Coping with Caregiver Stress

Alzheimer caregivers report that they frequently experience high levels of stress. Too much stress can be damaging to both a caregiver and the person with Alzheimer’s.

If you experience some of these signs of stress on a regular basis, consult your doctor. Ignoring them can cause your physical and mental health to decline.

Symptoms of caregiver stress

Denial

Anger

Social withdrawal

Anxiety

Depression

Exhaustion

Sleeplessness

Irritability

Lack of concentration

Health problems

Be a healthy caregiver

Taking care of yourself is one of the most important ways to be a healthy caregiver.

Know what resources are available. Adult day care, in-home assistance, visiting nurses and Meals-on-Wheels are just some of the services that can help you.

Become an educated caregiver. As the disease progresses, new caregiving skills are necessary. Find information on alz.org or contact your local Alzheimer’s Association.

Get help. You are not failing as a caregiver by asking others for assistance. Seek the support of family, friends and community resources. Alzheimer’s Association support group meetings are a good source of comfort and reassurance. Or you can join our online community.

Take care of yourself. Watch your diet, exercise and get plenty of rest. Make time for shopping, lunch with friends or even a golf outing. Take advantage of community services such as adult day care or in-home companion services to care for your loved one while you take a break.

Manage your stress level. Stress can cause physical problems and changes in behavior. If you experience symptoms of caregiver stress, use relaxation techniques that work for you, and consult your doctor.

Accept changes as they occur. People with Alzheimer’s change and so do their needs. They often require care beyond what you can provide on your own. Look into care services such as in-home caregiver services and residential care.

Do legal and financial planning. Consult an attorney to discuss legal, financial and care issues. If possible and appropriate, involve the person with Alzheimer’s and other family members.

Be realistic. Many of the behaviors that occur are beyond your control and the control of the person with Alzheimer’s. Grieve your losses, but also focus on the positive moments.

Give yourself credit, not guilt. You are doing the best you can. Don’t feel guilty because you can’t do more. Your loved one needs you, and you are there – that should make you feel proud.

Original content found HERE. http://www.alz.org/living_with_alzheimers_caregiver_stress_lwa.asp

‘Tough Love’ – Caregiving For Alzheimer’s Patients

It is an understatement to say that taking care of a loved one who is stricken with Alzheimer’s Disease, also known as ‘AD’, is a tough job.

(AD is an illness which results in the progressive loss of brain nerve cells, leading to a gradual decline of mental functions and is the most common cause of dementia).

AD is considered to be among the most stressful illness a family caregiver can face and one of the most physically and mentally exhausting situations in a person’s life.

Continue reading HERE.

Top 10 Ways to Celebrate National Family Caregivers Month 2009

There are many ways to celebrate family caregivers and to take action and communicate the important messages of NFC Month.

The following are ideas and guides to help you create a successful National Family Caregivers Month in your community:

1. Offer a few hours of respite time to a family caregiver so they spend time with friends, or simply relax.
2. Send a card of appreciation or a bouquet of flowers to brighten up a family caregiver’s day.
3. Encourage local businesses to offer a free service for family caregivers through the month of November.
4. Participate in the National Family Caregivers Association’s FREE national teleclass: Safe & Sound: How to Prevent Medication Mishaps The free one hour teleclass/webinar will be November 12 at 2 p.m. ET. For more information visit: www.thefamilycaregiver.org.
5. Help a family caregiver decorate their home for the holidays or offer to address envelopes for their holiday cards.
6. Offer comic relief! Purchase tickets to a local comedy club, give a family caregiver your favorite funny movie to view, or provide them an amusing audio book to listen to while doing their caregiving activities.
7. Find 12 different family photos and have a copy center create a monthly calendar that the family caregiver can use to keep track of appointments and events.
8. Offer to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for a caregiving family in your community, so they can just relax and enjoy the holiday.
9. A United States postage stamp honoring the more than 50 million family caregivers in America is officially “under consideration” by the U.S. Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee for introduction as early as 2011. Sign the petition at www.thefamilycaregiver.org and ask others to sign the petition letter.
10. Help a family caregiver find information and resources on the internet or to locate a local support group.

Original content can be found HERE.

