MixedUpMess

I have not posted here in forever...

I would like to know if anyone has experienced this with the alcoholic in their life. My AH gets lost in our home at night. It happens when he gets out of bed to go to the bathroom at night. I noticed that it usually happens on the days when he's done really heavy drinking. He bumps into walls, furniture, knocks things over. He has no idea where is he. The worst part is he'lll run into something, then change direction, but it's still not the right direction and run into something else. All this usually wakes me up so I'll end up turning on the light, or getting up to point him in the right direction so that he doesn't fall over on me or just pee where he's standing.

When I ask him about it, he says he "can't see". ********. There are 2 alarm clocks in the room, plus light from the electronics attached to the tv as well as a little light from outside (street lamp, the moon, etc). Plus we've lived in this house for over 20 years so even if it's dark, I know which general direction to go in. I ended up putting a night light in the bathroom down the hall. Yes, a night light for a 50 year old man. He wants more light at night. Wants me to leave on the closet light or even the light in the hall way. I refuse. He can sleep with a flash light before I do that. I don't even like having the night light!

He also has these "dreaming while awake" episodes. One night, around 1 am he got up, turned on the bedroom light, and proceeded to fiddle with the tv and dvr. He said they weren't wired correctly and was afraid of a fire.

I am seeing more and more "late term" effects of alcoholism with him. I guess these are two more but was wondering if anyone else experienced this confusion such as not being able to find their way out of a room at night.

LexieCat

Yup, not unusual.

Several people here report their alcoholics not only getting lost, but peeing in inappropriate locations during these episodes.

Sounds pretty miserable for YOU. How long are you willing to tolerate it? Knowing it will only get worse?

GracieLou

Is there anyway that he may be sleep walking sometimes? I ask because I have in the past. My mother has seen me do it. I did it when I was a child as well. Whenever I am under a lot of stress it happens. One time I tried to vacuum the hallway.

I am not sure what the big deal is about a nite light. I have two in my hallway and one in the bathroom so I do not have to turn on any lights in the middle of the night. I mean I know my way around my house too but it is nice to have them and they have sensors so they only come on when it is dark.

I am not excusing any of his behavior. I am just thinking out loud I guess.

dandylion

Mixedupmess, this is not at all uncommon. There is also a sleep disorder (sleep walking), but requires a neurologist to diagnosis. A person can have both.

So--yes---this is common in alcoholism.

dandylion

mcaiwas

Yep, been there. With the walking AND the peeing, unfortunately!

MixedUpMess

GracieLou - it may seem petty to complain about night lights but there is already light 3 from electronic devices in the room, plus residual outside light, and a night light right down the hall. It's far from completely dark. I just can't sleep with a lot of light on!

I think it really comes down to the question LexieCat asked: How long am I willing to tolerate it.

Thanks for the replies.

m1k3

Wow, that was a bit of a trigger. I had forgotten completely those episodes of her banging around the room totally lost.

Your friend,

GracieLou

I was not suggesting it was petty and I am sorry if I came off that way. I was just curious really. My night lights do not shine in my bedroom at all so they do not bother me. I think a closet light or a hall light would though.

But you are right. How long are you going to tolerate it? I am an alcoholic that was married to an alcoholic, twice. I did not put up with either for long. It did not fix me or them but it still came down to the fact that I was not willing to put up with certain behaviors. At those times I was not a full blown alcoholic yet but when I get there I was alone so there was nobody to tell me of the nightly things I am sure I did. The dog and cat don't share those stories with me

Quish16

My AH gets confused in the night too and tries to open the wardrobe door instead of the bedroom door - this then lets the cats into my wardrobe! He also knocks the alarm clock off and wakes me up. Even worse, he was sleeping downstairs and must have forgotten when he wanted to go to the loo, that we had a bolt on the lounge door to stop the cats opening it - it was winter. He must have panicked and managed to remove part of the door - he hit it with a sword!!! I woke up at midnight to find him hitting the door frame.
I guess it is late stage alcohol abuse but it is quite scary. Hope it isn't disprupting your sleep too much.

Ripper

I've had to turn on a light or open the bedroom door and direct my my AH a few times, because he couldn`t find the door, he`d be stuck in the corner like Packman in a videogame.... and the next days he says he was just too sleepy, nothing more....really?

wolfpackfan45

I have a history of sleepwalking and sleep talking, as do both of my kids. My father and grandfather had a history of both too. The dreaming while awake episodes make me wonder if that's what he's doing. My daughter got up at 2AM, got dressed for school, walked out the door and stood at the bus stop while sleepwalking. She woke up when a car drove by. I walked out into the front yard once in my sleep. Also walked by my husband in my sleep, turned on the microwave and went back to bed. I hadn't been drinking though. If it's only happening after heavy drinking maybe he's in a blackout........

Florence

My AH used to "sleepwalk." It was very unsettling. Once he woke up and was standing in the middle of the road. Once he woke me up in bed yelling at me about putting the butter away.

It stopped when he stopped drinking, and started when he started again. Some wires in there got crossed or something, but it was scary for me.

LexieCat

Someone in a blackout would KNOW where he was and what he was doing. He just wouldn't remember it later.

Alcohol causes all kinds of disturbances to sleep. I believe what you are describing is a form of sleepwalking or acting out a dream. Some people have those episodes even without drinking, but if an alcoholic is doing it, it probably has to do with interrupting/messing with the sleep/dream cycles.

winnie1202

When my husband did this he smashed into furniture and framed pictures, cut himself. When he went to rehab I used the opportunity to clean off these surfaces.

sunnshinegirl

Very common with my STBXAH. It was definitely scary too.

DrSober

http://icmr.nic.in/ijmr/2010/february/0223.pdf

Alcohol is commonly known to induce sleep disorders. They call what's being discussed in this thread "confusional arousals."