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Nightly forays: What are your suggestions about nighttime activity?

Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: Feb 28, 2023 | Replies (13)
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@sueinmn

Merry, Dear Merry - This is concerning, but very typical of some forms of dementia. Please, for your health and safety, and his, try to find an overnight caregiver who can accompany Dave on his nightly forays while you get some sleep. This can be a PCA, CNA, college student who is a "night owl" looking for extra cash. When my son-in-law's Mom was at this stage, Dad slept nights and his sister moved home and stayed up nights studying (her natural body clock) and slept in the afternoon.
One more thought - can his son arrange a Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) for a month to come and help? It would be great for them to spend a little time together before Dave cannot remember him, and put another person in the house to help you.
Also, talk to your doctor to see if there is a sleeping medication other than melatonin which is safe for him. He may also have a suggestion for caregivers.
With your own fragile health, neither of you can safely continue like this. I am holding my breath to hear what help you can find. The time has come to say "I can't do it alone."
Hugs and more hugs to both of you.
Sue

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Replies to "Merry, Dear Merry - This is concerning, but very typical of some forms of dementia. Please,..."
Merry, Alumni Mentor | @merpreb | Feb 25, 2023

Sue, I'm worried about this too. I'll be calling Monday for more medication help. I can't afford to pay anyone at this time because I have no idea how much his treatment will cost. I'm going to try something different tonight. I have received an amazon box of men's-pullups. We've talked about our lack of sleep and that I wanted him to try them tonight. I've spent all day, talking about our lack of sleep. Maybe it'll dos some good and maybe not.

Eric has a family in VA beach and to be honest I don't want him living here for any length of time. We'll have all day tomorrow to talk about what is possible and what is not and what kind of help he'll be able to give if at all.

I know that I can't do it all now, Sue. I'll take all the help that I can get. Change happened so quickly when I was in the hospital and I'm still recovering. It's been a week today.

I absolutely hate, hate, hate relying on or asking others for help but in order to do the best for Dave I have to. It's tough for me to ask for help. But I am. I'm too tired to drive so I ordered food and my brother-in-law picked it up for me. We are well stocked now.

Thank you
Merry

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