Hello my dad has PD and dementia and he doesn't sleep well at night . My mom is the main caretaker and she's burned out by getting up all night cause he makes noise and always confused. She tried from melatonin to other natural sleep aids to prescriptions and nothing is working.
Bear in mind that as PD changes and progresses, different medications are used, so it is important to let the MD know what has changed to he can modify the drug regimen.
Regarding sleep issues; most of the Parkinson's meds will work as you indicated. Also, another Lewy Body problem is REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. You can Google it or find info in the previously mentioned books. As a 'last resort' antipsychotic meds such as Clonazepam or Seroquel could be tried. Bear in mind that whatever has been tried and not worked may be an indication of high drug sensitivity. That is, when a patient takes a normal dose, the body sees it as an overdose, sometimes a huge overdose.
You didn't mention the type of doctor your dad has been seeing. For PD, it’s usually a movement disorder specialist. Typically, they know very little about dealing with dementia so it’s best to find a Lewy-savvy neurologist. Most of the time you have to ask about their Lewy qualifications.
Lewy Savvy
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