Parkinson's Disease

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sleep patterns

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  7639.1
from:
  rduinc
date:
  Oct-9 4:52 pm
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My Dad is 72 and has had a Parkinson's diagnosis for about 14 years.  He was moved into a memory care unit a few weeks ago.  He is now having some crazy sleep patterns.  He'll be up for 20 hours, sleep for 24, up for 12, sleep for 16, etc.  He was out with us a few weeks ago for a football game and after spending 4 hours outside slept for 29 hours straight.

Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, what is this about?

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sleep patterns

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  7639.2 in response to 7639.1
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  cl-lsb210  Member Icon
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  rduinc
date:
  Oct-10 11:10 pm
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Hi Welcome to the Parkinson's Board! Great question. Sleep issues are a common problem people with Parkinson's share. The Parkinson's itself can make us fatigued, but the medications they prescribe only compound the problem. Sometimes the meds can cause the opposite problem and make us sleepless.

Plus I find that since I don't get a decent night sleep thanks to PD symptoms (i wake because I get stiff and it's painful and then have trouble falling back to sleep), the disrupted sleep pattern keeps me from getting a good night's rest which adds to fatigue during the day.

Here are a few links to more indepth answers to Parkinson's & Sleep Problems,

"Sleep problems. People with Parkinson's disease often have trouble falling asleep and may wake up frequently throughout the night. They may also experience sudden sleep onset, called sleep attacks, during the day."

Sleep Issues In Parkinson's

Common Medical Issues In Parkinson's

Hope For Parkinson's Sleep Disorders

Daytime Sleepiness and other Sleep Disorders In PD

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sleep patterns

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  7639.3 in response to 7639.1
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  cl-lsb210  Member Icon
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  rduinc
date:
  Oct-10 11:13 pm
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Here's another one I found that explains it well:

SOURCE

Most people with Parkinson’s find it difficult to sleep through the night. Rigid muscles, tremors or stiffness at night, or not being able to roll over in bed can all interfere with sleep, as can the frequent urge to urinate.  In addition, many people with Parkinson’s experience vivid dreams or hallucinations and act out their dreams, violent nightmares, a problem called “REM sleep behavior disorder.” Recent research suggests that REM sleep behavior disorder sometimes begins even before motor symptoms are diagnosed in Parkinson’s.

Medicine, such as clonazepam, is available for this problem. For some people, an extra dose of anti-Parkinson medications or a sleeping medication can help alleviate sleep disturbances. In other cases, sleep disturbances may be caused by medical conditions not related to PD. For example, a disruption in breathing called sleep apnea can also interfere with sleep, and can be treated separately from PD. Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for people with Parkinson’s, so if you are having any of these symptoms you should discuss them with your doctor.

Not sleeping well at night often causes people with Parkinson’s to feel drowsy during the day. Anti-Parkinson medications and the disease itself can also contribute to excessive daytime sleepiness. A pattern of falling asleep suddenly for short periods of time, similar to narcolepsy, can interfere with daily life. Adjusting antiparkinson medications, or taking a stimulant during the day—under a doctor’s supervision, of course—may help alleviate sleepiness during the day.

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lxsgp  Member Icon
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  7639.4 in response to 7639.3
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  lxsgp  Member Icon
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  rduinc
date:
  Oct-12 6:44 am
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Its  about 3:15 am now and I'm up and ready to start my day. Nothing crazy about my sleep patterns. Right.... I cant seem to get more than 3 hours of sleep at any one time.  I get maybe a total of 4 hours of sleep in 2 or 3 segments  a night.   During the day, if  I am idle   I  easily  fall asleep.  If I am fishing, I can sty up indefinitely.  I feel the drugs we take are the cause.  For me it  is a small price to pay for benefits of the  medication.

 

ruben

 

ruben

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  7639.5 in response to 7639.4
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date:
  Oct-12 10:42 am
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yes Ruben, you've given us a living example!

And I find that my body will lock up at night and when I go to turn over in my sleep I can't, which ultimately wakes me, then I have to push myself over (for whatever reason, people with Parkinson's don't turn over easily when sleeping) and then sometimes it can take me a while to fall back to sleep.

When I was taking Requip, I was COMATOSE. So tired, too tired to function, especially during the day. I decided the side effects did not outweigh the benefits.

Recently I was put back on Amantadine, which I had stopped in 2005 when I found out I was pregnant with dan. This time I was way too wired on Amantadine and the Sleeplessness was horrendous. After about 4 sleeplessness nights, which makes it impossible to keep up with my 3 yr old during the day, I stopped it. I will have a follow up with my neurologist later this week.

For now, i stick to Sinemet, my personal PD drug of choice....

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