Minding Our Elders®

Drug free management of sundowning in people with Alzheimer's

Sundowning, sometimes called Sundown Syndrome, is the label given to late day anxiety, irritability, disorientation and general agitation in people with Alzheimer’s. Sundowning frustrates home caregivers and professional care staff alike, as they often feel completely unable to comfort the person affected.

Researchers and care staff alike are looking for answers. One nursing home in particular has made some dramatic changes in end-of-day care, resulting in a major reduction in the need to medicate residents for late day anxiety. Home caregivers can learn from their work, as well.

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When siblings are more interested in the inheritance than good elder care

Ah, siblings. Some are a joy. Some are helping the primary caregiver, as you struggle to find the right balance of care for your elderly parents. Some siblings don't help with caregiving at all. And some, maybe more than we'd like to admit, have a less than admirable motive for their comments.  Some don't want Mom to have outside care, because outside care is expensive. And outside care will quickly eat up their parents' hard-earned money – the money the family was to inherit.

Read more about siblings who'd rather inherit money than spend it on their parents:

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Should we tell a parent with dementia that their spouse has died?

My struggle began as we finally were able to get my suffering father into hospice care. I'd fought doctors for quite awhile, with the help of the nurses in the nursing home who knew him well, to get him better pain relief. The attitude of the doctor, who viewed his chart, was that he slept a lot, so he wasn't in that much pain.

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Dr. Travis Stork interviewed about heart health

 

 

Dear Readers: February is Heart Health Month. With this in mind, Dr. Travis Stork, co-host of the award winning talk show “The Doctors,” agreed to a telephone interview with four writers, so he could answer our questions about heart health. Dr. Stork is a practicing ER doctor and faculty physician in the emergency department at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. 

When asked for one important change that he would suggest people make in their daily routine, Dr. Stork replied without hesitation, “walk at least 30 minutes a day.” He considers exercise one of the most important routes to good health.

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Try not to shut out your distance siblings when you are the primary caregiver

...the adult child living closest to the parents may not be the one who is best suited emotionally, financially or practically, for the job. This person may be a single mother trying desperately to take care of children and provide them with a living by working two low paying jobs. Then she takes on the parents, as they live in the same town. She is, understandably, overwhelmed.

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When short-term caregiving turns into long-term care

It may sound selfish to some, but to caregivers who dove into caregiving with full hearts and no planning, then ended up sustaining this life-altering mode for months and often years, it's a perfectly rational question. People put their lives, as they are living them, on hold in order to care for others. That's good. But when "hold" becomes the new norm, there's a mental adjustment to go through. And sometimes that includes dealing with resentment.

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8 tips that can help caregiver burnout

During those heavy years, I didn't exercise like I did when my kids were young. I ate junk food. I was too tired to care. None of this was good. My sister teases me that I now preach about what I didn't do. And she's right. I didn't take care of myself very well.

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Adult grandchildren caring for their aging grandparents: how to cope?

Whatever the reason that caregiving begins, I hear from a number of young adults who are trying to care for one or more grandparents. Most of them love their grandparent dearly, but they often come up against obstacles that are quite overwhelming for people so young.

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Study shows cancer drug could reverse symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

A skin cancer drug that has been available for nearly 13 years could be the new Alzheimer’s hero. A study using genetically engineered mice showed that bexarotene (Targretin) reversed Alzheimer’s symptoms in mice by eliminating brain-damaging proteins.

Read more about existing drug that may reverse Alzheimer's symptoms:

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Dr. Travis Stork of “The Doctors” gives advice on heart health

During a recent telephone interview, Dr. Travis Stork honored February, which is Heart Health Month, by focusing on what we can most easily do to maintain a healthy heart. Dr. Stork is co-host of the award-winning television show "The Doctors." Dr. Stork stressed exercise. He is a strong believer in patient empowerment... 

Read more about Dr. Travis Stork's advice on heart health and caregiving:

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How do we address Valentine’s Day for a surviving parent?

