did not last long at all. A couple nights ago following a totally sleepless night I slipped him an Ambien (regular type....not XR). He slept wonderful. Tried it again last night and it didn't seem to help much. Oh, it is frustrating.
Nothing seems to work for my husband's sleep either. We have tried Ambien, Restoril, Ativan and Xanax. If he is going to sleep, he does so without drugs. If he is not going to sleep, no drug will make him. Frustrating for sure.
We have tried most everything. Ambien sent DH sleepwalking and bumping into walls, Atavan sent him into hallucinations. He is still restless from approx. 4 to 10pm. Up and down. Finally will sleep till 2 am and want to eat then goes back to bed 3:30 to about 5. Sometimes a little better sometimes much worse. Very frustrating.
MMarshall, you are describing my husband, except at 2 a.m. he thinks it is 6 a.m. and wants to get up and get dressed and have me get his coffee and read the paper (which hasn't been delivered, of course!) That is why I got the key-only door knob so I can keep him in the bedroom while I sleep! The increase in his Mirapex has worked these last two days, so it has helped. It helped his restlessness from 4 until 8 p.m. when he starts dosing in his chair too.
I would say we are into the sundowning phase now. After 3 p.m. he starts getting restless. Just up and down, around and about. Can't sit still very long. Opening drawers and cabinets and generally getting on my nerves. He is quiet. During the day some days he sleeps off and on until afternoon. Today he just now started dozing. About an hour ago he was pushing some dining room chairs around and decided to sit on the one he was pushing. Well, he underestimated the seat position and was half on/half off. I got up to help him and he couldn't help himself and ended up sliding to the floor with me easing the way down. I tried to get him to turn onto his knees so he could help himself up but he just couldn't seem to do anything. He was calm, I was calm, so I decided to just leave him and see what he figured out. He worked and worked, scooted and scooted. Finally after about 20 minutes I asked him if he wanted to try again to get up. He did, so I got the transfer belt and finally he worked himself around to help himself up. I think him getting down on the floor would be good exercise for him every day. He used muscles he hadn't used for a long time although he basically he doesn't seem to have any strength. He sat in his chair and finally took a nap and now he is up again. Another long evening. His neuro put him on klonapin a couple weeks ago and I think I will call tomorrow for another med change.
I don't know of any meds for sundowning but my husbands hallucinations happen about the same time -- his mind and body are tired. Seroquel has helped tremendously!
I wish there was something to help this phase. G drives me absolutely nutzo from about 4:00 until after dinner when we finally watch some TV. Sometimes he will use his walker and make the circuit down the hall to the living room, back thru dining room, kitchen, and into the family room again. He says a couple of those help the antsy feelings, but I can't say I see must difference...but will take any wee helps.