Avoiding Caregiver Sleep Depravation

For the past three nights I have been up somewhere between 2:30 and 4:00 AM attending to Gladys.  She is having trouble lifting her arms and has not been able to adjust her clothing very well.  As a result she wets her gown when she goes to the bathroom during the night.

Tuesday and Wednesday night I was able to go back to sleep for a little while but last night I couldn’t, so I got up and worked on my new blog, www.YourMinistryHelper.com. I know, that’s a shameless plug but what do you expect from someone who is sleep deprived?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am only working two days a week now so I am off today and can probably catch a nap after Fred takes Gladys to day care.  Otherwise I would have to go to work to get some rest .

Sometime today I am going shopping to see if I can find some night shirts that are kind of short to see if that will help. I hate to shop anywhere near the Christmas season, so that will be a traumatic experience.  I called Nikki yesterday about this and she said putting pajamas on Gladys is worse than the gowns.

Wait, I think I just had an epiphany – since I like to sleep in pajama bottoms and a tank top, I’ll just put Gladys in the pajama tops.

Wow, you guys are a great support group! Thanks!

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A Caregivers Scare, Part 2

The last few days caregiving has been very stressful and tiring.  On Monday we thought Gladys was getting better after her seizure on Sunday night but Monday evening everything went downhill.  She is lethargic, having problems standing and moving her legs and arms.  In addition to some other issues, her appetite is not as healthy as usual.  I just figured out these are side effects of the medication she was give for a bladder infection but I can’t reach the doctor until tomorrow morning.

We had a doctor’s appointment yesterday but I had not seen the correlation between the antibiotic and her recent problems.  One of the reasons I didn’t see it is because the doctor and nurses kept telling me how a bladder infection can cause changes in behavior in elderly people.  So at first I thought that was it.  Another reason is they think Gladys may have had another stroke.

I’ve spent the last three nights sleeping on the couch so I can hear Gladys better when she needs help.  Since she started taking the antibiotic, I have to help her get out of her chair, help her to to the bathroom and my husband and I have to put her into bed.  Needless to say, I haven’t had much sleep and my back hurts from helping Gladys up and down.  I’m looking for some kind of sling to help put Gladys in bed.

I have a new found respect for caregivers who have to do this alone.  If I had been on my own the past few days, I would be absolutely exhausted.  But my husband is a lot of help and my daughter comes over and gives me a break.  There are so many caregivers who have no relief at all and are prime candidates for caregiver burnout.

Hopefully we will be back to normal in a few days.

Related Reading:

A Caregiver’s Scare in the Middle of the Night

Effective Communication Between Caregivers and Doctors

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