wakes up scared

[meemaw149]

my father can not sleep he wakes up and does not know where he is, when he lays flat down in the bed he says the walls looks like the floor and dont know why there are door handles on the floor things are all out of place for him then he gets scared, and that makes it worse. he can fall asleep in the day time in a recliner and it does not bother him, he leaves a light on at night but it does not help. we dont know if he is scared of dying in his sleep at nite and he gets scared he says no but we can't figure this out any help to try to figure it out would be great.

[mammo]

Good question, Ambien has even more side effects on the elderly, and what he is enduring fits.

[AJRC323]

Does he take Ambien?

[mammo]

I agree, for this to only happen when he lies flat warrants a doctor's visits.  At first I thought it might be night terrors which I had at one time, and you do wake up very scared and disoriented, but this is a little different and I think it would happen regardless of how he slept.  Do keep us posted.  

[RubyWitch]

This one has me stumped! The fact that this apparently only happens when he lays flat makes me wonder if it isn't some kind of inner ear problem? Has he tried sleeping in his recliner at night to see if that helps? It does sound like laying flat causes some disorientation, and that would cause some concern for me.
You could try having him sleep in the recliner for a few nights, or you could try elevating the head of his bed at least 30 degrees. If neither of those things brings any relief, I would say it's time to get your dad to the doctor for a good physical.
Let us know how things work out, OK?
Peace
Greenlydia