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And then also sleeping all night? It is possible that your elderly loved one has a sleep disorder like sleep apnea. Even if they seem to sleep through the night, people with sleep apnea are not really getting restorative sleep, so they are tired during the daytime.

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Is he taking much in the way of painkillers, Grammy? Might be worth getting his pain management reviewed and seeing if anything can be done through PT to improve his back and get his knee functioning. Sometimes treating pain with drugs can enter on a vicious circle - you get drowsy, you're less mobile, you get more pain, you're even less inclined to exercise...

But unless he's been this sleepy ever since the encephalitis I wouldn't have thought that a worry. Though do mention it if you're speaking to your husband's doctors.
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my husband is soon to be 69, He has a bad back and is recovering from a knee operation [4 weeks in] Even before his knee he was sleeping a lot. What could all this sleeping mean? He is not old old......He did have viral encefaltis a few yrs. back.
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My husband is also ill and falls asleep on and off all day long, but apart from people being ill and thinking this is why they are sleeping so much, there another reason that many people forget or do not realize, that is some people do not sleep well at night as they feel insecure, but in the daylight they can sleep all the time, hope this helps.
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Connie, 63 is not old. Does your spouse have health problems or is he just a bum? How was he before?
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mom has been on the couch now for7 mnths getting up to pee only.We have gone shopping occassionally and it totally wears her out.she sleeps 12-14 hrs at night 2-4 15 -30 min naps she is 87.......................
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My dad will be 89 in August. Resently he is sleeping a lot more then usual. It seem as though he can't stay awake. What can it be?
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To Connie1950, He could have had one or more TIAs, transient ischemic anemia. It's a little stroke which doesn't leave any evidence it happened except for the symptoms, for instance, depression, lack of ability to organize and no interest or motivation for doing anything. Most primary care givers don't know much about anti-depressants. If you can get him to a gerontologist or psychiatrist he might get some help. It might take some time to find the right balance of pills, but it might be worth the struggle if he perks up.
The smoking is bad for you. Can you get an air filter or fan? Good luck.
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my mom began sleeping all the time by age 81 and had vascular dementia, she slowly lost her ability to walk and so on, she was kept alive on feeding tubes and she got sepsis for the third time due to UTI's and died from cardiac arrest at 85 but lets face it, a 90 year old is at their final stage of life.
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My husband is 63 and does nothing but sleep in his It'schair. He does eat if I put it in front of him. He smokes about 1/2 pack a day. Unless I push him, he will do nothing. It's like he doesn't care. He quit driving and now I'm his chauffer, housekeeper and cook. I'm lost on what to do. Please help. connie
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Old people do snooze a lot, but they also sit around a lot which may be part of the reason they snooze. Mom used to be infuriated because dad would snooze through the majority of the day until I visited then he was full of energy. When I took him to lunch, dinner, shopping or the casino he never tired.

