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medinadeb454 Asked November 2019

What can be wrong with my mom? She sleeps all night from 9 pm-6:30 am or so. Has breakfast and pills and is maybe up 2 hrs.

Than sits in her chair and sleeps the rest of the day. I’ve had her to Dr’s and he say it’s old ago, she is 82. But, I think something is going on. Not sure what. Can anyone help?

Geaton777 Nov 2019
The best thing for your mom is to find another doctor. One who respects the elderly.

Pasa18 Nov 2019
Similarly, my mother's doctor wrote it off to "old age" earlier this year. It turns out she was severely anemic which could be further evaluated. Along with anemia, she was also more likely depressed. I suggest to advocate for assessing this further.

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lealonnie1 Nov 2019
Does your mom have dementia? If so, that could be why she's sleeping so much. If not, who knows? I'd bring her back to the doctor and tell him to please stop chalking this off to simple 'old age' and look into why she's sleeping 20 hours a day. My mother is almost 93 and does not sleep at all during the day, just at night for around 10 hours or so. If anyone should be sleeping due to old age it would be HER! If your mom's doctor is still insisting on this being old age related, I'd fire him and find her a new GP; one who gives a darn.

Best of luck!

anonymous967666 Nov 2019
She’s old. My father died at 88 and one person said “only 88”!! We have become used to seeing ridiculous high numbers for the aged. Personally I think boredom plays a big part in the lives of the elderly She probably is depressed. Depression plays a big part in old people. Just let her be. If she’s no trouble try to engage her with a little walk or play an old movie, some music played quietly next to her. You don’t need to fix her
NeedHelpWithMom Nov 2019
So true, Panda.

Medical advances have kept many alive that would rather be dead. I know one man that continually says that he wants to go home, meaning heaven, so he can be with his deceased wife.
JoAnn29 Nov 2019
Does she take BP meds? If so, maybe they need adjusting. They will make you tired.

What pills does she take. Look them up on the internet and see what the side effects are. If drowsiness. she if the dosage can be adjusted or maybe taken before bed.

Countrymouse Nov 2019
If it's not normal for her, it's not just old age. How long has she been sleeping for so many hours each day?

From your mentioning pills, I guess your mother has chronic health conditions of some sort. I should go back to the doctor, stress that there has been a *change* in your mother's normal patterns which worries you, and ask the doctor either to investigate possible causes or to explain why he believes it isn't necessary.

82 is not old enough suddenly to be sleeping almost round the clock.

NeedHelpWithMom Nov 2019
Can you tell us how long she has been doing this? Does she take meds that cause drowsiness? Is she sleeping soundly all night or lying awake in the bed? Has she had narcolepsy in the past? Does she act cranky like she hasn’t slept well? Is she eating okay? Her vitals are okay? Is she simply bored? Does she have visitors? Is she lonely?

Sorry, afraid I wasn’t much help but it’s all that I can think of.

In regard to what the doctor said, older people do sleep a lot. I don’t know if there is an average amount of sleep at her age. Hopefully someone will know more than I do on this topic.

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