Senior Sunrise

Just as you were once totally dependent on your parents, so as they age, they will become increasingly dependent on you.  This can be a joy or an enormous burden.  Here are some ways to help them, without compromising your plans.

1. Walk in their shoes - The hopefully gradual physical decline of old age can be very depressing. Imagine what you’ll feel like when it happens to you.  It will help you understand how they feel.

2. Encourage experimenting - Older people focus too often on what’s no longer achievable. Get them to try new things you know are possible.

3. Agree to the ground rules. - If you don’t want them to ring you every evening for a chat, suggest a time and frequency you can both live with.

4. Accept the gifts - At times, old people seem desperate to give stuff away.  Accept their gifts but be prepareed to return them later if necessary.

5. Keep them moving - Even though the joints might creak and they can not longer run, it’s important to keep them mobile.

6. Don’t take bribes - You might like the idea of your parents buying you a big house so that you can all live together. After 20 years though, it might not be so much fun. 

7. Ignore emotional blackmail - It’s tough, but just because they wiped your bottom when you were a baby, you don’t need to nurse them when they’re old. Help out by all means, but don’t become a caregiver, unless that frms part of your own life plan. As their child they look to you for emotional support, as did for you when you were younger.

8. Hear it again - Old age is a time when favorite anecdotes and stories are shared time and time again.  You need to be patient and let them tell you the same stories again and again.

9. Answers to ultimate questions - Your again parents will be more aware of their own mortality than they have ever been before. Preparing for death   is a scary prospect; encourage them to explore their faith if they have one.

10. Lost some marbles - Remember that the brain fades in old age.  They might not understand how demanding they’re becoming. Remember, emotional support is needed in preparing for death

Whenever you hear about an elderly person that is neglected, exploited or abused, you really get mad at those people who take advantage of them.  Elderly abuse is not an unusual or uncommon occurrence.  It can happen in their own homes or in institutional homes where they are placed.  Even family members can be guilty of the crime.

Abuse can be seen in different ways.  One type is physical abuse where the elderly are inflicted physical pain by beating or hitting and causing physical injury.  There is emotional abuse and sexual abuse as well.  They can be exploited by spending their money, selling their assets and resources without their consent.  Any form of elderly abuse should be reported immediately.

Hospice is a special concept of care designed to provide comfort and support to patients and their families. Patients are referred to hospice when life expectancy is approximately six months or less. Hospice care can continue longer than six months if needed but requires physician certification. Here are some facts about hospice care:

• Hospice is not a place. Most hospice care takes place within the dying person’s home, whether it is his or her own home, the home of a family member or friend, a nursing or assisted living facility. Other options, if available from the provider, include a residential hospice facility or a hospice unit within a hospital.
• Hospice care neither prolongs life nor hastens death. Hospice staff and volunteers offer a specialized knowledge of medical care, including pain management.
• The goal of hospice care is to improve the quality of a patient’s last weeks, days and hours by offering comfort and dignity.
• Hospice care is provided by a team-oriented group of specially trained professionals (including as physicians, nurses, social workers, clergy), as well as volunteers and family members.
• Hospice addresses all symptoms of a disease, with a special emphasis on controlling a patient’s pain and discomfort.
• Hospice deals with the emotional, social and spiritual impact of the disease on the patient and the patient’s family and friends.
• Hospice offers a variety of bereavement and counseling services to families before and after a patient’s death.
• Hospice professionals make routine visits to the home, but family and/or friends are nearly always involved in care. Some families choose to hire additional services from private nursing agencies, which are typically not covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance.
• Hospices use trained volunteers to help with household chores and to give family caregivers respite time. For example, a volunteer can give the family caregiver a chance to run errands or simply take a walk or nap.
• If a patient’s condition improves during hospice care or if the patient desires, the patient can discontinue hospice care.

• Diet and supplements: The food you eat makes a big difference in your memory function. Certain high fat foods, such as grain-fed beef clog up your brain cells, while fish such as fresh frozen Alaskan salmon and some vegetables and fruit actually protect it.
• Stress Management: This is critically important, because, as we’ll see in future articles, chronic, unbalanced stress kills brain cells in the hippocampus, your brain’s memory center. The practice of regular relaxation techniques and social activity can help.
• Exercise: The latest research clearly shows the fundamental imperative of physical, mental, and mind/body exercise in maximizing your memory. Exercise may even grow new brain cells, recent research denotes.
• Anti-aging hormone replacement therapy. There may be a place for the artful replacement of certain hormones to help maintain not only optimal physical health, but brain health as well.
• Diet and supplements: The food you eat makes a big difference in your memory function. Certain high fat foods, such as grain-fed beef clog up your brain cells, while fish such as fresh frozen Alaskan salmon and some vegetables and fruit actually protect it.
• Stress Management: This is critically important, because, as we’ll see in future articles, chronic, unbalanced stress kills brain cells in the hippocampus, your brain’s memory center.
• Exercise: The latest research clearly shows the fundamental imperative of physical, mental, and mind/body exercise in maximizing your memory. Exercise may even grow new brain cells, recent research denotes.
• Anti-aging hormone replacement therapy. There may be a place for the artful replacement of certain hormones to help maintain not only optimal physical health, but brain health as well.

Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and oppressed. Preserve my life, for I am loyal; save your servant who trusts in you.   Listen, Lord, and answer me.

                                Listen, Lord, and answer me.

You are my God; pity me, Lord; to you I call all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant to you, Lord, I lift up my soul.        Listen, Lord and answer me.

Lord, you are kind and forgiving, most loving to all who call on you. Lord, hear my prayer; listen to my cry for help.             Listen, Lord and answer me.

Teach me, Lord, your way that I may walk in your truth, single-hearted and revering your name.

                                Listen, Lord and answer me.

I will praise you will all my heart, glorify your name forever, Lord my God. Your love for me is great; you have rescured me the the depths.

                                Listen, Lord and answer me.

Types of Dementia

When dementia is suspected the first step is to get a more accurate diagnosis of the type of dementia, so that appropriate treatments can be offered to the patient.

• Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia

• Other disorders that can lead to dementia include: Pick’s, Vascular, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Lewy Body, Frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson’s related dementia

• Infectious diseases such as HIV and AIDS, meningitis, advanced neurosyphilis can also lead to dementia.

• Dementia is also sometimes associated with drug abuse or toxins such as mercury, carbon monoxide and lead.

 A skilled physician will be able to diagnose the cause of Alzheimer’s-like symptoms with over 90% accuracy.

Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease

A diagnostic workup will include the following:

• A medical history. Medications history. This includes current medications and dosage, medications taken for passed medical conditions, any incidence of drug allergies or drug misuse.

• Neurological examination. An examination of the motor system (movement),  an evaluation of reflexes, coordination, and sensory functioning;  to detect problems with the nervous system that may be causing problems with thinking and behavior.

• Premorbid history. How someone functioned before the occurrence of disease.

• Complete physical examination to assess hearing, vision, blood pressure, pulse, and other basic indicators of health and disease.

• Preliminary evaluation of current mood.

Tests for Alzheimer’s Disease

There are numerous and different tests.

• Mental status examination. The (MSE) Mental Status Examination test in onne of the key diagnostic tests for dementias such as Alzheimer’s The doctor/clinician makes judgments on the way the patient is functioning in a number of key areas. Each aspect will contribute to a diagnosis. The MSE will  assess memory, concentration, and other cognitive skills. Based on a series of questions and tests, points are achieved when they are answered correctly.

• The Clock Test. This is a simple test can be used as a part of a neurological test or as a screening tool for Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.

• Laboratory tests usually include urine and blood tests to establish whether such things as diabetes, infections, heart disease are present.

• Imaging procedures such as a computed tomography (CT) scan, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or a positron emission tomography (PET) scan can identify changes in brain structure or size indicative of Alzheimer’s. These tests give a detailed picture of the brain and can see if someone has blood clots, tumors, has had a stroke or other abnormalities that might account for Alzheimer’s type symptoms.

Who Can Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease?

• The first person from who we seek help is a primary care physician (your family doctor), and they will be able to refer someone for further tests and consultations for an accurate diagnosis.

• There are many different health professionals who can diagnose or can contribute to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.  The choice of specialist depends on a number of factors that the individual is demonstrating. The recommendation from the primary care physician may be to recommend one or more of the following:

• A Gerontologist who specialize in the study and diseases of aging.

• A psychiatrist who specializes in mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

• A Neurologist- who specializes in diseases of the nervous system such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or strokes.

• A Neuropsychologist who specializes in brain-behavior relationships. They undertake neuropsychological testing to determine the type and level of impairment.

 

Twelve Steps for Caregivers

1. Although I cannot control the disease process, I need to remember I can control many aspects of how it affects my relative.

2. I need to take care of myself so that I can continue doing the things that are most important.

3. I need to simplify my lifestyle so that my time and energy are available for things that are really important at this time.

4. I need to cultivate the gift of allowing others to help me, because caring for my relative is too big a job to be done by one person.

5. I need to take one day at a time rather than worry about what may or may not happen in the future.

6. I need to structure my day because a consistent schedule makes life easier for me and my relative.

7. I need to have a sense of humor because laughter helps to put things in a more positive perspective.

8. I need to remember that my relative is not being difficult on purpose; rather that his/her behavior and emotions are distorted by the illness.

9. I need to focus on and enjoy what my relative can still do rather than constantly lament over what is gone.

10. I need to increasingly depend upon other relationships for love and support.

11. I need to frequently remind myself that I am doing the best that I can at this very moment.

12. I need to draw upon the Higher Power, which I believe is available to me.

Source: The American Journal of Alzheimer's Care and Related Disorders & Research, Nov/Dec 1989