Expert: Alanna Shaikh - 3/24/2009

Question
QUESTION: hi, my mother is in the moderate stages of alzheimers. She is up and down a lot at night (mostly to use the bathroom) and it is very disruptive to my dad who is trying to sleep. She was up about 15X last night. How can we get her to sleep better?

ANSWER: Dear Liz,

This is a really tough situation. First of all, if there is a way to give your mom her own room, you should do so. The next step after these frequent bathroom visits may well be incontinence, and your father can't sleep with that. Could you at least get twin beds in one room?

Your mother's doctor may be able to prescribe a sleep aid such as Ambien to cut down on night time restlessness. More exercise during the day may also help.

One last thought - how long has this been going on? Does your mother also urinate often during the day? It could be a bladder infection.

Best,
Alanna

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi Alanna,

We actually moved my dad to the spare room and that seems to have helped a lot. Mum was getting stressed out about waking him up as he can be impatient and I think that was making him more restless. She still gets up for the loo at night but its probably 4X max now. I also started giving her the Aricept first thing in the morning vs at night. Re her drugs, she has 1 full Aricept first thing in the morning and then I've been giving her a full Ebixa around 2pm and then 1/2 Ebixa (5mg) in the evening around 9pm. Does this seem about right?

One last question, alzheimers seems to have affected her motor skills primarily. Getting dressed, eating and speaking are difficult. Going up and down stairs is a big problem and getting in and out of a car are difficult. I have to dress her every morning and she can no longer cope with a knife and fork together - just a fork. As far as her memory goes I think it is pretty good. She remembers things from the day before, last week etc. Its the motor skill part that is affected. Seems unlike the norm for alzheimers patients. Have you seen this before?

Answer
Dear Liz,

It sounds like you are doing everything right with the restless sleep and urination. I am glad things are a bit better.

I'm not a doctor, so I can't really comment usefully on the Ebixa, or on your mom's symptoms. I know that Alzheimer's manifests in a lot of different ways, but I don't know if that's a common one. Definitely talk to your mother's doctor if you've got doubts about her diagnosis.

Best,
Alanna