My husband sleeps 20 out of 24 hours,he claims there is nothing else to do.. he has visual problem associated with alz. so he cant read or watch tv.and he doesn;t want to do any chores, sweeping, raking leaves etc.. and he is on aricept,so i would like to know if a drug like prozac would help to motivate him or is to late.. i would say he is the second stage.. can;t shower, no dressing, gets to confused and now he doesn;t always know where he is... thanks so much mary

Hello Mary,

I am sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Having a visual problem as well must certainly make things even more difficult. I can understand how he might feel that there is not much for him to do but sleep. Sometimes people use sleep as a way to withdraw when they are feeling overwhelmed or depressed.

I would definitely suggest that you talk with your husband's doctor about whether it would be appropriate to prescribe an antidepressant. It is not uncommon for a person with Alzheimer's disease to also experience depression and many people in that situation do try antidepressants. Unfortunately I am not able to include a live hyperlink to our fact sheet on depression. However, here is the web address you can type into your browser to pull up more information about depression and AD.

http://www.alz.org/documents/national/FS_Depression.pdf

You can also call our helpline 24-hours a day at 1-800-272-3900 to talk with someone specifically about your situation.

Sincerely,

Hi Mary,

Thank you for using the Alzheimer's Association Online Community.

I am sorry to hear about your husband's condition. I wonder how long he has been exhibiting this behavior and how recently he has seen a physician. If he hasn't seen a doctor recently, I would recommend that you make an appointment for him, to determine whether a medical condition or the effects of medication might be contributing to his sleeping most of the time.

You asked if Prozac might be helpful in motivating him. Prozac is an anti-depressant, one of a number of medications that are sometimes prescribed for persons with dementia who also suffer from depression. Depressionhttp://www.alz.org/documents/national/FS_Depression.pdf). I would suggest having your husband see a geriatric psychiatrist to determine whether he is a good candidate for anti-depressant medication.

Something else to consider is whether your husband might benefit from an adult day care program where there are planned activities as well as social interaction. Your local Alzheimer's Association Chapter (accessible from our home page under "find us anywhere in the U.S.") could give you information on adult day programs in your area.

If you would like to discuss this matter with a Care Consultant, we can be reached on our 24-your helpline at: 800-272-3900.

Thanks again for using the Alzheimer's Association Online Community.

Best wishes,

Charlie

my concern is he has ad and also ,sever paranoia and the visual problem. i was wondering what the effect the prozac would have on him... the dr. did prescribe 20mg. but i have hesitated in giving him the drug. im not sure what to do about his sleeping all the time... he does go the senior center but sleeps there... also he won;t go to the adult day care center, i took him and he just became irate and wouldn;t stay...sat and sundays he sleeps all day except for meals..he refuses to go to a dr...the dr. has seen him once and he diagnozed him as paranoid schizophrenia and he refuses to go back.so my question is prozac and take a chance or let him sleep!!!!! its so depressing, i can;t begin to tell you

Prozac is a relatively benign anti-depressant with few documented side-effects. It is also widely presribed as is Aricept. However, it should be noted that when a doctor precribes either, he is simply taking an overly cautious route knowing that one typically does little in the way of cognitive performance enhancing but can have side-effects ( mostly gastro-intestinal--Aricept ) while the other has actually been proven to help more with OCD behaviors than depression ( Prozac ).
Sounds to me he is depressed and is aware to a degree. I would talk to a geriatric psychiatrist about something a little stronger than prozac, perhaps even something like Effexor if he does not have any cardiac issues. The latter drug tends to possess more 'boost' properties and can still improve his depression as well. If your doc mentions Provigil, don't shy away from that one either. I've seen it used many times for 'sleepers' and their stamina and zeal for living were both improved. Good luck!