97 yrs old and sleeps all day and night

[littlebearsmummy]

My grandma is 97 and generally ok health wise though obviously quite frail. She's recently been to the doctors and we were told that she's pretty fit for her age - though no tests were done. She's always slept well at night (12+ hours) with a nap each afternoon..but she's suddenly started to sleep nearly all day and night. We are all a little worried as its a big change for her. Has anyone experienced this with an elderly relative?

I believe it is common in very elderly folk, my Dad started to sleep more and more as he got older (he lived until 91), what does her GP say? - how does she manage for eating and drinking if she's sleeping a lot? (mu mum goes to a day centre and there they are very vigilant about making sure the old people drink enough - because they do tend to nod off a lot and can get dehydrated), also how's her mobility? (again if she's spending a lot of time immobile she could get a few problems with circulation etc.).

If she's otherwise healthy and happy, I don't think I'd worry too much, my Mum is 90 and sleeps lot she often nods off during the day, - much more than she used to even a couple of years ago. I think it is just the body slowing down as she gets older.

But obviously if you are worried about her, do ask her GP if it's usual.

That's a really good point about drinking! She has a career pop in a couple of times a day as well as family so they make sure she eats but it might be worthwhile getting her to drink a little more. She doesn't really move around much so either sits and reads or sleeps. It's just such a change in behaviour over the space of a couple of weeks we don't know whether to be worried!

I think if it's a sudden change then it definitely needs investigating .
I'd get her back to GP ,blood tests etc .
Good luck ,how lovely of you to care and not to write her off because of her age .

Did the gp change her medication and put her on something that is making her drowsy?