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My father is not one of those old people who just want to sit in a rocker and sleep the day away until it’s time to go to bed.  I don’t have to coax him out of bed every morning at 11 or 10 or even 9.

(Sigh) When I am an old man, I will sleep late.

But while I am taking care of my ‘old man’, I take a hefty dose of sublingual Vitamin B12 every morning. And, of course, I use freshly ground, organic Allan Bros. coffee beans to make a strong  pot of coffee to go along with it.

To be honest, it isn’t always easy for me to make the decision how much to use his medication to keep him asleep.  It is very common, as I understand it, for dementia sufferers to be up all night, wandering around looking for something that seems just our of reach.  Nighttime is brings what is called “Sundown Syndrome”, a term that I’d heard before I started dealing with my elderly parents.  What I didn’t realize was that it is a condition or symptom that lasts from sundown to sun up.

If Dad is up at 3 or 4 am, looking for my mother who passed away more than 3 years ago, I will give him an extra Xanax to help him get back to sleep.  In that case, he may sleep until 8:30 or 9.  But sometimes he does manage to get a good night’s sleep.  This morning he was up about 7.  I laid in bed listening to the shuffling sounds coming from the baby monitor I’ve placed by his bedroom door.  This morning, the shuffling made  its way to his living area monitor about 7:30, and I knew I had to get up and check on him.  He was, of course, wide awake and actually very ‘chipper.’

Oh good.

So I was up as well, getting him breakfast (Granola, yogurt, banana) and making coffee. The problem for me is that I don’t really get a chance to really have a break until he goes to bed at 10:30 or 11.  So I often will stay up until 1 or 2 am, just to re-set myself. (Okay, so last night, I had to catch up on Big Love, Damages and 24)

When dad first moved in, I didn’t have to get up when he got up.  He could get his own breakfast, go out and get the paper, and take a walk, usually without any incident.  I’ve always been a night owl, working late in restaurants and theater and later working on various computer projects.

Of course, Dad would still get up and yell up the stairs, “Is anybody alive up there?” He was usually up earlier on the weekends and would sleep a bit later during the week.  Since his fall and the progression of his dementia, his sleep is much more unpredictable.

Anyway, this post is supposed to be about my meds which, on top of what I’ve noted above includes a B-complex, extra Pantothenic Acid, Flax Seed Oil (for Omega-3), Bilberry, Grapeseed Extract, Green Tea Extract, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Zinc & Saw Palmetto and Kava – I’m going to try to do a whole post on Kava – it has worked wonders for me since I first began dealing with my parent’s aging issues on a daily basis.

I also use Advair regularly to control Asthma.