Advice

Is it typical for people with dementia to sleep a lot during the day?

My dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 8 years ago. He has been in a hospital bed at home for 4 years now and has drastically deteriorated over the past year. He hasn't spoken for 4 years and has carers 4 times a day. He spends a lot of time sleeping but has only recently started struggling to eat. He's 83 and my mum's 81. My mum has a carer in the morning to help her shower and get dressed. My dad's illness has had a massive impact on my mums health and she now struggles to do the simplest things. I cook, clean and shop for them. My mum is struggling with the stairs and would benefit from a stair lift. This is a terrible illness and it takes a toll on everyone involved. My mum and I spent years toiletting him, washing him, etc. My mum can hardly was from one room to the other now due to all the lifting. There needs to be more help for the families of people with Alzheimer's.

I care for my husbands cousin because noone else in the family was prepared to care for him.
He was diagnosed with alcohol induced Dementia but having spoken to the nurse on the Dementia helpline we feel that there is possibly another form of Dementia going on, especially as he has been alcohol free for over 3yrs now.
Like many of you, recently, he has started sleeping for around 21hrs daily.
He tends to sleep ok during the night, although he can get up 3/4 times to go to the toilet. However, he doesn't appear to actually go to the toilet. It's almost as if he is waking up, forgetting what he was going to do & guessing that he must have wanted the toilet, if this makes sense.
He does have Prostrate Cancer & the specialist has told us that although he will never be free if the Cancer, it is likely that the Dementia will kill him before the Cancer does.
I worry that he may not have long left.
As I travel 60 miles most days to care for him, I do not want him to die alone.
I have done an end of life plan with him where he has said that he would like me to be with him at the end.
For me, the difficulty is the not knowing if the rapid deterioration in his mobility & memory along with the constant sleeping is the beginning of the end.
I have taken great comfort & support from reading all your stories & the impact that this horrendous disease has on our loved ones.
It's good to know that I am not alone.
Thank you for sharing your concerns & stories.

It was impossible for me to believe the diagnosis: my husband - a Ph.d Nuclear Physicist and author - was, at age 85, suffering from Alzheimer's Disease! During the ten years since that fateful day, I have observed, with great sadness, the downward spiral of his thinking process, plus physical symptoms....like incontinence, walking difficulty, and garbled speech

My husband has dementia I think with my outstanding care by feeding him good food all
Ways dinners every day the doctor said hehas had it four years but it has become worse INTHE last two year
HEIS A VERY PEACEFUL PERSON WE HAVE BEEN WED 67 YEARS HE IS 87 sleeps a loti care for him so well at the. Cost of my own health I feel like I am caving in with the stress I am suffering my self I am severly disabledi have carers twice a day for medication and to help cook. Meals every thing is pay up Is the any free support that would help me and of cause. Support. Him i am bottled up with stress and just DONT know and feel the life I. Have is like living. In a cage DONT go out of the house. For months on end and now I am 85 PEOPLE TO TALK all my friends. Have departed

My husband's had dementia for a while now but now all he does is sleep he doesn't eat I've had him for 41 years can anybody tell me if his end is near . Thank you

I to feel I lost my husband two years ago. He knows me and our children but no communication takes place. I am struggling daily with what Alzheimer’s does to someone you have been with for 49 years. People say I am so strong. If they only new how I feel inside.

I have just taken early retirement from a job I truly love. But after over 2 years of no sleep and trying to take care of my father and work, I can't do it anymore. Financially it's going to be hard on me, but I have no other choice. My father is 85 and not sure what stage he is in. He sleeps all day and is up every 2 hours during the night, confused, wandering and keeps me up all night. I can't go anywhere because I can't leave him alone. I'm doing my best to take care of him, but physically he is much larger than I am and I'm worried what will happen if he falls or if he would ever get to the stage that I've heard so many talk about, angry and violent.
I've tried to reach out to a number of nursing homes, but I cannot get any help. He gets a little over $2,000 a month with SS and his pension and has prepaid burial plots that he bought in 1962, so they say he has too much money to get help with Medicaid. Homes are $6,000 a month, what do they expect me to do?? He worked all his life and we can't get any help, why?? When do we as a country start taking care of our seniors?! I don't know what I'm going to do in the next 3 to 6 months, he's getting worse each day.

Hi is there anyone out there whose relative has Lewy body dementia with Alzheimers?

my mom may have dementia but has not been diagnosed. She hasn't bathed or washed her hair since Thanksgiving. I have lived with her for going on 4 years. She is delusional and very critical of me, accusing me of stealing, calling me a slut. She has no cause to call me a slut. Always has been critical of me. She is still mobile which is good. Nosy as all heck. I swear if she goes into a home, I'm out of here.

