Every single morning when my DH gets up, he doesn't know ANYTHING. I have to tell him everything he's supposed to do. Later on he is pretty alert. Why is this? Do you think the blood in the brain hasn't started circulating or what? He's 85 yr old if that makes any difference.
Mine too. First thing and last thing, problems. In between, few. I go in his room and read the paper in his recliner before he wakes up, or as he wakes up. It has always been his ritual to go to the bathroom, then bathe and dress. I have tried to keep this an essentially inviolable ritual, and he always feels better after it. The bath is often perfunctory. That's ok.
do they snore alot at nite? snoring causes loss of oxygen and i know my DH is the same and usually cause he hasnt been breathing well all nite due to snoring and those 'pauses' he does. could be? so til they are awake and moving and flows of o2 again maybe...plus the AD brain may be harder to wake up a bit after the body does! divvi
Mine is sometimes disoriented when he first wakes up. But we have coffee in bed first thing for about 1/2 to 1 hr., then he gets up and he's okay. After that, mornings are the best for him. Very alert most of time. Then starts to kind of go downhill late afternoon.
My DH is more alert when he gets up in the morning. I dread the hours after 7 and when he goes to bed. He is so confused and everyone says to go along with what he says but he is so worried about what ever the problem is that you can't do that. He is talking to a picture of a grandchild as if she was sitting there. Worries about who is looking after her when he goes to bed. Where is my wife and are they paying you for all the work you are doing. I wish that other Bama was doing some of the work around here. LOL.
Divvi, sounds like your DH has obstructive sleep apnea. This can be helped with use of nasal CPAP, a device that fits on the nose and delivers gentle positive pressure to keep the airway open. If he is having symptoms of daytime sleepiness or confusion this might help.
My DH has sleep apnea and has recently stopped using his CPAP. It is often difficult for even people without dementia to "get used to it" or use it consistently. My husband started chewing (and destroying) his masks, and had trouble attaching the mask. He started taking it off and/or undoing the clasps during the night. We have stopped using it as it started to disrupt his sleep more than help. And, the talking during the night made it impossible to use. PatB
indeed a problem with sleep apnea and the need for a mask combined with AD! no mask - for that fact i worried about he swine flu and having to go to drs or hospitals, my DH absolutely will not leave it on! divvi
The morning is when I know if this will be a confused day or a not-confused day. Today was confused. He needed help with getting his breakfast together. Most days he does it all alone and frequently he is finished before I wake up.
Me too,bookworm. Usually if I just sit and read the paper and let him get himself together in his own good time,give him a tylenol if he's moaning (he's quite vocal about his aches and pains. At 85 he has some.), he'll eventually decide it's time to get up. Getting him into the bathroom and into the shower pretty much always breaks up any growling behavior. The problem, of course is if I need him to be up by a specific time so I can go away, etc. Then things get difficult.