Minding Our Elders®

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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Dr. Travis Stork from “The Doctors” talks about heart health, with tips for caregivers

February is Heart Health Month. With this in mind, Dr. Travis Stork, co-host of the award winning talk show The Doctors, generously donated some time for a small conference call that allowed four writers to ask specific 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.

Read more about Dr. Travis Stork's advice on heart health for caregivers and their elders: 

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Studies indicate lack of oxygen to the brain could be behind many cases of Alzheimer’s

Why some elders develop Alzheimer’s disease and others do not remains a medical puzzle, but researchers are coming closer to understanding the process. An article on The Alzheimer’s Forum website reports on the results of two new human studies connecting loss of oxygen to the brain with Alzheimer’s.

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Have we made progress with Alzheimer’s management and treatment?

A recent Huffington Post article on what we’ve learned about Alzheimer’s disease during the last 30 years caught my eye because it’s easy to think there’s been no progress. We can’t reliably prevent the disease, though lifestyle seems to work into the prevention strategy for many health ills. We can’t cure the disease, though we have some medications available that can slow the progression of cognitive decline in some individuals. So where is the progress?

Read more about the progress made in treating Alzheimer's:

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B12 should always be checked when Alzheimer’s symptoms are suspected

Decades ago, my grandmother received monthly vitamin B12 shots from the home health nurse. It was common knowledge, even then, that as people age they don't absorb vitamin B12 well. Low B12 levels can cause pernicious anemia, which was my grandmother's problem. However, low B12 levels can cause many other illnesses, as well.

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Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt fights Alzheimer’s by creating foundation

Hall of Fame basketball coach Pat Summitt has found a way to put the perfect spin on National Alzheimer's Awareness Month. She, along with her son Tyler, has created a foundation that will offer grants to nonprofit organizations that research Alzheimer's.

Read more about Pat Summitt's work to help raise funds for Alzheimer's research:

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Mood, cognitive ability improve in people with dementia after cataract surgery

After reading a report – the first of its kind – on how cataract surgery can benefit people with Alzheimer's disease, I wrestled with some personal guilt. My dad didn’t have AD, but he did have dementia induced by a failed brain surgery. Before his surgery, Dad’s sight was poor at best. The fact that he also had cataracts was known, but after the brain surgery threw him into severe dementia, his cataracts became a minor problem. Or so the doctors thought.

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Pat Summitt interview on ABC News' 20/20 airs tonight

Basketball legend Pat Summitt reported her Alzheimer’s diagnosis last August to the public nearly as soon as she knew she had the disease. Summitt, who has 1,000+ career wins, 15 SEC championships, 8 national championships and an unrelenting, competitive spirit, has treated her diagnosis as another challenge.

Read more about Pat Summitt's upcoming interview on 20/20:

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National Alzheimer's Awareness Month affects each of us in some way

Every month brings us an "awareness month" of some type. September was World Alzheimer's Awareness Month. October was, among other things, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Now, November is here. November is National Caregivers Month, National Hospice and Palliative Care Month and of course, National Alzheimer's Awareness Month.

All of these "awareness" months can a similar effect that too many tornado warnings can have. At first people get excited, but eventually they can become jaded by the unremitting call to take action, and the whole idea of increasing support for good causes can backfire.

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November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month: encourage research and holistic thinking

Sometimes it’s easy to feel that despite all the hype about Alzheimer’s research, there is still little progress. Study results showing some promise of prevention or cure are publicized, only to be countered later by information that advanced studies contradict the first results. Meanwhile, people at risk for dementia of the Alzheimer’s type – pretty much all of us as we age – wonder, “What can I do to prevent AD?” “Will there be a cure if I begin to show symptoms?”

Read more about research for AD and how it is moving forward:

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Intentional aging-in-place communities support elders’ ability to make choices

No matter how small the adjustments we need to make in our lives are, most of us like to be presented with options from which we can choose. Even if the choices presented aren’t exactly what we’d like, if we can make conscious choices we generally feel better about our fate. That is why intentional aging communities, sometimes called aging-in-place communities, are flourishing in some fortunate parts of the country. Other types of more loosely organized communities that offer services to people as they age are also gaining favor. 

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Medicare open enrollment earlier this year

Dear Readers: Around September 30, those of you on Medicare will receive information about a change in the Medicare annual open enrollment dates. Open enrollment is when you can make changes in the plans and providers you’ve chosen for your Medicare D prescription drug coverage, your supplemental plan and Medicare Advantage if you’ve chosen that option.

