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Easily exhausted: Anyone else's partner/patient experience this?
My husband, (MCI & CAA, brain microbleeds) is now able to eat again and the sudden decline when he had pneumonia has stabilized so that he can visit people who come to see him and he can hold onto a conversation briefly. He can dress himself, is unable to drive, and cannot handle any financial issues. He says if he does one thing, like have a long phone conversation, or try to organize his notes, it leaves him totally exhausted and unable to do anything but rest. Does anyone else have this experience of total exhaustion after the effort of doing even one brain activity?
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Is he in decent physical health otherwise? And maybe medications might play a role (I'm assuming he's taking something to keep his blood pressure under control and at least some of those can make a person feel tired easier). It might even be depression because, on some level, he is likely aware of his limitations. It's definitely a good idea to let his doctor know about this (assuming you haven't already).
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4 ReactionsMy husband has moderate Alzheimer's Disease. He's been napping a lot for a few years. The neurologist told me that this is normal, the brain needs to rest.
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4 ReactionsHe reports that’s how it feels, that his brain just has to stop, he’s so tired. I wondered if others found this—Thank you.
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1 ReactionHi @cdk, in the early days when I was new to caregiving, I tried to make my husband stay awake, thinking the stimulation would be better for his brain. I would not have thought that way if he had a broken hip or was recovering from COVID. I would have realized that he needed rest to heal. Well, now his brain is broken, and it won't heal, but he needs rest for it to keep functioning as well as it does.
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6 ReactionsHow are things going? My dad is sleeping a lot more lately. He naps a lot, plus sleeps well at night. Sometimes 10-13 hours per night. His appetite is excellent. In fact, we have to limit ice cream to once a day. My mom is napping a lot too and she doesn’t have dementia. They are 88 and 84.
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2 ReactionsMy wie sleeps 8 hours during the night and takes two naps during the day, most days. A morning nap may be an hour and the afternoon nap can go 2 or 3 hours. She is also getting a little weaker. Today was a tuff day. She hallucinated most of the day and hardly said anything that made sense.
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5 ReactionsMy husband, 85, ( 2 years into ALZ diagnosis) sleeps 10-12 hrs at night and naps after breakfast and after lunch IF there are no activities scheduled. If he’s busy he doesn’t seem to need the sleep during the day ? He enjoys his naps, gets up alert, and I too believe the brain needs the sleep to function well.
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8 ReactionsMy husband's schedule is similar to your husband's, and he was diagnosed in 2019. His neurologist told me exactly what you said, @4goakley. The brain needs sleep to function well
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