Re: Mum's amazing (non) Sleep pattern

[Guest guest]

Colin

Your mother is getting no meaningful sleep at all. She is just like we

are when the RLS meds or whatever aren't working. She is entitled to

feel groggy during the day. Is this something new? Could it be

associated with her medication? Can she tell you why she gets up every

hour or so?

Dr. Levin

[Guest guest]

To the group: this is primarily a response to Levin about the

continuing

saga of my Mum's RLS, sleep deprivation and anti-anxiety

medication. Delete now if you're not interested! But it's kinda

fascinating what we're finding out.....

> Colin

>

> Your mother is getting no meaningful sleep at all. She is just like we are

> when the RLS meds or whatever aren't working. She is entitled to feel

> groggy during the day. Is this something new? Could it be associated with

> her medication? Can she tell you why she gets up every hour or so?

Dear Dr.Levin,

Thanks for the response. It's been going on for years. She gets up

sometimes 'cos her legs are making her, sometimes just because

she's awake. I found her at 05:40 this morning, draped over the rail

at the bottom of the stairs. On this occasion this was only the third

walk-about, (1am, 4am, 5am) but it was 05:40 by this time so

she'd been for 40 mins already.

I've had her Community Psychiatric Nurse visit this afternoon (she

came under Psychiatric care when she was diagnosed with MID,

and they subtly told Dad that she could just be expected to go

downhill and end up in a nursing home, but that's another story...).

I briefed him on the sleep pattern and how Angie and I have noticed

that slowly during the day she can pick up a bit; yesterday

evening, between 9pm and 11pm, she was quite lucid, and apart

from the short term memory you would not have thought there was

anything wrong. We reviewed Mum's meds, and at present she

takes one Hermenevrin at night (to sleep, ha ha) and one Triptafen

at night also. This has always seemed odd. So as of today we are

switching the dreaded Triptafen to morning, and doubling up the

Hermenevrin at bed-time for a while at least to see if we can break

the cycle.

I passed on your concerns about the Triptafen, and he's asked if I

could ask the group about a drug called (in England at least!)

Seroxat, and whether it is known to exacerbate RLS. Any ideas?

In the meantime, we're booked in to see the big psychiatric doctor

next Tuesday, by which time we might have noticed a difference.

She surprised herself by making a cheese omlette today. It looked

a bit of a mess but tasted just great, and she seemed thrilled with

the notion of something so exciting for lunch...

I just have this hunch that her self-confidence has taken a huge

battering/erosion over the last few years, with incapacity which in

reality stems from sleep deprivation being confused with permanent

mental damage.

We're also making more and more noises about having a cat

around the place. She says she enjoys having one on her lap to

stroke, and I bet she would end up taking care of it.

A huge thanks for the help you are giving us, and to all the others

out there in the group who are rootin' for Mum. I know it's no use

feeling guilty, but of course I'm now wishing I'd stuck my nose into

Mum and Dad's life more pro-actively.

Colin in England.

> Dr. Levin

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

Colin, you are amazing. You're a great son, but an amazing human being.

Hugs,

Eve