Age, illness, frailty all add up to boredom and a desire to escape into a comfy nap. Let him enjoy that comfort and give him some mentally stimulating fun when you can.
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My Dad is 90..2014, my mother is 88,[ 5'01 110 lbs][ I love her so much.....my dad is killing her with his demands...He will not leave the house....I really hate him ...wish he would die
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No problem with "sleeping too much". It's the way things go with the elderly......some more than others. In addition to the heart rate, you may want to check the pulse ox.
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My mother is 89 and was hospitalized last month for a week with an infection; she was told she has emphysema, some pneumonia. Her feet swell to three times their normal size. She is very, very weak. Her dr. told her she does not have CHF, but she seems to have all the symptoms. She uses too much salt, I know, but she complains very strongly if I insinuate that she is using too much.
She has to be right. I see a major weakening in her from what she was even last year. It is really sad to see her decline.
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Meohmyo, We'd love to have an update on your mother, age 90, who seems to keep going with all those meds.......
Area of concern: Congestive Heart Failure, A-Fib, and of course the effect of the coumadin on her.. Sleeping "too much" is not an illness. It's just the beginning of the end. Watch her heart rate that it does not slip below 49. Don't let her Brady down.
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We moved in with my Dad (96) in March. Mom died over two years ago and he has been alone since. The day after we arrived, he went into the hospital with A-fib and that's when I found out he has CHF and sleep apnea from way back. He seemed to come back to life for the next seven months but in the last month he has slept sooooo much...yes....mouth agape and dentures hanging down bless his heart. I pray he does go in his sleep. All we can do is keep him comfortable in whatever chair he picks, wake him from time to time to eat or go to the bathroom and drink and take meds before it's time to change and go to bed for the night. I'm 47 and the youngest of six. He gets no phone calls or letters from anyone so I'm pretty much his support system while my husband works. The Bible tells us to honour our parents and that we are blessed to be a blessing. I thank God every day for the ability to be able to take care of Dad and the emotional/mental/physical strength in which to get it all done. God loves you all unconditionally and that's the most important thing we can give to our parents. Unconditional love. Bless you all. mj
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She's old, weak and tired, so no, there is nothing wrong with her sleeping all she wants. Age has its privileges. It is especially lovely if she rests peacefully without having to be sick and in pain. I am glad you still have your mom. Enjoy her while you can. I miss my mother.
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I agree with Micheleangel. Both my parents are 89 and they do that quite a bit.
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Meohmy-O: Yes, Pradaxa's expensive. Good drug, but not for your mother.
You know, a lot of MD's are fearful of falls among the elderly. I can understand this, but I had a discussion with a neuro who would not prescribe coumadin for fear of imblance and falling. Watch your mother constantly or have someone watch her so that she does not fall. Keep up the coumadin ( it will save her life).
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She is on Coumadin and also Carvedilol and Spironolactone and Furosomide. Because she is on Comadin she can not take anti-inflamatories like Ibuprofen.
I took her to a new MD the other day and she wondered why my mother was never on a bone medication like Boneva. She recommended that she be put on one and also told me the compression fractures will get better but it may take six to eight weeks and to keep giving her Tylenol and Hydrocodone for pain. If for some reason the pain doesn't get better she can go to a pain clinic and they will want to cement her discs, but I didn't think that would be a good idea given her age, etc.
Interesting about the Pradaxa because her main PC wrote a prescription for it and didn't say anything about the risk of brain bleeds. Anyway it was too expensive and I didn't put her on it after all.
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Whoops! I made a mistake on the Pradaxa. It's a no-no for patients at age 90. The fear is brain bleed, or hemorrhagic stroke. Neurologist and cardiologist should work together on this one.
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Pain is difficult to control with this health history. I wonder why they have not prescribed Mobic or 800 mg of Ibuprofen. I'd be more concerned about the A-fib than anything else. Have they mentioned Coumadin or Pradaxa?
Let her sleep as much as she wants. At age 90, there will be overlapping, multiple problems. Good Luck. Hugs to you!
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My mother, age 90, has lived with me for a little over a year now. She was doing pretty good until she fell on May 1st and fractured a rib. She seemed to be recovering from the fall at about six weeks out. Then on July 5th she started with pain in her back on the left side just about the waistline. I took her to her PC and he wasn't sure what was causing the pain but attributed it to muscular/skeletal. A couple of days later I took her to Emergency because her pain was so bad she was clinching her fists and wincing. She was on Hydrocodone and Tylenol, but it didn't seem to be touching the pain. I do not give her a large dose, just half of a 5/500 every half hour or so until her pain is under control and then I use Tylenol in between. I do not exceed 4000 millagrams of Tylenol as recommended by home health nurse. Anyway the ER doc did blood tests and urine also an x-ray of her back and kidneys. Her kidneys were fine, but she had a compressed disk at T-11 and another one a couple disks below it. He said her pain should get better in a couple of weeks. I got her a lift chair so she doesn't have to try and stand as she was having difficulty and could not get out of her recliner without my help. I am taking her to a new doctor on Friday to get a second opinion on all of this. She also has CHF and atrial fibrilation. It was nice to read the different posts from people caring for parents with similar needs. She also sleeps a lot during the day if her pain is controlled. I guess my questions is does anyone know if the pain will get better with time in this situation?
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When I think about an 'issue' like this, I just remember the 'great circle of life': the end is just like the beginning (babies sleep more than they're awake, don't they?)
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Oh I am going to try this breathing exercise with my mother. For myself, I recently remembered something from Hatha Yoga - the HA! breath. It's a bit more physical than my mother can handle (you stand, bring arms overhead while inhaling slowly, then push the breath out of your mouth with a forceful "Ha!" while dropping your upper body forward to hang loosely from the waist) but it's fine for me. Sometimes when I need to wake up and don't want to, I do the Ha! part while still in bed. Hahaha! It helps get me going.
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this is not an easy answer because there are so very many reasons for falling asleep - from heart/respiratory diseas and sleep apnea, to psychological (depression) to medication effects (especially with heartblood pressure medication), underactive thyroid, anemia etc. So any person with these symptoms shoud have a throgough exam and labwork to rule out any of the causes that are "fixable". As people get older, many dont hear or see well and this does affect how they participate and interact with the world.
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That song is just the opposite of what I believe. I think we control most of the things that happen in our lives. I don't mean those we love, we can't control them but our lives, it is up to us. I look at my life and I can't think of one thing that happened that wasn't because of my actions.
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Mollie: Keep singing. This time, try Doris Day instead of Peggy Lee. Que Sera Sera, What ever will be, will be. The furture's not ours, you see, Que Sera, Sera.
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Well Mollie90 you hang in there. I hope you make it to 100 or higher. God bless!
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mollie90, I am 75 and I do the same thing, nothing wrong with taking a nap. Enjoy it. I take care of my husband who has AD and he is in bed 24/7. That is a lot of work. Glad you are up and about. Just found out I lose 7 years off of my life for being a caregiver. Hospice comes in and helps, thank God for them
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To Reba, You could be right the only med I take is for high blood pressure. As for my golden years you are so right. Frankly I felt fine until I turned ninety, a lot of it is in my head but i keep thinking of Peggy Lee and the song Is That All There Is.
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