For those who care for someone with Parkinson's disease
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Last night was so weird. Hubby went to bed around 11 and I tried to be very sure he had everything needed for a good night's sleep, since he hadn't been sleeping well lately. Took his meds, had a water bottle on the night stand, etc. At 3 am I think he must have called out, I reached over to touch his shoulder and I could feel he was falling out of bed. That's never happened before. He landed on the floor, knocked everything off the nightstand with a crash, I had to jump up and turn on the light. But the weird part was, even after that I don't really think he was awake. He was mumbling to me but I couldn't understand him. I think he said he was thirsty and I handed him the water bottle but he couldn't seem to understand how to drink from it. (of course I was wondering if he had had a stroke or something). He was lying on the floor with no clothes on and didn't seem inclined to get up (although it was cold), but he didn't seem hurt. I was talking loudly and the room was bright but he didn't really seem to be present. I had to give him firm instructions on what to do one step at a time - roll over, get on his hands and knees, push himself up to a stand, get back into bed. I'm glad he was able to because I certainly couldn't lift him. He did that and within maybe ten seconds I could tell by his breathing he was completely asleep again. In the morning I asked him about it and he has no memory of it at all. (He thought I was making it up - took awhile to convince him). That was so weird! And scary. It doesn't really surprise me that he fell out of bed - he hasn't before but sure, why not - but I can't believe that will all that noise, light, and somewhat able to take instructions that he still wasn't even awake. He's never been a sleepwalker. Just when I think I understand what his particular Parkinson's looks like, it surprises me again. |
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My mom has had RBD (REM Behavior Disorder) since the '90s. Her sleep doctor said it could lead to Parkinson's, and it eventually did. . She hasn't fallen out of bed in about 20 years, but 15 or so years ago (before her Parkinson's diagnosis) she would often talk, violently yell, and cuss in her sleep. Usually I could get her to stop by gently telling her she was sleeping. Occasionally she would argue with me. "I am not sleeping!" "Yes, you are. Try to wake up." "I AM AWAKE!" "No, you're still sleeping." Etc, etc. It was funny the first couple of times, then just exasperating (especially in the middle of the night). . The most common dream she would have (that would cause the yelling) would be of an intruder, or someone showing up that shouldn't be there, etc. (I read somewhere years ago that this is a common phenomenon in Parkinson's--the dream of an intruder, and acting out the dream.) She was always yelling for the person to leave. A couple of times that happened I just said, "Ok, they're gone now. They went out the front door and they're not coming back." Sometimes that would work and she'd go back to "regular" sleep without talking. . I can easily imagine her being in an altered state the way you describe, where she might be in some sense able to respond to directions, but not really be awake. Most of the time her sleep disturbances now are no more than talking, occasionally yelling, or moving her arms around. She sometimes has bruises on her right arm because the bed is against the wall, but at least I know she cannot fall out of bed from that side. (We stopped going to the sleep doctor about six years ago because he wasn't really helping much, the problem wasn't that serious, the only meds he gave us didn't seem to be doing much, and it was just one more doctor to go to.) Now every few weeks she will get loud enough for me to wake up, so I will try to settle her down by gently waking her. Most of the time that works now. I'm not sure why this particular symptom of her Parkinson's has become more mild over the years. Once in the '90s she screamed so loud, I thought someone had broken into the house. (Her Parkinson's diagnosis wasn't until 2010.) |