Hot flashes with dementia?

I agree, my mom is 89 with dementia, and it seems she also hot flashes

My husband has PSP with frontal lobe dementia. He switches from hot flashes to being cold within 15 minutes, and changes back. It's a repetition of 'please open the windows' to 'please close those windows! Turn the heat up!' I've been reading up on the diseases for four years and it doesn't ever seem to be mentioned. But you're not alone. Only meds are for COPD and high blood pressure.

hey thanks toradojan never thought about that

Anxiety can also play a role. There have been times when I thought my mom might be sick because her temp was up - used thermometer - but she had no other symptoms other than being fired up about something. When things calmed down - and she calmed down - within hours - her temp came down.

Thank you, "formygrandma" for that very comprehensive and thoughtful answer. Your grandmother is fortunate to have someone who is monitoring her so closely and taking such good care of her... I'm humbled and impressed. My mother is not taking multivitamins or meds at night, and she likes the home very warm (77). I don't think it's dehydration, as she consumes quite a bit of water, but I will monitor that for a while in case. We're waiting to see her GP right now, there's a bit of a wait....

I care for my grandmother (96). She is a petite woman whom has always liked the house rather warm, around 74-76 degrees warm on a sunny day. So when she became ill around the holiday and lost a considerable amount of weight I found that she was stripping down at night to well all but nothing and would kick off her covers. She was waking up with a noticeable blankness in her eyes, She started calling me Ellie (her sister whom has been passed for over 25 years). Which would lead to confusion when I would correct her. I monitored this in a few ways, by lowering the thermometer at night to where I was chilled to checking her vents, filters to monitoring her diet, changing the sheets from flannel to satin for the non human related stuff. I monitored her BP sitting, standing and laying at the time she laid down and also then when she had woke again. Her BM's, her Temp, if she was sleeping soundly I would swipe across her forehead with a digital thermometer. I noticed that she was dehydrated and so we worked on slowly rehydrating which worked somewhat on the disorientation, but as for the sweats and hot flashes, I found that taking her off of her senior multivitamin in a pill form was what caused her to regulate her temperature. I found that in the am and then at night I would offer her a multivitamin in liquid form. Centrum makes an adult liquid multivitamin that has a citrus taste that she likes a lot. As she is a petite lady so she takes 1/2 dose in Am and then 1/2 dose at bedtime. I stress that the multivitamin is at night, because during the day we already get essential vitamin and sunlight, where at night when our body is resting it is also repairing, and if she is on night meds, her body is trying to break down all of those pills, only to have to work again to digest them. Which lead to blood sugar spikes and lack of food and beverage to push them thru her system well sweating them out is common. Often the hallutionations were in my grandmothers case, was because she was dreaming of her childhood and when I would check on her and rouse her, she was still kinda in that dreamy state, but would eventually come out of it. We have been doing the liquid multivitamin for a little over 3 months and she is doing wonderful. She even gets up in a better mood and also wakes up earlier then before and stays up during the day. I hope maybe this might help you.

Katiedid, sharp pains like muscle spasm? Check for dehydration.

Do any caregivers have solutions when their PSP patients experience sharp pains? Can be in calf, top of foot, top of hand, back, left inner elbow. Seems to be happening heavily in last two weeks. Thank you in advance for any feedback.

I am 83 . Was diagnosed with early Alzheimers in Dec. I am taking Donepizil. I have noticed the hot and cold but so far no night sweats. I keep my sunny side up!

My husband has an 'out of whack thermostat' as I tell him. Heat up, heat down, fresh air, close the window, I'm cold, why do I have all these blankets on me - get them off, I'm too hot........ He takes a 5mg Amlodipine for Blood pressure, and COPD inhalers, but there is nothing for his PSP or frontal lobe dementia. I don't know what to do except to try to make him comfortable doing whatever he asks. Any ideas?

my mother is in extreme dementia now...and for at least 8 mo...her body temp always runs warm...even sweats...if there are too many covers on her. most of the time during the day...she's fine covered with a sheet...or if it's a little cooler, a small throw over her. she's not on any meds. i'm gad she's running warm...and not freezing all the time like other seniors...one namely my dad...and his health is great...except...he's always freezing...drives me craaazy!!

