Every one of us should have advanced directives as soon as our parents are no longer able to legally make medical decisions for us at the age of 18. Life is fickle and we never know what may happen. Yet, an article in NH Magazine by Karen A. Jamrog entitled, The Importance of Creating an Advanced Directive: If the worst happened, would your loved ones know what you would...
The Alzheimer’s Association has released new statistics for 2019 reporting that over 16 million Americans provide unpaid care to people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. These caregivers provide 18.5 billion hours of care valued at more than $234 billion. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance website, these caregivers are providing complex care, such as: Performing medical and nursing tasks Providing help with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as personal hygiene,...
Maria Montessori was one of Italy’s first female physicians. In 1907, she designed a new type of school program for challenging students who were thought of as unteachable. Most of these students came from poor backgrounds and lived in disordered, even dangerous environments outside of school. Montessori’s first step was to take them out of that environment and create a safe, secure, and tightly controlled environment that allowed...
Recommendation of the American Geriatrics Society: People with dementia often exhibit aggression, resistance to care and other challenging or disruptive behaviors. In such instances, antipsychotic medicines are often prescribed, but they provide limited and inconsistent benefits, while posing risks, including oversedation, cognitive worsening and increased likelihood of falls, strokes and mortality. Use of these drugs in patients with dementia should be limited to cases where non-pharmacologic measures have failed and patients pose an imminent threat...
When we discuss Alzheimer’s disease, so much of the focus is on how much our loved one will lose or has already lost. We talk about all the things they will no longer be able to do or the things they already can’t do themselves. Dementia is all about loss and pain and sadness. Or, is it? There is a growing movement to help people shift their attitude toward...
If you are 65 years old right now, you have a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services and support in your remaining years. Twenty percent of you who are in that 70% will need these services for longer than five years. Women, you are more at risk than men because you tend to live longer. These long-term care services may be provided in your...
It would seem logical that a person diagnosed with an incurable illness would become depressed. Reports indicate that clinically significant depression may occur in as many as 50% of people diagnosed with dementia. Dr. James M. Ellison, MD, MPH, of Swank Memory Care Center, Christiana Care Health System, notes that those recently diagnosed with a cognitive disorder may experience a “reactive depression” in response to the anticipation of...
How do you spend your time? Perhaps you enjoy shopping, going to the movies, or visiting friends and relatives. Maybe you have a hobby like woodworking, knitting, cooking, or art. You might choose to get physical, taking a walk or going for a swim. Or you may be a person who fills your time by volunteering, cleaning house, watching TV, or reading a book. A person with dementia...
Deciding When It’s Time, Letting Go of Guilt, Downsizing Dementia-related diseases can be exhausting, not only for the person with the disease, but also for their loved ones. As they slowly lose their ability to live independently the decision that it is time for them to move to a more supported living environment needs to be made. And, after that decision is made there is the move to consider....
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