Oh my. This one is definitely a mini rant!!!!
What a load of bollocks to label tiredness a person with dementia might experience mid to late afternoon as ‘sundowning’.
A supposed ‘clinical’ symptom of BPSD and dementia.
From my experience, I know that most people feel tired mid to late afternoon, especially if they’ve been busy during the day.
With and without dementia.
When diagnosed with dementia, daily activities can be like a daily marathon. Of course we get tired.
So does anyone running a marathon, or working all day!
Seriously, I could write a whole book on this.
For now, all I’m capable of writing is this mini rant!
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Made me laugh at long last! Indeed, doll. ❤ #BanBPSD
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Happy to make you laugh, though perhaps not everyone will laugh at this one! 😉
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Gregory on his own started having coffee and cookies at sundown. He never “Sundowned.”
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Coffee and cookies… they sound great, but living on an almost processed sugar free diet, and no coffee after 6am, it is ginger tea, and almonds mid afternoon. xxx
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Oh the sun-downing|!! On my life I’ve met GP’s who flat out refuse to believe, accept or even hear of what they call “So called sun-downing” So called – WTF is the “so called” in aid of?
Then again I’ve also met GP’s who on my life sat and explained in great detail and for an excruciating amount of time what they were going to do, why and what they would like the person to do in response.
Also witnessed two burly paramedics trying to push and pull a tiny lady from her armchair so they could examine and treat her. One stood behind pushing and the other in front pulling like idiots trying to load an elephant in a trailer.
“What… STOP!! What are you doing? This lady has dementia you’re frightening her to death you pair of idiots.
Just leaned in so she could see my facial expressions saying I wanted her to come with, gestured with one hand and held out the other for her to hold and let me help her up. No problem she stood up straight away.
If someone did that to me I’d have smacked them right in the teeth and kept going until they got off and left me alone or had me restrained and sedated. Honest to God I was utterly dumbfounded. Made a point of bringing it up with the ambulance crew’s supervisor not to make a full and formal complaint but just to give a heads up and say “You could use some refresher training especially for these two. I’ve loaded up wild horses into trailers and boxes with less fuss and stress.
So yep I’m with you on the old rant and rave Kate you crack on and keep going I’m with you all the way! 🙂
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Hi Auntysocial! Wish I’d read your comment late yesterday, as it has definitely cracked me up!!! Especially the second to last paragraph. Oh my, we’d be trouble if we lived in a nursing home… but how much fun could we have as well?! x
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With my dementia I have this theory; daytime can be too bright so my brain shuts down. However when the light dulls I return to normal. Not sundowning yet but it might happen!
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Thanks for sharing this Martin. It fits well with some of the work Al Power has done, where nursing homes have changed staffing, to have more on over night, when most of us are awake a lot, and less during the day, when many want to sleep, instead of the other way around, forcing people with dementia to get up, do activities they probably don’t like, then wonder why they get tired in the late afternoon… ps you’ll never get sundowning, as it doesn’t exist.
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Just another BPSD clinical myth Kate. Whoever wrote/said it has obviously never heard of unmet needs. Much appreciate the time you give maintaining your blog
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Thanks Paul… maintaining my blog on a regular basis, is becoming quite difficult, but the sundowning topic raised its ugly head again in the last few days, and it was impossible to stay silent.
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Kate your rant is well warranted and totally supported my friend.
As you know, I despise this label as much as you do.
Sundowning is yet another cruel and intentional play on words, to create another “label” for cognitively aware people to use, so they may continue to judge, twist information, misunderstand and misrepresent people living with dementia.
Personally I know and believe there is no such thing as “sundowning”.
That it is another term and response to us not getting the reality of those living with dementia, so as usual, try to pigeon hole normal behavior from our perspective, instead of the person living with dementia.
I have a theory that I base on “listening” to people living with dementia throughout the last 30 years, and have had the privilege of hearing what life is like through their eyes.
I always make my decisions based on their/your perspective instead of a cognitive viewpoint.
After all, aren’t we basing what we think about dementia on subjective assumptions at best.
I want people to look at themselves and be accountable here, and ponder over all the reasons that make the label “sundowning” disrespectful, stigmatising and deprecating.
Think about how that one word has so many negative connotations attached to it, and how it immediately sets a scathing tone, and immediately affects attitude towards a person living with dementia.
Imagine how THEY would feel to be described this way…………
Please see my article:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dispelling-myth-sundowning-leah-bisiani
Love you and your work.
#BanBPSD
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Thanks for adding to my mini rant… it is helpful, especiallly as mine was so short with little explanation! I was probably sundowning 😉
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Bahaha – I think I must be in a constant state of sundowning given the number of thick-heads that surround me on a daily basis who make me anxious and agitated, especially later in the day when my patience is wearing thin. Not only that, my agitation comes from responding to their idiotic cognitive “behaviour”!!!!!!
Go figure…………………
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Hahahaha, I think I must be too, some days it starts at 5am!!! xxx
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You go old boiler rant on I love it I look forward to reading that book if you find the time to write it one day X Ness
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In my spare time ness… maybe on some of those long flights this year! X
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Rant on Kate!
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Haha, just for something different hey Julie! X
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