Wellness

[Anonymous032819]

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@Sooner wrote:

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@hckynut wrote:

@CatsyCline 

I have never heard of "Sundowning", and I must be missing the purpose of this thread. If someone wants to enlighten me the purpose, I obviously am missing, I would appreciate it.

hckynut 

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@hckynut Sundowners is when people become more fearful and exhibit more signs of distress and dementia as the day gets darker.  I have watched it happen to three relatives.

They often stay up all night and roam the house. You can put away all the knives and other dangerous things, but some of them will go all around the house turning on gas stoves, turning on lights, turning the heat off, trying to leave the house or finding car keys, or crying, angry or calling 911 with panic attacks.  Some become very much a danger to themselves or anyone else in the house.

The above are examples of what I have seen, also seeing things that aren't there such as snakes in the house, etc. I am not giving you medical answers or descriptions, but simply speaking to you about my personal experiences.

The problem with in-home care at this point is that people aren't usually able to provide 24-hour comfort, care and attentiveness.  It is basically impossible.  

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@Sooner 

What you described is what I went through with my dad.

He wouldn't sleep at night, which meant that I couldn't sleep, and he was becoming more paranoid, and combative.

It was at that point that I no longer knew how to take care of him like he needed, and long story short, was placed in a nursing home.

[qualitygal]

I feel for you.  Know that her behavior is probably quite common.  This isn't of course, mom as she was before. It's still her, it's the brain behavior that's changed.  Just think about  how a car the same age would operated.  She at least is still getting around.  I hope you get a breather now and then.  This is the hardest job there is.  My heart and good wishes, go out to you.  It won't go on forever, it just seems like it at times. 

[qualitygal]

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@hckynut wrote:

@CatsyCline 

I have never heard of "Sundowning", and I must be missing the purpose of this thread. If someone wants to enlighten me the purpose, I obviously am missing, I would appreciate it.

hckynut 

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@hckynut wrote:

@CatsyCline 

I have never heard of "Sundowning", and I must be missing the purpose of this thread. If someone wants to enlighten me the purpose, I obviously am missing, I would appreciate it.

hckynut 

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John, go in under WebMD and look it up there.  You really should know about this.

[Still Raining]

I wish you well with this journey.  It is a hard one, but eventually we do become the keepers.  When she is placed in a safe environment it will give you some peace of mind.

[hckynut]

Hello @Sooner ,

I appreciate the time you have taken to explain this. My thought was that the term "Sundowning" might be a new term. Having spent over 7 days in a Mental Hospital, and several different types of Psychological Classes, including Dementia and Alzheimer's, not once was the term Sundowning ever mentioned.

I now see it is a medically recognized condition, which was unbeknownst me. Just late last week a good friend of mine, also a skater, had her husband of over 50 years, admitted to an Assisted Living Facility.

They both worked at AT&T and I knew them from there. It took her several months, because of the pandemic, to find a facility that was not closed to new patients because of that reason. He has Dementia, she never mentioned anything to do with Sundowning. Mostly he was a danger to himself for many different physiological reasons, such as balance.

As for the thread? Still not sure if it was to give information to those that read it/asking someone a question about their experiences with it, or it was helping to clear their mind.

Thank you again my friend,

hckynut 

[Sooner]

@hckynut Of course not everyone has it, but as I understand it is very common.  My mom would think people were calling her at 3 a.m. every morning (they weren't), or pounding on the side of the house.  Oddly I heard these same stories from a lady in another state and have since been told it by one other person.

My uncle would get much worse at night, angry, sometimes didn't recognize his wife, etc.  We got a call one night to come get "this woman" out of his house.  

As I said, I have no clinical knowledge beyond observation and what nurses, care givers and others have said.  So glad to shed a light on this puzzling condition for someone who hasn't been around it much.

Best wishes and smooth ice to you as always John!

[teachergal]

My 95 year old mother has been diagnosed with sundowning.  She lost her husband in April and sold the farm where she lived for 75 years.  She has declined rapidly these last 6 months.  She is living with my twin sister and is very well taken care of. She had been having hallucinations at night.  One thing that helps with her hallucinations is a sunlamp.  She sits in front of this lamp 30 mins. every morning and has been doing extremely well.  Maybe this would help your mom.  Best of luck.