my 84 year old mother has had Alzheimer's for 5 years and has started sleeping about 20 hours a day. Now she doesn't want to get out of bed. My father thinks it is ok and I should leave her alone.The other day she went to bed at 630 pm and was still in bed the next day at 2:00 pm I'm so stressed I dont know what to do
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Your profile says she has dementia. As you know, dementia gets worse over time. Sometimes the progression is very slow and gradual and sometimes it seems to get a lot worse suddenly.
Discuss with her doctor whether Mom may be entering the final stage, and how best to prepare for that.
I am sorry this tough time is so soon after you moved to be near her. Try to make the most of the time she is awake, even if it just holding hands and listening to music.
(It is not generally a good idea to post personal information such as an email or phone number.)
She went into the hospital 2 weeks ago because she got so weak she could not hold her pills in her hand to take them, could not get in and out of bed without assistance and she did not have an appetite.
Her doctor took 5 of her pills away she had been taking and advised Gatorade. Mom doesn't like it...says it's not sweet enough.
Today, I was visiting and said something to her and the response was not in her character at all, she said she wasn't in the mood. Sh would never say that! Every time she eats, she complains, her stomach hurts. We all know...she doesn't think it's worth getting up and make-up on and dressed to do ANYTHING at all.
I moved here last year to be with her and now, I can't really...other than sit at her bedside while she sleeps.
PLEASE ADVISE,
Her eldest daughter,
Roxanne
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i tried to keep dad up but its like trying to keep a newborn baby awake . they would cry mumble jumble wa wa and im thinking oh gosh !! ok go back to sleep ! i tried to get him to excersie , i sit on coffee table in front of him ok raise ur leg now raise other leg , i do it too so pa can see it and he would do it . he do it few then he watch me do the rest ! close his eyes and off to dream land .
onlytime he would stay awake is when we go out for a ride . he gets speical treatement (wendys) . then when we get home he is worn out . sleeps for days !
if im 86 and cant do nothing yeah i would welcome sleep ...
I think it is not good for anyone to sleep 24 hours, unless you are doing a job 24 hours and off 24 hours, than perhaps one would want to sleep.
You have to try to get her up, after perhaps 8 hours of sleep. What did she like doing? Perhaps you can ask her to go for walks with you or some simple gardening.
Do whatever it takes to get her up, it is not good for her, in the long run.
God bless
on October 20, 2009. I was very sad at the time, but knowing my mother like I did, I knew very well she would not have wanted to live like that. When she became 95 she kept tellling me "that's awful old, isn't it). In my oipinion, I think the Alzheimer's is taking over. Prepare yourself as much as possible.
God Bless
yes make sure she drinks plenty and give her applesauce or pudding of something and keep her bed prop up so she wont get pneumoina , change her postion when you go ck on her so she wont have bedsores .
i also think they like to sleep alot cuz they can do so much in thier dreams .
Good luck and be proactive.
state of mind, it has helped to no end.Your dad may see it that she need rest, i know that i to some times sleep more than i need so as to rest my mind from thinking.I don't know what to tell you about that,but i do know about stress, and it's danger, so make sure you look out for you, so you can better look out for them. I can only talk about what i went through, i hope and pray that it has helped in a small way.
stay strong for them and you
Fernando