I have been the sole caregiver to my dad for the past 10 months. My mother and brother passed away within 9 months (December 2008 and September). Like clock work, dad gets up at 12:15 and then in about 2-hour increments during the night to eat, therefore, I am not getting enough sleep. I called the doctor and he put dad on Ambien 10 mg five days ago and it is NOT working. For the past two months, I have been burping quite a bit during the night, this always starts at 11:00 pm. I don't have insurance since my husband just started back to work a few weeks ago. So I wonder, is it an ulcer or something more serious caused by all the crap I have been going through. Anybody else have problems due to stress similar to mine?
Hugs to all who are caregivers!

Dazed, I'm sorry that you are having such a tough time with your Dad.

It took a bit of time for the Ambien to work for my Mom, and we also wound up completely changing her med schedule to make sure that none of her other drugs were conflicting with the Ambien, and our efforts to get her to sleep through the night. (My Mom has night terrors - terrible night terrors that would often flare up four or five times a night, waking the entire household with bloodcurdling screaming.)

So the first thing to do is make sure that any other meds that your Dad is on that might "fight" with the Ambien are taken earlier in the day.

Next, you have to take care of you, because if you don't, you can't take care of your Dad, right? Is there any change in your personal eating habits that could account for the "bubbles" (what we call "burps" at our house)? Is it possibly associated with a mild heartburn? Have you changed any meds of your own, or have you changed the time when you take them? Just take it slow, think simple, and you may be able to figure it out on your own.

Hang in there - I know how hard this is. This forum is an *excellent* place to come every day when you have a few minutes. The amount of shared knowledge here is staggering; there are so many experienced caregivers here! More importantly, everyone here *understands* what you are going through, because we are all on the same path... just at different places.

(((hugs))) to you too!

Welcome to this site Dazed, Sleep is important and one of the premiums that we and our LO often do not get enough of.

Sorry that you are having issues. I also do not have insurance, for the first time in my life, since I moved in with my mother as caregiver and of course at my age I need more than ever but will hold out for Medicare if they leave it alone. That in its self is scary but when you have a problem and can't afford to go to Doc, is more so. Most communities do have a free clinic or charity hospital?

Please come back often as you will get many good responses from people that have good advice or have had same symptoms. This site is the best support I have found. The chatroom in the evening has many people to "talk to" and you will enjoy the replies to your thread here.

Once again welcome and try all the resources on the top of your thread, in the purple tabs. Find can be used several ways so experiment with it.

I am so glad you found us and you will not feel quite so alone again. We do understand!

Sheryl

Welcome and glad you are here!

We all get in overload mode and when we do our bodies are working in fast gear. How long can we keep up before we brake is the question?

You know your body the best as sounds like something isn't right. Might I suggest a checkup at a local clinic or if you have Walgreens in your town, they offer clinics for a minimal cost. Don't let the NO INSURANCE stop you from getting into a professional.

Take care of yourself and hope to get your LOs meds better in line....

Best to you always~
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What is stress?
The Body’s Stress Response
When you perceive a threat, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones rouse the body for emergency action.

Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time, and enhance your focus – preparing you to either fight or flee from the danger at hand.
Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense danger – whether it’s real or imagined – the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction, or the stress response.

The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life – giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.

The stress response also helps you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when you’re attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you'd rather be watching TV.

But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life

Dazed2often - yes stress can do unbelievable things to the body. There was a thread on here awhile ago about caregivers falling, hurting themselves, etc... Lack of sleep, stress - yes it does NOT do a body good. My back went out, my thumbnail cracked straight down the middle, my acid reflux is OUT OF CONTROL, to the point where I almost took myself to the emergency room thinking I was having a heart attack (which could be your burping at night by the way, acid reflux) and I am suffering with such IBS that sometimes I want to just die. that being said, you need to find a way to destress (easier said than done). If you can find an hour a day for yourself - take a walk, take a bath, call on some friends, etc...

As for the Ambien, it didn't work for my mother. It worked for the first night only.

Dazed, prolonged stress - both mental and physical - can do horrible things to your body. Hair loss, auto-immune responses, brain fog, digestive tract problems, dermatology issues, neurological issues and the list goes on and on. One of the big things is that you cannot always control the stress factors. But you can work on your reaction to them. Please notice that I DID NOT say you can control your reaction. But possibly you could help lessen it a bit. Relaxation techniques (visualization, breathing exercises, etc.) do not solve your problems. But they truly can help your body's response. I didn't think too much of it until I got desperate enough to try it. Since I was a Doubting Thomas, imagine my surprise when I realized these things really do help. You don't have to sit cross-legged on the floor with your eyes closed and chant. Just take a second, close your eyes if possible, and concentrate on 10 deep breaths - inhaling and exhaling very deeply and slowly. Do this every hour. That simple little thing can really help.

The burping could be that you are eating too quickly, gulping air without realizing it, or it could be signs of something more serious. I know money is an issue, and finding time to get to a doctor is possibly an even bigger issue. But as we all agree, you cannot take care of someone else if you are not watching over yourself first.

Calling the Alz Assn (800-272-3900) may be a good place to start.

Dazed
Is your Dad seeing a psychiatrist or neurologist? There are other medications that may be far more effective for him to get a full night's sleep. Psychiatrists and neurologists who treat AD are usually better than primary care doctors for prescribing medicine for AD concerns.

Sleep disturbances and caregiver exhaustion are two of the most common reasons ADLOs are eventually placed in nursing homes. Your situation is no laughing matter.

Sleeping pills may not be as effective as other types of interventions. There's a pretty good article on things to try, to help your loved one (and therefore you) get a good night's sleep, at:

http://alzheimers.boomja.com/A...turbances-61711.html

Dazed,

You've gotten some good advice so far. I can second what Marjk said about acid reflux. The night burping is a symptom. Try not eating at all for 3 hours before you go to bed and sleep with your head elevated (maybe place some books under the head of your bed to elevate it). Extra pillows don't really help. A low-fat, low-caffiene diet is recommended (not a bad idea for any of us). If these things don't help, you could try Prilosec OTC (it's a mild form of the medicine often prescribed for reflux). According to my reading, a large percentage of Americans suffer from some form of reflux. It can lead to more serious health issues. And stress really doesn't help it.

If you don't get some relief soon, you should see if there's not a free clinic near you.

Blessings!

Other things to do in addition to what DJ suggested- avoid mint(including gum), chocolate, acidic food and beverages and fried foods. (all the good stuff!)
I found a good chart about this.
http://heartburn.about.com/cs/.../heartburnfoods3.htm

My Grandma has acid reflux and what we did (in addition to medication, sleeping with her head elevated, and waiting a few hours to lay down after she ate) was to eliminate all the foods that she wasn't supposed to eat and then reintroduce them one at a time to see if that particular food was a trigger for her reflux. It turned out that some of them were ok for her.

Definitely avoid the eating a few hours before bedtime. I can't give up caffeine so I suffered a little more than I should have. Stress will send my reflux through the stratosphere. Luckily I'm friendly with the chairman of the GI department of my hospital and he let me know that stress can really set off the reflux. I'm back on the meds. Unfortunately I had to find out the hard way that I'm allergic to Nexium/Zegerid/Prilosec so I have to take other meds that don't work AS well, but they still work.

I agree 100% with what MeMaw wrote about relaxation techniques. They really work. Sometimes I just lie down in my bed with my IPOD and listen to soft music. It takes my mind away. Even if it's just for 15 minutes, it really makes a difference.