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This is a recent change. The past few weeks mom has been having night terrors. At first I thought she was having very realistic dreams but.. that's not the case. There's people in her room trying to take her away, trying to poke her and tell her bad things. It was so bad last night she wet herself for the first time ever. An hour plus later, new sheets and cleaned mom, she cried herself to sleep. I spent the remainder of the night crying...

She has a doctor's appt today for the sore swollen ankle (which is almost gone) and I'd like to give her something mild to help her sleep but I am not willing to go the seroquel route again. Any recommendations aside from knocking her out with hard drugs to ease her at night ?

Anyone tried a diffuser with essential oils?

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Is she taking Ambien or any other meds which could cause halluciations and nightmares? I'm not familiar with Seroquel's side effects but you could check them out at pdrhealth.com.

Has she been taking other meds, perhaps anti-inflammatory ones, for her swollen ankle? Sometimes the combination of meds can cause weird side effects.

I would ask the doctor about it today though.

Lavender and cinammon are calming. Boil some water and drop a bit of cinammon in it, or just have her sniff it from the container. I often take a bottle with me when I go to the hospital for ER visits.

I don't have a diffuser but if I did I would use natural fragrances. Herb Quarterly is an excellent source of suggestions for calming herbs and essential oils.

There are lavender pillows and if I remember correctly lavender eye pads that can used as calming and sleep inducing agents.

As I recall, geranium and rose oils are also calming agents.

For today's appointment, you could also try playing a CD of her favorite music.

Does she have these nightmares before doctor appointments or other perhaps upsetting activities?

Do you know anyone who can bring a pet over before bedtime so she can pet it - pets are calming therapy as well.

Has anything else changed before these night terrors started?
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Three ounces of dry red wine at bedtime. A rose scented diffuser, and some soft music in the background, from her era. Big band? Frank Sinatra? Lead the dreams to where you want them to go.
If you mean supplements, melatonin, or calcium/magnesium/zinc at bedtime. Warm milk is always good, with a little vanilla creamer in it.
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If the home-remedy approaches don't work and her regular doctor is stumped, I suggest a visit to a sleep clinic. Sleep disturbance is very disruptive, as you know, and seeing a specialist may help you deal with the situation.
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Further thoughts after rereading your initial post... your mother was dreaming/nightmaring of people trying to take her away, poke her and tell her bad things. Doesn't that suggest a possible fear of being placed somewhere, and something that might occur at a nursing home? I think she was afraid she might have to leave your home and go to a facility. And that's enough to cause anyone nightmares.

It might be that, although delayed, the ankle injury precipitated this uncertainty. It would compromise her enough that it could affect her mobility, thus eventually necessitating an institutional placement.
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Thank you for the great suggestions!!

Nothing has happened to her or changed as far as I know, aside from her ankle. She's calmed down concerning dr appts as well. No ambien and the seroquel quadrupled the hallucinations.

I did give her some ibuprofen but mostly soaked it in lavender epsom salt. We also use lavender bubble bath.

8 little bottles of pure essential oils arrived yesterday so along with those, music warm milk or dry red wine will be my next mode of helping her sleep. Oh, one of my dogs sleeps with her every night on the pillow next to her. She really gets comfort from her.

Will look into the lavender pillow. I might want one myself!!

Will ask the doc about melatonin along with what she already takes. It is just so heart wrenching for her at night which makes the day more challenging.
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Just to clarify...did you soak something like a cloth, or the actual ibuprofen. in lavender epsom salt? To the best of my knowledge, lavender can be used in some foods, as decorations, but I don't think that epsom salts are edible. Perhaps I misunderstood?

I'll PM you the name of one source I've used for the herbal packs. If you've ever had a problem with those annoying grain moths, you might want to keep any herbal bags in the refrigerator until use as I've found that the rice and grains in the bags can sometimes be attractive to those moths.
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Whoops!! I soaked moms foot in lavender epsom salt. Ibu was in pill form.

the lavender oil I rub on the bottom of her feet, inside of wrist and temples. I forgot to mention she's been VERY clingy and will not let me out of her sight and ask permission to go to the bathroom. Something is def going on.

I think one of those annoying grain moths was buzzing over my head last night :(
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So, doc is not into modern medicine. Snickered at essential oil as well as melatonin. He upped her patch to 13 vs the 9 plus doubled her resperidone.

Look, I know most of her symptoms are par for the course....she.s a great lady,, yet even she knows she's mean,.

I am going to try the homeopathic approach before we do the heavy stuff. Gosh... (nice word) this is just wrong....
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Sounds like this doctor is strictly western medicine approach - reject the natural remedies and rely on medicines.

Perhaps you should consider another doctor who's more receptive and doesn't want to just dope her up. That's what we've done in the past.

But, yes, go for the homeopathic approach, as long as it's safe - I wouldn't use some of the Indian herbal treatments because the ingredients may come from India and could very well contaminated and unregulated. Despite having been assured that the FDA monitors emerging market nations, this issue was raised in a congressional hearing and it was clear that these markets are essentially unregulated, not because they're ignored by the FDA but because of the geographic issues, time limitations, etc.

I wonder if the clinginess is fear - fear of aging, deteriorating, of being alone, of what the dreams portend or mean, of the uncertainty she's facing at this time of life?
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Mom has always been afraid of being "thrown away". It doesn't matter how much I reassure her, hug her or insist it isn't going to happen, she obsesses over it. Mom isn't one who likes to lounge around during the day either. It's as if she has to prove her worth in order to be relevant enough to stay home.

I guess what I have to get through my head is no matter what medicine she takes, it won't undo what's done. Really, what I'm trying to accomplish now is just some peace of mind for her and yes, me also.

As far as the oils are going.... keeping my fingies crossed. No night terrors now since my last post. Although she's switched it to day terrors :/
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