Interesting reading the comments about temperature. My mom is usually always cold. At her ALF they always dress mom in 3 layers and put a throw over her. A few days ago while in the hospital mom kept saying that she was hot. We only left the sheet on her and the room was cool, she kept drinking ice water which is very unusual for her because she never drinks. Yesterday back at her ALF and still in her bed we saw her drink 2 16oz cups of water. The caregiver told mom no to the third cup in of water that mom asked for but this led mom that she would give it to her in a few minutes. They only had a sheet over mom also but she didn't say she was cold at all. Mom also seems to have an increased appetite. Since yesterday everything about moms care has changed because we signed her up for hospice. Care and comfort are the goals so I guess they will give her within reason whatever she asks for.

Lorrie, check her blood pressure several times a day to see if it is fluctuating especially when she is cold. This is information her doctor should take into account. Also, read the fine print on for the Excelon patch and see what it says about overdose effects, some medications can build up in a patient and cause problems.

In reading an online article about "idiopathic night sweats" there was an online comment from a physician: "idiopathic means that your doctor is an idiot and the patient is pathetic".

I hope the gp turns up something. Subjective feelings of hot and cold are one thing, but night sweats always worry me. My husband had them recently and it was one of the clues that led to a dx of atypical pneumonia, which hadn't shown up on an xray.

Good luck! And do let us know what happens...we learn from each other!

Babalou, it's not fever. More like hot flashes and cold chills, from what she can tell me. I'm setting up an appointment with her GP. She had a recent blood panel to rule out thyroid and other possibilities, but nothing to explain it. The obvious reason would be the dementia, but it's important to look at treatable causes.

I googled "elderly women and night sweats". WebMD has a list of about 10 possibilities, including heart valve infections, reactions to medications and TB. Has your mom had a complete blood panel recently?

Lorrie, when you say "body temperture changes" do you mean like actually registering a difference on a thermometer, or as in ( no less important ) a subjective feeling of being suddenly hot?

Thanks, fellow caregivers. I'm astonished that my Mom's geriatrician pretty much denied any connection between body temperature fluctuations and her medication or her dementia. I guess I should stop being astonished by brush-offs from health care professionals, who seem more interested in the research than the actual patients. I never thought about the connection to ovaries, so thanks "pamstegma" ... the google search was equally elucidating, "jeannegibbs." I'll keep investigating and report back anything worth sharing.

Some medications can give people the sweats bad enough to soak through the sheets.

If she has never had a hysterectomy and she still has ovaries, polycystic conditions or ovarian cancer can cause Hot flushes, night sweats, panic attacks, palpitations, poor sleep. See the OB-GYN.

LorrieB, try searching dementia temperature regulation on Google. There is a lot of information available.

Dementia can interfere with the body's thermostat, just as it can interfere with almost any bodily function. My husband had periods of being suddenly hot. (Not quite in a hot-flash way.) So that he could still enjoy our short summers I bought him a vest that held cooling packs. He wore it golfing. When he died someone else I know was going through similar heat experiences. I gave the vest to him. He opened up the sides so it would fit him, and wore it fishing.

(Both men had Lewy Body Dementia. Do you know what kind of dementia your mom has?)

Obviously I don't know if it is the dementia that is causing your mom's "hot flashes" but I sure know that dementia can cause issues with body temperature. Do any of the doctors she sees specialize in dementia?

I bet it is actually related to her medication. Try a different pharmaceutical manufacturer as each company has their own fillers that they use in medications. All it takes is one filler that your Mom is sensitive to to cause her problems. I have this issue myself.

Or maybe it is acid reflux, heartburn, that can mimic hot flashes. I get that myself the first thing when I wake up in the morning.