Matt sleeps a lot, I have mentioned it a few times

As the weeks go by, he sleeps more and more

So I looked this up on the web, looked up “should I be concerned my loved one with Lewy Body Dementia is sleeping alot”

Here is what I learned:

Excessive sleep is a common symptom of LBD, its a core feature of the disease

LBD causes rapid changes in alertness and attention, making the brain work harder and fatigue faster

As this disease progresses, increased sleep is common due to brain damage

I’ve mentioned this to his neurologist, it hasn’t raised any loud alarm bells

The need for sleep, the safety that our comfortable bed gives him, makes sense

Several times lately, after boxing and lunch, he’s needed a nap

There are other observations of things that he used to champion being harder for him

A couple weeks ago we took a hike, one that we’ve taken so many times, and he was noticeably dragging as we headed to the car

We’d halted doing that hike as regularly as we used to because Sheba was going through treatment for a back condition, the vet recommended 2 weeks of limited activity

The lake hike is pretty flat, several places where the dog wants to get in the water so its a brief rest for Matt, most of them the rest has a bit of shade, relief from the sun and heat

As we headed to the car on this most recent hike, he was noticeably more hunched in his upper back, his gate more shuffly, he was grumpy

It could have been the heat, but I worry we are seeing some significant decline now, movement towards the later stages of the “moderate” phase of this disease

I worry a lot about quality of life for him, do we push him enough, too much, what is the best quality of life

The neurologist encouraged consideration of moving him sooner rather than later to a facility, one like the Redwoods, who have trained team members

I waffle on that…..would it be better for him to be in the care of strangers? Or is it better he stay at home, in the comfort of his things, with his dog and me, able to act and be as normal as possible as long as possible, able to spend time with family and friends here, not there

I have always promised him I’d try to keep him at home as long as possible, Redwoods is simply a solid back up plan just in case

No decision on that today, just some more thinking about it

When he does sleep, its easier to manage him of course

So its comforting to know that this is just what goes with this disease, lots of napping, long hours of sleeping

All this talk of sleeping and napping, the current drizzle outside, I want to snuggle into some blankies and take a nap now!

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