Keeping diabetes in check between doctor visits

(ARA) – Americans are taking a closer look at their own personal health and assessing changes they can make, as the topic of health care remains front and center. More and more, people are paying attention to the cost of prevention and care for chronic illnesses such as diabetes, as they have a high risk for health complications.

Diabetes now affects nearly 24 million people in the United States, an increase of more than 3 million in approximately two years, according to 2007 prevalence data estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If not controlled, diabetes in particular can lead to serious health complications including heart disease, blindness and kidney failure. That’s why it is extremely important to manage the disease on a daily basis.

To stay healthy and avoid potential consequences, people with diabetes can take steps every day to manage the disease. In addition to eating a balanced diet and exercising, this also involves monitoring blood glucose levels each day and seeing their physician regularly to check in and monitor their A1C levels – a test that provides a two to three month indication of average of blood glucose.

Fortunately, medical advances have made it easier for people with chronic illnesses, like diabetes, to closely monitor their health and better manage the disease, along with their healthcare providers. For example, years ago, people with diabetes relied on laboratory obtained tests to get a clinical measure of their A1C levels – a process that required a wait time.

Now patients can, for the first time, test their A1C at-home and get results within five minutes with Bayer’s A1CNow(R) SELFCHECK in between regularly scheduled doctor visits. This allows them to take a more active role in their diabetes over the long term, like modifying their diet and exercise, and have an informed discussion with their healthcare provider based on the results.

By working with their doctors on appropriate disease management, patients may see a reduction of their A1C level and subsequently reduce their risk for complications associated with diabetes. A 1 percent point reduction in A1C can reduce the risk of serious complications by 40 percent.

The A1CNow SELFCHECK allows patients to further participate in their diabetes care by monitoring their A1C levels in between physician visits. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends performing an A1C test at least two times a year in patients who are meeting treatment goals and have stable glycemic control. The ADA recommends quarterly testing (four times a year) for patients whose therapy has changed or are not meeting glycemic goals.

Clinical research and advancements in technology are helping people with diabetes manage the chronic condition to achieve long-term success until a cure for the disease is found. People with diabetes are encouraged to visit www.SimpleWins.com for more information on the tools and resources that can help them properly manage the disease and invest in their health.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

If you need help for an aging senior, visit us at www.americarenorcal.com.

Here is a great article that I found by Senior Daily Living.  Visit us at www.americarenorcal.com if you need help for an aging loved one in the area.

“As we age, we naturally have difficulty remembering things or finding the right words to say. This is normal. However, Dementia is not normal. The condition causes mental changes that make it difficult to function and carry out our normal lives, not just remember names and dates.”

Continue reading HERE.

Here is a great article I found from Senior Daily Living.  If you need help for an aging senior in the Solano, Napa, Alameda, or Contra Costa County CA areas, visit www.americarenorcal.com.

“We are fortunate for the advances in western medicine. It seems like there is a medication for every possible ailment threatening senior citizens. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs can treat diseases, minimize symptoms, and contribute to a longer, healthier life.”

“However, medication cannot be “taken lightly”, and is a more complicated issue than just swallowing pills.”

Continue reading HERE. http://www.seniordailyliving.com/Articles/TopArticles/MasterYourMeds.html

Elderly Drivers: Stop or Go?

By Phyllis Staff, Ph.D.

Without so much as a tap on the brakes, my aunt whizzed through another stop sign.

“What are you doing?” I shrieked. “That was a stop sign.”

“Oh,” she replied rather offhandedly, “they just put those there so you’ll look before you go into an intersection.”

That was the day I stopped riding with my aunt but not the day she stopped driving. From then on, I had visions of an enormous pink Chevy leading a parade of cascading accidents. And I wasn’t far from wrong.

She drove with what she knew to be the utmost caution. . . .never exceeding 30 miles per hour, even on I35! She expected, even demanded that traffic would give way to her like the seas parted for Moses. Sometimes, it did. But mostly, driving with her was a harrowing experience with no end in sight.

So, when do the elderly become a menace on the roads? And, what can you do when they refuse to give up the keys? Here are a few suggestions I’ve found.

Causes for Concern

Poor Vision – Cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration can reduce visual acuity and limit visual fields, so a yearly eye exam is imperative for the elderly driver. Ask the doctor about driving, and don’t take the word of the elderly driver on the results of her exam.

