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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Can Insomnia Be Treated While Suffering From Alzheimer S Disease?

My 88 year old father has alzheimers. He has been getting up at night. He takes 2.5 mg of Valilum at bed and 9 mg melatonin. He is unstable and fell last night while in the room. We have door alarms to wake us but he didn t open the door. I have looked into a mat to alert us if he gets out of bed. What is the best medicine to get him to sleep at night. We exercise him everyday and we make sure he gets sunlight. He naps occasionally in the day but not sound.
Wed, 15 Nov 2017
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Anesthesiologist,  's  Response
hi sir/mam,its great that you take a very good care of your father.old age is one of the causes of insomnia.i usually prescribe my patients,a rapidly acting hypnotic with short duration of action(ZALEPLON).the advantage of this is avoidance of day time sedation thereby preventing falls.my patients also gave a very positive feedback after the use of ZOLPIDEM(AMBIEN)5mg at bedtime.it is also available as ZOLPIDEM EXTENDED RELEASE PREPARATION 6.25mg at bed time.you can start with a low dose.if you choose to take any of the above medications,i would suggest not to use valium.melatonin can be continued.if you face any other problems regarding this,kindly let me know.take care.bye.
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How Can Insomnia Be Treated While Suffering From Alzheimer S Disease?

hi sir/mam,its great that you take a very good care of your father.old age is one of the causes of insomnia.i usually prescribe my patients,a rapidly acting hypnotic with short duration of action(ZALEPLON).the advantage of this is avoidance of day time sedation thereby preventing falls.my patients also gave a very positive feedback after the use of ZOLPIDEM(AMBIEN)5mg at bedtime.it is also available as ZOLPIDEM EXTENDED RELEASE PREPARATION 6.25mg at bed time.you can start with a low dose.if you choose to take any of the above medications,i would suggest not to use valium.melatonin can be continued.if you face any other problems regarding this,kindly let me know.take care.bye.