My dad, who is in his late 60s, has had PD for about 19 years now. Various symptoms have, of course, been progressing more and more as time goes on, however, over the past few weeks I’ve noticed a new and quite worrying symptom.
My dad seems to be having very vivid dreams, to the point the he’s having difficulty/is sometimes unable to distinguish these dreams from reality. Multiple times a day he will be talking to me about things he thinks has happened that day, but have not. For instance, yesterday, my mum was out of the house all day, and multiple times after waking up my dad kept talking to me about things my mum had said/done when she’d popped back home several times, except she never had. I found him searching the shed looking for a wire brush, convinced she’d come home and asked him to find one before leaving again - she hadn’t, and he was very confused when I said that she’d been gone all day.
He sleeps a lot during the day, so of course I assume this is part of it - he spends more time asleep than he does awake, and I can understand how the two might merge together, but I’m concerned about just how confused he’s becoming, and how real his dreams seem to him.
Is this a common occurrence? I’m not sure if this would be down to PD or the mix of medications he’s on, or even both. I admit I’m not as educated on some things as I perhaps should be, as I was 6 when he was diagnosed and so was never present for any medical appointments to discuss his diagnosis etc. I’m just concerned that this could be a sign of more worrying memory/mental health problems. More so, I have no idea how to help him. I have of course been telling him that these things have not happened, but this seems to confuse and distress him. Are there other things I can do to help him? I’m out of the house for 15 hours minimum every day during the week, so I’m not sure how many times he experiences this on a daily basis, as I’m only around fully on the weekends.
Sorry for the long post, I think the sudden appearance of a new symptom after so long has worried me! Thanks for taking the time to read!
Good evening Mango … I am 70 years old & have Parkinson’s. I am quite a lot of medication for Parkinson’s & other drugs like Bisoprolol for my A Fib condition.
Most of these drugs cause me to have sleep problems. I have terrible nightmares & incredibly real dreams & a lot of the time I can’t sleep at all & I am tired during the day. Do you want to buy my imaginary white horse?
Often I dream I am still at work & wake up worrying about work I will need to do.
Of course I no longer work but yes it does seam real for a few minutes after waking.
The lead GP at my practice & my Parkinson’s nurse have prescribed me Quetiapine,
This helps me sleep.
About quetiapine-Brand names: Atrolak, Biquelle, Seroquel, Sondate, Zaluron
Quetiapine is a medicine that helps with mental health conditions such as:
schizophrenia, where you may see, hear or feel things that are not there or you believe things that are not true, or you feel unusually suspicious or have muddled thoughts
the mania symptoms of bipolar disorder, where your mood changes between feeling highly excited (mania) and very low (depression)
depression in bipolar disorder
depression (quetiapine is only used together with other medicines for depression)
It can help to prevent mania and depression if you have bipolar disorder.
It’s an antipsychotic medicine that works by affecting chemicals in your brain such as dopamine and serotonin. It does not cure your condition, but it can help with the symptoms.
Quetiapine is only available on prescription.
It comes as tablets, including slow release tablets (these may have XL in the brand name), and as a liquid that you swallow.
It may be that your Dad has other issues affecting him. Certainly something his medical team should be aware of.
But 100% the medication I take & the Parkinson’s I have cause these dreams & sleep issues.
Any questions please ask. Your dad is not the only one, do get help, his medical team should know.
It’s common for vivid dreams and confusion to occur with Parkinson’s, especially with certain medications. Discussing these changes with his doctor could help adjust treatment and offer guidance on how to support him.