Dear Carol: My father died a month ago and I’m worried about how to handle Valentine’s Day for my mother. My parents had a good marriage and had always made Valentine’s Day special for each other. I’ve thought about just ignoring it, and sometimes I think Mom would prefer that. However, other times I think that maybe we should do something to honor Dad’s memory and their marriage. How do people handle these times? – Jennifer

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Deciding whether surgery is a good option for an elder can be tricky

This is a subject close to my heart, as my dad had surgery to relieve pressure from fluid on the brain due to an old World War II injury. A shunt was put into dad's brain to drain excess fluid. This type of surgery is not uncommon and is generally successful. Dad went into surgery a little fuzzy from the fluid, but still very much himself. A day after the surgery, he fell into a hellish dementia from which he never recovered until death took him a decade later.

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When siblings don't agree on parent care

Even in seemingly harmonious families, the person who slowly became a default caregiver can start to feel resentful. The out-of-town siblings can conveniently slide into denial. They aren't around to see how much help is needed. They see Mom and Dad occasionally, talk to them on the phone, and all seems well. The fact that you, the in-town sibling, are the reason everything is going so smoothly doesn't really register with them.

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Getting a handle on caregiver guilt

Guilt has a purpose in life. If we are mean, we should feel guilty. If we owe someone an apology, we should be big enough to do so. But guilt is a complicated emotion. We take on the expectations of our culture, our religion, our family. And then we take on the expectations of our toughest critic – ourselves. That committee that meets in our head tells us we are not doing this caregiving thing well enough. If we were "good" people, we'd just keep answering the phone endlessly until Mom found something else to do.

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New studies reveal knowledge about the path Alzheimer’s disease may follow

Recent news that the path Alzheimer’s disease travels in the brain may finally have been nailed down has created a lot of excitement. Researchers believe this discovery may lead to a new direction in developing a way to prevent or cure the disease. A New York Times article reports on two independent studies, both of which concluded that Alzheimer’s disease seems to spread like a viral or bacterial infection by a “distorted protein known as Tau.” These studies were done on mice.

Read more about the new discovery on how Alzheimer's spreads in the brain:

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Help your kids cope with grandparent's dementia

Children can be frightened by the changes in the grandparent who was once gentle and loving, but could now have become cranky and occasionally downright mean and abusive. How we, as parents, handle the changes in our own parents can affect how well our children handle the changes. But each child is different and each set of circumstances is different. So where to you start when it's time to explain?

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Nursing homes are changing to accommodate two generations of elders

The young seniors who are now edging their way into the nursing homes are a generation who just missed being baby boomers (some are actually boomers, but may need nursing care at a younger age because of a stroke, MS or other ill health). This generation remembers sitting around a giant radio, often the centerpiece of the living room, listening to The Lone Ranger. Then later actually viewing the show in their homes on a huge television set with a small, round screen.

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Wife struggles to care for husband with early on-set Alzheimer’s

Dear Carol: My husband developed Alzheimer’s disease at 46. I’ve cared for him on my own for three years, while also running the business we started years ago. I can’t leave my husband at home for long so I frequently have to leave work to check on him. This is affecting my ability to do my work well. I’ve tried hiring in-home care and that helped, but I still worry if they will show up, or if someone is late in the morning, then I will be late to my business. I also don’t feel he gets much mental stimulation at home. I’m exhausted when I do get home, since I need to get up very early to take care of his needs, and when I get home he needs more care. I love my husband dearly and don’t want to feel like I’m giving up on him, but I can’t continue this way, either. What are my options?  - Emma

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Geriatric care managers boon to distance caregivers

The profession of geriatric care coordinator or manager - they go by various names - is a profession that has evolved out of an obvious need. There are legions of harried caregivers, social workers and nurses have a front row view into what a caregiver's life is like. Some of these professionals came to believe that maybe they could make a profession out of helping these caregivers. These entrepreneurs hung out their shingles and a profession was born.

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What to do if you are worried about the care in a nursing home

...That is something I still regret. I don't regret my vigilance. I do regret not going through proper channels. As it worked out, this man became one of the best aides in the home, and I can't tell you what his care for my mother meant to me after Dad died and I had to handle all of the logistics, plus the emotions, and my mother's upset. 

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