Reaching for the stars - Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia Message Board

needtoescape · 01-31-2006, 08:43 AM

I thought I'd borrow the "reaching for the stars" phrase from another post.

We saw hubby's regular physician today and discussed the results from the various tests so far. Since we don't have the results yet of the neuropsych exam, we are kind of in a holding pattern until then. However, we also discussed hubby's sleeping problems which have not been resolved by the various sleeping meds he's tried so far. And we discussed how a follow-up sleep study back in July resulted in him being told he did not have sleep apnea and no longer needed the CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine (which he'd used for years). I told the doc. that I was suspicious of those results since the memory/cognitive problems seemed to begin within a few months of him discontinuing the use of the CPAP and I wondered if sleep deprivation and/or oxygen deprivation were at least partly responsible. He agreed it was worth a try to go back on the CPAP for several weeks and see if hubby/I can tell a difference. Also, there was one sleeping med that worked better than the others that insurance had denied paying for - and we decided to pay full cost if necessary to try that along with the CPAP for the next 3 weeks.

So that is the plan for the next 3 weeks - and then we have a follow-up appointment with this same regular doc (who we trust and like a lot) that is scheduled for the Monday after we get the neuropsych exam report.

Hubby did sleep better last night than usual. Instead of waking up anywhere from 2:00 to 4:00 a.m. and having to read for several hours before (maybe) getting back to sleep around 6:00 - he slept through till 6:00, only woke up momentarily and then slept until 7:00 a.m. Whether it was the sleeping med or the CPAP, I don't know - but I am hopeful he will see an ongoing improvement in his sleep from the change.

Many of you have mentioned the person's with AD being up in the night. Is this commonly a part of the disease? What is the sleep routine for your loved one? At what point, did the sleep pattern change?

Hugs to all, N2E

Martha H · 01-31-2006, 09:24 AM

Mom began to sleep more and more "while watching TV" or even just dozing in a chair while having a conversation. But at night she would wander around the apartment (only once went outdoors) and look for things, try to rearrange or organize thngs.

Now that she is physically handicapped and can't get out of bed without help, I assume she sleeps at night. The NH also has a pretty strict policy on naps - if you are up and dressed, they don't expect you to go back to bed until night. Mom may doze in her wheelchair.

The doctor said the night wandering was typical of AD.

I also hope the better sleep witll greatly reduce your husband's memory problems .. wouldn't that be great!!

Love,

Martha

victorino545 · 01-31-2006, 06:50 PM

In the begining my hubby did not sleep at night or for only couple of hours. It was horrible he would try and get me up claiming he had slept all night. Then he would get on the telephone at 2:00 AM. Heard people talking, and thinking they came over to see him. When I would get him back to bed he would sleep for 30-60 mins. and back up. Then when they diagnosed his problem and got him on the right meds, he does not do that. He actually slept more than I wanted him to but it was way better than having him up running around all night. He gets up a couple times to go to the bathroom and right back to bed. Sometimes I will still freak out and wonder if he is going to start the sundowing thing again. He also takes a nap but the doctors say that is ok. I have heard about the sleeping disorder you are talking about, they say it can mimic alot of the different dementia disorders so I wouldn't be surprised if this helps him being symptons started after you took him off.
Diane

victorino545 · 01-31-2006, 06:55 PM

N2E, you didn't say what the regular doctor had to say about any of the tests, what tests were they? When do you find out about the other ones?

needtoescape · 02-01-2006, 11:13 AM

Diane,
This was the first visit with our regular doc. since hubby had seen the neurologist and had a bunch of tests. We had already discussed the results with the neurologist - but we were just catching up on everything with the regular doc. The tests were all the usual ones they do to try to find any other cause (besides AD) for the memory/cognitive problems. Catscan, MRI/MRA, SPECT scan, and a lot of blood tests to rule out things like B-12 deficiency, syphilis, etc. He also had a genetic test for the markers associated with AD. All of the scans came back normal. The blood tests showed a high homocystein level, but B-12 was ok. The genetic test was positive (though a person can have the markers and still not get AD - and a person can get AD without the genetic markers). Then finally he had a neuropsych exam (about 6 hours of testing) and we get the results of that on the 16th of Feb. If that is "normal" then I guess we will not get a diagnosis of anything at this point. If it shows cognitive decline, I am expecting a diagnosis of "possible" (or probable) Alzheimers. If it doesn't show decline yet, I am guessing they will re-do that test on a yearly basis if we continue to notice problems that seem beyond what is normal for his age.

I will post when we get the Neuropsych results on the 16th. It should be interesting because he has a high IQ, reads constantly, works crossword puzzles, does well on Jeopardy questions, etc. - so I would expect him to test well on most things. He thinks he did well on most of the tests but there were a few he had problems with (reconstructing a pattern of blocks from a picture). I really believe he is in the very early stages of AD, but I don't know if it's far enough along to be detected in these tests. I think most people would have ignored the problems and be much further along before undergoing this type of testing.

Thanks for your concern and interest.