I was diagnosed with dementia at age 54 in March 2020, just before our world locked down everything. I have worked all my life and planned our retirement with my darling husband, but not sure how quickly the disease will progress. I did try several medicines but all without any luck. I also had to resign from my employment in a VP role after 25 years of work experience. In July of last year, I was unable to drive any longer. The loss of friendships, independence, inability to handle normal tasks and activities has been truly so difficult, I have learned that it is best to focus on the present moment but from a patient’s experience, the key word I use to describe Early Onset Dementia is exhausting but create an openness to help🙏🏼❤️

My brother has vascular demencia as well as diabetes. He takes 5 different types of medications and sleeps most of the day and sometimes I have to ask him to eat. At times he doesn't want to eat and complains that he is tired and goes to sleep. At night he will get up at least 10 times to go to the bathroom. I ask him why he sleeps and he says he is tired. He doesn't communicate much. He is not even seventy yet. He has 2 grandchildren but doesn't remember. He sometimes doesn't remember where he was a few minutes earlierl.

My father was diagnosed with Behavior Variant Frontal Lobe Dementia last fall when symptoms of the disease came out full swing. He is 79 years old and I am sure he’s had it for years but he was able to control his emotions until last fall. His GP did blood tests and they came back clean and then an MRI show atrophy on the frontal lobe. Once we got the diagnosis the doctor prescribed Seroquel and that made him worse after 8 weeks on it I told the doctor that we need to take him off of it because it was pure hell. Once off the seroquel and it cleares the system he seemed to get bettee with weeks between episodes of agitation and aggression. Yes, he’d open up the cabinets to “air them out” or take all the pictures and lay them on the floor but outside of that and sone delusions he’s been fine. His issue is and has been lack of sleep at night and keeping myself and my mother up at night with the wandering.

But, over the last two weeks, since the clocks moved forward it seems as if his bad episodes are more frequent. He will eat something and its “salty” no matter what it is. He thinks he owns every car and house in the neighborhood and you can’t tell him otherwise. He even told a neighbor to get out of his house, when we try to explain to him that the houses are not ours he would get angry and aggressive towards my mom and myself.

The doctor suggested I give him melatonin which I startes giving him two days ago, I purchased 5mg gummies at the local pharmacy and it seems to make him sleep through the night but he’s still moody and angry. What’s worse is he woke up fine and in good spirits these two days but something would set him off and it’s horrible how he acts. Last night we joked and talked and this morning he was hell.. my cousin is a neurologist and he thinks this could be a phase that will eventually pass but to me it seems as though its getting worse. Now he’s calmed down but honestly this is no way to live, not for him and not for us as caregivers.

It is my darling father who is being snatched away from this dreadful disease. Diagnosed 05 years ago, he turned 82 past February. He is very frail that he can hardly walk unaided. He sleeps many hours daily, seems like he cannot open his eyes, can barely swallow solid food. I feel so sad to see him this way.

Hello, my dad is 77 and he is in a care home with end stage alzheimers. The dementia came about due to my dad having a TBI 8 years ago where he had a bleed on the brain and a fractured skull. Six months ago my dad was as fit as any one could possibly be with alzheimers disease. He was extremely mobile. Now due to the terrible overuse of antipsychotics and sedatives on an off he is unable to move and he just lies in bed staring at nothing. He can't feed himself or find his mouth to take a drink and cannot swallow well anymore and is on a pureed diet. He has lost over 2 stone during this period and struggles to lift his head up. He cannot communicate. Please beware of these awful drugs which speed the disease up. My father has been moved 6 times in the last 6 months which has also caused the rapid decline. It is hearbreaking watching my dad die slowly.

Thank you everyone for sharing your stories. It give me strength to know that I’m not alone. I am 30 years old and have lived with my grandmother for 6 years. She lost her husband 9 years ago, and this definitely changed her. She was with him for 40 years and he did everything for her. I decided to move in and not let her feel so alone. In January 2020 she was diagnosed with dementia. She would remember the past so well, but not retain any new information. She wouldn’t sleep at night, and be afraid someone will come in the house. She had moments where she thought my grandfather left her. This was unbearable as I constantly had to remind her my grandfather passed away. They were able to give her some medication which made her sleep better at night. Covid happen, and I decided to stay home with her full time, only to find out in August 2020 she has inflammatory breast cancer. Without chemo they give her 6 months and with 1-2 years. Can you imagine an 83 year old having to deal with dementia and cancer? This question really had an affect on me, because it makes you feel helpless. Her appetite has gone, she sleeps all day, never wants to walk, or shower. She’s a completely different person. She has 4 daughters and 14 grandkids. But I’m the one that is with her 24/7, I got married 2 years ago and my husband and I made a commitment to be there for her. I can’t explain what both my grandparents mean to me. I just try taking it one day at a time. I hope this post helps anyone feeling vulnerable. I am also here