Good morning, @tsc I am sorry to read of your husband's diagnosis, but I'm pleased you found Mayo Connect and that @colleenyoung moved this discussion to the Caregivers group.

My name is Scott and I was one of the caregivers for my MIL who had dementia as well as for my wife whose brain cancer gave her many dementia-similar symptoms.

I understand all patients, their diseases, and journeys are different, I'd like to share what I observed with my wife and MIL.

In both their cases their sleeping patterns changed and changed often. Sometimes these changes occurred in rapid succession, sometimes with plateaus in between them. With both of them (and this is just what I did) I let them define their own sleep patterns and then provided them with as much mental stimulation as they could enjoy while awake. While my MIL tended to sleep in longer periods, my wife never slept for longer than two hours. I did a lot of one-sided talking for sure, but when they were awake did my best to keep them engaged.

Early in my wife's journey, her neuro-oncologist told us that it was only when she was sleeping that her brain could work on figuring out how it could possibly 'rewire' itself to work better in its everchanging environment as the disease progressed within its synapses.

I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have if you think it would be helpful for you.

Strength, Courage, & Peace

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