Hello again. I'm desperately seeking advice about sleep aids. My
mother is an 81 PWP, diagnosed about 17 years ago. The past month, she
has had a terrible problem sleeping only a few hours at night and when
she wakes (at 5 AM), she feels more weak, rigid, and panicked than
previously. Waking up a few times in the night is nothing new, but the
feelings are worse now at the 5 AM wake up, when her meds seem to have
totally worn off (constipation makes it 10 tens worse of course).
During the day, she has 45-60 minutes total additional sleep if you add
up the cat naps at peak med times.
She cannot give herself meds because of peripheral neuropathy. I give
her the last Sinemet CR at 1:30 AM and then I wake up at 4 or 5 AM to
give another, but I'm getting exhausted. We cannot pay for another
person to help. The hired caregiver is already working long hours.
Usually I am on duty in the evenings until about 1:30 AM. I need to
sleep a full 8 hours so I can work during the day. Is there anything
that might safely and comfortably extend my mother's sleep at night?
Sorry to be somewhat repetitive and fuzzy -- my head is fuzzy from not
enough sleep. I need to add one thing: She gets less sleep and she
feels worse of course when constipated. When she is not constipated,
she wakes up with fewer bad feelings and sleeps slightly longer.
Her current drugs are as follows:
One-half Sinemet regular 25/100 at 6:30 AM.
One Sinemet CR 25/100 about every 3 hours (except after 10 PM,
she seems to feel fine if they are slightly further apart).
Two Dilantin 100 mg per day.
Two ordinary Tylenol 500 mg every 6 hours.
An antibiotic 2 x daily for two weeks (SMZ-TMP
sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim) for a urinary infection.
About a week ago she was weaned off Zoloft 25 mg daily, which she had
taken for 16 days. She had the sleep problem throughout the Zoloft
period, and I felt Zoloft was contributing to or causing increased and
intense constipation (a percentage of patients get constipation from
Zoloft)-- so we'll try something else for depression. (I'm now
wondering whether the antibiotic could be a factor in the constipation,
but I couldn't find anything).
Her last Sinemet CR 25/100 each day is at 1:00-1:30 AM. It seems this
carries her for about 3-1/2 hours. The increased problem with
constipation this past month of course makes her feel worse in all
situations. Every day, we use two tabs of Senna (natural vegetable)
laxative each night, one Ducolax (sp?) suppository in the morning, and
one stool softener at lunch, but that is not enough. She feels
incredibly better after a bowel movement, but this occurs only every
other day in spite of the laxatives regime.
For various reasons, she does not have a neurologist now. She does have
a thoughtful general physician who listens to her and to me. I
appreciate any and all information or suggestions.
Many thanks,
Lynne [log in to unmask]
for Virginia 81/17
