Monday "Memories" With My Mom

     I have not done a "Monday Memories" post in the last couple of weeks, intentionally.  Not a whole lot has changed with my mom's health.  However, I would say that the "sundowning" has become increasingly difficult for our family to live with.  Sundowning can be defined as follows:

It is widely known that the Sundowners disease is considered as the first step to dementia or Alzheimer’s. As the name suggests, Sundowners disease is the increase in the anxiety levels and severe mood swings of a patient during the period of sunset. This condition is usually observed in older people who are currently suffering from the initial signs of dementia. The decreased cognitive function in Sundowners syndrome elderly patients leads to a hampered thinking and logical process. Thus, any kind of change, activity or increased information supply to the brain might overwhelm the patient, leading to anxiety, confusion and panic. This condition can be summarized as the Sundowners syndrome and is known to be a clear indicator of the onset of dementia.

     The other night, my mom was so agitated, fidgety and pacing around so much that I decided an Ambien would be in order.  I had not given her an Ambien since she first came to live with us after her hospital stay.  Back then, she was "bruised and confused" and needed to get some sleep.  I had forgotten how quickly this medication takes affect...  I gave her an Ambien as we were finishing our dinner.  Although the picture below may look like my mom is "blinking"...the truth is she fell fast asleep while eating our Friday night pizza at the dinner table...

     I quickly awakened her and helped her shuffle to her room and dress for bed.  She was very out of it...  The good news...she got a good night's sleep and we had a much more quiet night than usual.  Her fidgeting and agitation is exhausting to watch night after night.  All I can say, is it's like watching someone who has "ants in their pants"!!??  The second you get her to sit down, she pops back up and throws away a tiny piece of thread she finds in the carpet, or fusses with the drapes, or wipes the counter even though it doesn't need it, or picks up the dog's toys over and over, etc...

     I am very aware this may not sound like a particularly upsetting behavior...but all I can say is that unless you have witnessed it, with a family member, night after night, you do not understand how disconcerting it is. 

    We were thankful she had a good night's sleep and that we could have a peaceful family movie night with the kids.....

Mom finally getting some rest...