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Hello my dad has PD and dementia and he doesn't sleep well at night . My mom is the main caretaker and she's burned out by getting up all night cause he makes noise and always confused. She tried from melatonin to other natural sleep aids to prescriptions and nothing is working.

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Thanks Pam for doing the legwork in Wiki... The common thread is that Benadryl, Zzzquil and Nyquil all belong to the family of anticholinergic drugs that are not advised for those with LBD and other forms of dementia as they affect functioning of the brain.
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Actually, the best cure is to keep them awake during the day. Snoozing off after meals leaves them wide awake just as you need sleep. NO coffee after dinner helps. Finally the Rx meds come in after all the above does not work, and the bedtime meds must be carefully selected. Parkinson's disease medication like levodopa/carbidopa (Sinemet, Atamet, and Parcopa), and amantadine (Symmetrel, Symadine) can cause intense nightmares that disrupt sleep.
Bear in mind that as PD changes and progresses, different medications are used, so it is important to let the MD know what has changed to he can modify the drug regimen.
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My Mother who is 87 and has Lewey Body Dementia with some Parkinson's symptoms was not sleeping through the night. Her primary care physician has allowed me to give her the non-habit forming Zzzquil. She has been sleeping like a baby. It gets her through the night and she only gets 2 tbsps at bedtime. My brother is a chemist and has advised there is nothing in it that would harm her and we all get our much needed rest. Mom does much better during the day and she is not so exhausted.
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Actually, antihistamines like zzzquil will likely raise his blood pressure. And Nyquil works better than zzzquil for sleeping.
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Bear hug, read the ingredient comparison in Wikipedia. zzzquil is just diphenhydramine aka Benadryl. Nyquil has a triple knockout with dextromethorphan (opiod mimic) and doxylamine (hypnotic) in an alcohol laced syrup. I'm surprised it's still legal, it works so well.
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Thanks for the research but I have a chemist, Neurologist and her primary doctor that said it is okay and she has Lewy Body Dementia. Is Wiki wikipedia? I'm going to stick with the Dr.s and chemist evaluation. Again I would never give anyone anything based on the internet but under a doctors observation only.
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PD and dementia is typically known as PDD, Parkinson's with Dementia. Parkinson's is caused by Lewy Bodies in the movement control area of the brain (substancia nigra). The Lewy Bodies can spread to other areas of the brain. In the case of dementia, they are in the cortex (outer shell). PDD is one of the Lewy Body Dementias (LBD). The other is DLB, Dementia with Lewy Bodies. The Lewy Body Dementia Association (www.lbda.org) has a wealth of information for caregivers. Also, www.lbdtools.com has a bookstore for books on dealing with both forms of LBD and other forms of dementia.
Regarding sleep issues; most of the Parkinson's meds will work as you indicated. Also, another Lewy Body problem is REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. You can Google it or find info in the previously mentioned books. As a 'last resort' antipsychotic meds such as Clonazepam or Seroquel could be tried. Bear in mind that whatever has been tried and not worked may be an indication of high drug sensitivity. That is, when a patient takes a normal dose, the body sees it as an overdose, sometimes a huge overdose.
You didn't mention the type of doctor your dad has been seeing. For PD, it’s usually a movement disorder specialist. Typically, they know very little about dealing with dementia so it’s best to find a Lewy-savvy neurologist. Most of the time you have to ask about their Lewy qualifications.
Lewy Savvy
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I saw a question about melatonin on another thread from this site. I use it for my mother and it works wonders! I only give her about 1/3 of the dose of the one pill because she was drowsy the next day, but boy, is it a winner.
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Can Lewy Body Dementia be diagnosed with a brain MRI. Just starting work up for mom. She has these sleeping symptoms. Thank you!!
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Nyquil is for colds and coughs the sleep aid in nyquil is zzzquil w/o that medicine. My brother is a chemist and my doctor also said there is absolutely nothing in it that would harm her. She has Lewey Body Dementia and high blood pressure and sleeps very well and it does not raise her blood pressure which is a very huge issue for her. Please check with a doctor before giving any kind of medication to your loved one however. Everyone is different and on different medications
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