My mom has severe agitation/anxiety from 2:00 pm until 8:00 pm everyday. Anyone else experience this and are there any natural remedies?
I am the sole caregiver of my mom (84) with vascular dementia for 2 years, however I want to say the past month she’s taking a turn for the worst. She has this repetitive wording, agitation/anxiety going on from mid-afternoon until about 8 pm everyday but after 8:00 pm it just miraculously ends and she plays with her activities quietly until bedtime which is at 10 pm. The only meds she’s on is diabetes meds & aspirin therapy for the past 27 years. Her cholesterol is under 200 without meds and her blood pressure was always a normal reading at the Doctor’s office every 3 months, so no meds there either. Does she have sundowning syndrome even tho she does not have Alzheimer's? It’s extremely hard to go through this with her everyday but I don’t want her zoned out on prescription anti-anxiety, anti-depression drugs either. I give her a cup or two of chamomile tea which seems to do nothing, I even spray this chamomile & lavender mist on her back pillow on her chair (they say it relaxes you) but it’s not working with her. I would appreciate any advice of others that are going through something like this, thank you very much.
Chocolate can do this too, or other sugary foods.
My experience with sundowning is that it doesn't end later in the evening; it lasts until the person falls asleep, but everyone who sundowns isn't the same.
Have you tried soothing music during the higher activity time?
thank you for your reply.
She has a homemade smoothie for breakfast, we have had this for breakfast forever. She’s not a true coffee drinker, she may have a cup of decaf coffee or green tea or chamomile at 3:00 pm, always have tho, nothing different on her normal daily routine that would have caused this. She has a piece of Lindt dark chocolate square every evening, again something that we’ve eaten every night for as long as I can remember. Like I mentioned not sure if it’s sundowning but it’s definitely agitation/anxiety that just comes out of the blue at about 2 pm and ends at about 8 pm it’s really driving me nuts to try and figure it out, I can’t wrap my brain around it.
oh yes I play music, sing to her, sing with her, she calms down for a few minutes then starts again, it’s ongoing and does not subside until late evening. Her appetite has also decreased I have another post about that (and you replied as well😊)
This may be considered agitation and Mom may need something to calm it. Its not fair to have her suffer with it. Since this is something new, her Dr. should be notified.
Thank you for your reply. We have an appointment with her Neuro in February.
Have you experienced sundowning with a loved one or yourself? what medication was prescribed and did it work in calming the person down without bad side effects?
thank you for your reply, I may give her the cup of chamomile earlier she usually has it at around 3 and maybe try the sleepy brand you mentioned. It’s just a lot of work calming her down with this agitation all afternoon every afternoon, so so odd the way it just stops after 8 pm!!! But I’m glad it does so that we can both get some sleep.
https://biomats.com/product/biomat-mini/
They are very expensive new ($700) but you can get them used here:
https://biomathealthcoach.com/Richway-Amethyst-Biomat---MINI-BIOMAT-7000MX---BIOMAT-MINI-7000MX-.html
I think you can also look on Craigslist for used BioMats. They are like large body heating pads infused with amethyst crystals.
Anyway, here is a useful article on the topic which provides tips about lighting and ways to possibly reduce symptoms for your mother:
https://medilodgeofludington.com/announcement/10-tips-to-recognize-reduce-sundowning-delirium-in-dementia-patients/
Don't write off medication as a possibility, either. As a new mom, I had a very fussy and colicky baby. I waited 9 months before I took him to the pediatrician one day & said, "Drugs for him or drugs for me, your choice." The very first time I gave him the Levsin drops under his tongue, he was a changed baby, colic free and pain free. I kicked myself forever after for being so pigheaded to cause my son 9 months of pain & grief for no good reason. I wound up causing it to MYSELF as well. Let my experience help you.
Wishing you the best of luck helping your mom with her symptoms.
thank you for your reply, I will look into that for sure.
I was so worried about how many ppl mentioned it could be a UTI or another infection so I took her to her Dr. today as an emergency visit, I also wanted him to experience what I see on a daily basis but she didn’t seem so agitated at his office, she was but not as much as yesterday for example. Her urine sample came out negative but I told him he must send it out for a culture, he said we always do. I hope her blood work comes back all normal and no infection and then maybe it is sundowning, we have a Neuro appt in February she’s more experienced in dementia patients/stroke than her pcp.
I've had to take benzos for over 20 years. I have an anxiety disorder and I also would have about 8 hrs a day when I was just so crazed with anxiety I would walk for hours and hours. Finally was properly dxed and treated and did talk therapy too.
The difference in my life due to that one tiny blue pill that works every single time I take it (and goes slowly out of my system!) has kept my marriage intact and my kids from wanting to leave home.
If all the things you are trying don't work, please do consider medication. She does NOT have to be 'zoned out'. I'm NEVER that way. Just calm.