Under a provision of the Affordable Care Act, the Medicare annual open enrollment period this year changes to Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. If the companies you’ve chosen as providers or the plans you’ve chosen are no longer the best fit for you, you may change without a penalty. If you are happy with your plans and the providers you won’t have to do a thing.

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Online puzzle competition for Alzheimer's awareness and cash prizes

I received a press release from the Alzheimer's Foundation of American announcing their crossword challenge beginning today. The release begins:

NEW YORK, NEW YORK—The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is calling on crossword buffs, novices up for a challenge and others in between to participate in its inaugural National Brain Game Challenge, an online game of skill created by one of the nation’s most admired puzzle masters.

    For the National Brain Game Challenge, Merl Reagle, whose popular Sunday crossword is syndicated in 50 newspapers across the country, has crafted a series of challenging, fresh-themed puzzles that lead to a single solution.

    Players pay a $25 registration fee, which will give them online access to the puzzles on September 25 at exactly 3 p.m. ET. The contest ends September 27, and AFA will announce the winners the following day. Up for grabs: a $5,000 grand prize and other prizes. 

To register and for more information, visit www.alzfdn.org

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Alzheimer’s Association urges people to wear purple for World Alzheimer’s Day

The Alzheimer’s Association is highlighting World Alzheimer’s Day by asking everyone to wear purple Wednesday, Sept. 21. Purple is the worldwide color designated for Alzheimer’s awareness. From the Alzheimer’s Association site, you can change your Facebook icon to an Alzheimer's awareness graphic or purchase awareness products. You can also join sponsored walks to raise both money and awareness. If you are inclined to become locally active, you can coordinate your own Alzheimer’s fundraiser by joining forces with your local Alzheimer’s organization.

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Why does an early diagnosis matter if you have Alzheimer's?

It's human to want to avoid bad news. When the bad news may be that you or a loved one has an incurable disease, especially Alzheimer's, people often say they'd rather not know. But these days, there are medications that can be prescribed in the early stages of the disease that help many people put off the worst symptoms for months or even years. Denial and avoidance are not advised when dementia is suspected.

Read more about the benefits of an early diagnosis with AD:

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Pilot study shows that nasal insulin may slow or even stop the progression of AD

Previously, I wrote a post about a researcher in Scotland who was studying the link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s and realized anti-diabetes drugs could play a vital role in treating Alzheimer’s. The professor, Susan Schweiger is now studying Metformin–a popular diabetes-treating drug–to see if it has any success in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s.

Read more about nasal insulin treatment for Alzheimer's:

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Rubin Museum in New York joins in sharing arts with people who have Alzheimer’s

A growing movement toward enriching the lives of people with Alzheimer’s has become a goal for major arts establishments around the country. No longer is a tour of people from a nursing home something a museum would “work around.” Now, actively seeking ways to demonstrate that the arts can enrich the lives of people with Alzheimer’s, organizations such as the Lookingglasstheater in Chicago, and the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, are showing the world that people with Alzheimer’s disease are “still here.

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Since you asked: how the column works

Dear Readers: Since many of you ask about my selection process with readers questions, here's how the column works. Minding Our Elders must be kept to a fairly tight number of words to fit the space on the newspaper page. The column needs to stay within a specific word count. This, of course, limits the length of the printed questions and the depth of the answer. Many original questions, as written, would fill the space without leaving room for an answer.

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Over medicating can worsen symptoms of dementia

Dear Carol: My mom has late stage Alzheimer’s disease. Her doctor took her off the medications for slowing AD in June, then prescribed Ativan for anxiety. At first we saw some improvement in her behavior, but it didn’t last long, so he added the antipsychotic medication Haldol. Haldol made Mom drugged and sleepy, but worse, it caused hallucinations when she was awake. The doctor’s answer to that problem was to increase the dosage. She then could no longer walk, talk or swallow. She also developed a urinary tract infection and was hospitalized.

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Pets Can Be Therapeutic For the Aging Population

Numerous studies have shown that pets can increase the quality of life for our aging population. The unconditional love of a dog or the soft purring of a snuggly cat can be helpful for many people, even in later stages of dementia. Many nursing homes, notably those based on The Eden Alternative, have found animals including dogs, cats and birds, along with plants and other natural surroundings, to be soothing and beneficial to people in nursing homes. My personal experience with several of my elders showed me that pets can make a difference.

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