Poor Hearing – Something as simple as a clogged ear passage can create a hearing loss. A doctor can identify the problem and offer solutions, so have elderly hearing checked yearly.

Poor Flexibility and Limited Range of Motion – Good drivers rely on looking out rear and side windows as well as checking rearview mirrors. When a driver lacks the ability to turn his head and shoulders to look outside, he may not see oncoming vehicles or obstacles traveling in the car’s blindspot.

Reduced Reaction Time – As we age, we slow down, and reaction times diminish. Keeping extra space between the driver’s and other cars can help reduce the likelihood of accidents, but there comes a time when reactions are too slow for road safety. Click here for a reaction time test that will show you graphically how far you travel after you see a red light!

How to Get (and Keep) the Keys

A few states, , require road tests for persons over 65 when their licenses are renewed. An additional sss states require vision tests with license renewals. Consider yourself fortunate if you live in one of these states because it may be that the state will refuse to renew the elder’s license. If you live elsewhere, here are a few tricks to try.

Talk with your Elder about the Convenience of Mass Transit – Many mass transit authorities have special services and special fares for the elderly and disabled. Check with your local transit authority. And talk with your elder about how nice it is to be able to enjoy the scenery while someone else does the driving.

Give Your Elder a Refresher Course – Not only will a refresher course improve road awareness, it may help your elder earn a discount on his car insurance. Courses and informative pamphlets are available from the AARP, AAA, and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. You’ll find links to these sites at the end of this article.

Report unsafe driving to your local Department of Public Safety. They may have additional help to offer you.

“Break” the Car – My teenagers unplugged a few vital wires when my father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, refused to relinquish the keys. We knew his cognitive ability was far too impaired for him to recognize the problem, and he was always comforted when we said we’d have the car repaired “soon.”

Remove the Keys – Distract your elder from finding “lost” keys by offering an immediate alternative way to go somewhere. While this may be the most unpleasant way to stop your elder from driving, remember that you are not only protecting him but all the rest of us as well.

And what happened to my aunt? She got a ticket from a wonderful traffic officer whom we all blessed on a daily basis! Fearing the loss of her auto insurance, she voluntarily gave up driving.

Web Resources

Driving Safely While Aging Gracefully is a free booklet you can read online.

AARP offers a refresher course for elderly drivers as well as a number of other helpful resources. See their site at http://www.aarp.org/55alive/.

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has a terrific new site, http://www.SeniorDrivers.org, that you shouldn’t miss if you’re a senior driver or have a senior driver in your family. Exercises, examples of perceptual loss due to aging, emergency tips, and much, much more – all free. Please don’t miss it!

For more in depth information on elderly drivers, see the OLR research report.

Article Source: http://myeldercarearticles.com

About The Author Phyllis Staff, Ph.D. – Phyllis Staff is an experimental psychologist and the CEO of The Best Is Yet.Net, an internet company that helps seniors and caregivers find trustworthy residential care. She is the author of How to Find Great Senior Housing: A Roadmap for Elders and Those Who Love Them. She is also the daughter of a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. Visit the author’s web site at http://www.AlzheimersFree.comwww.AlzheimersFree.com.

“Diabetes impairs the health and well-being of 16 million people in the United States, and senior citizens run a particular risk. Due to already existent challenges to their health and lifestyle, it is more difficult to diagnose seniors with diabetes. Often other illnesses can mask diabetic symptoms.”

“Seniors with diabetes run a greater risk of complications like heart disease, stroke, loss of limbs from poor circulation, kidney disease and even blindness.”

Continue reading HERE.

Study Suggests Hairstylists Can Help Identify Senior Citizens in Need of Health Services

‘Hair stylists are in a great position to notice when their older clients are starting to suffer from depression, dementia, or self-neglect’

By Jeff Grabmeier

Hairstylists may have a unique opportunity to help steer their elderly clients to needed health services, according to a small, exploratory study.  Continue reading HERE.

Here is a great article from Senior Daily Living.  Visit us at www.americarenorcal.com if you need help with an aging loved one in the Solano, Napa, Alameda, or Contra Costa County areas.

Pets are healers.  The blind love and affection that animals can bring to their owners is like therapy.  They are friends, companions, and a three-ring circus-act all wrapped up in one.   Needing to take responsibility for another life brings meaning to one’s own life, and keeps one active and useful.  Continue reading HERE.