Fall Prevention by the Numbers part 1

The single best tip sheet for Alzheimer’s Caregivers

The single best tip sheet for Alzheimer’s Caregivers was produced by the National Family Caregivers Association

 Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease can be a full-time job, but often it is also one of the most rewarding. In every job, there are stresses that can affect performance. Sometimes, the best advice for family caregivers comes from those who have walked the path before you. After listening to 674 Alzheimer’s disease family caregivers who participated in a 2011 national survey, NFCA selected the following tips that may help you navigate life as a caregiver.

Improve Communication

With Your Loved One

• ·     Talk slowly and speak in a calm and reassuring tone. Maintain eye contact and use positive reinforcements, such as a smile or gentle touch, to put your loved one at ease.
• ·     Remember to ask one question at a time. Try using signals, such as gestures, in addition to your words, to start communication.
• ·     Although it may be frustrating, be sure to allow your loved one to communicate their thoughts—be careful not to interrupt, criticize, or correct too quickly.

With the Doctor

• ·     Before you go to a doctor’s appointment, write down your questions and the thoughts you want to share. Daily records of your loved one’s ability to function independently, both mentally and physically, can be helpful at these meetings.

• ·     Try to set aside any frustration stemming from your situation with Alzheimer’s disease. Recognize that your doctor may not have answers to all of your questions, but he/she is there to support you.
• ·     Familiarize yourself and your loved one with the doctor’s staff and office, so your loved one feels safe there.

 With Family, Friends and Other Support Networks

• ·     Your family, friends, and neighbors may not know what you are going through. If you do not feel comfortable discussing your loved one’s condition with others, ask another family member, or perhaps a member of your faith community, to talk about it on your behalf. You do not have to do this alone!
• ·     Teach others how to communicate with your loved one. Share tips you have learned and methods that work best.
  • ·     Speak up for the rights of all family caregivers in your community by talking about the need for education, financial support, and better illness care.

Take Care of Yourself

• ·     Believe in yourself, trust your instincts, and let your inner voice guide your decision making.
• ·     Protect your health. Recognize that taking care of yourself is just as important as taking care of your loved one.
  • ·     Caregiving is mentally, emotionally, and physically draining. If you feel your own health and well-being are suffering as a result, be sure to talk to your doctor.
  • ·     Schedule brief periods of rest or breaks often. Respite is not a luxury. You need regular breaks in order to stay healthy and strong.
  • ·     Join a support group. It can be a safe haven for sharing feelings, a place to make new friends and a place to receive information and resources on how to deal with what lies ahead.

Ask for Help

• ·     Recognize that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Get comfortable with the idea of talking about your need for assistance and reach out to someone you trust for help.
• ·     Recognize your own strengths and limitations to help assess when you need assistance.
• ·     Create a list of tasks that need to get done.
  • ·     Hold family meetings to review the needs of your loved one and divide the responsibilities. Reviewing individual responsibilities is a good way to engage others to share the burden of caregiving.

The survey referenced was conducted online by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications, on behalf of the

National Family Caregivers Association and Forest Laboratories, Inc.

How To Prepare For A Doctor's Visit

OBTAINING GOOD HEALTHCARE & INFORMATION

Communicating with Your Loved One's Healthcare Team

You can make a difference in your loved one’s health. It just takes a little effort and time.

How Can You Prepare Before Each Medical Visit?	How Can My HealtheVet Help You?
How Do You Involve Yourself During Each Medical Visit?	Remember
What Questions Should You Ask?	More Resources

How Can You Prepare Before Each Medical Visit?

To prepare before each medical visit:

• Make a list of questions. Put the most important questions first.
• Describe the problem or symptom on paper. Note when each symptom occurs, how long it lasts, and what makes it better or worse.
• Write down changes in your loved one’s diet, mood and behavior.
• Bring stroke information you learned from friends, the media or on My HealtheVet and the Internet.
• Bring a list of all your loved one’s medicines. Include vitamins and over-the-counter medicines. Bring results of tests and reports of visits to non-VA medical offices.

How Do You Involve Yourself During Each Medical Visit?

Communicating with your healthcare team isn’t always easy. Show interest in your loved one’s health. You’ll be surprised with the results.

• If possible, let your loved one take the lead.
• Update the provider on your loved one’s health changes. Tell the provider if treatments or medicines are not working.
• Take notes.
• Bring up any point the healthcare provider did not cover.

Use Your Time with Your Healthcare Team Wisely

Providers only have a short time to talk. Remember to do the following:

• Talk about the most important concerns first.
• Be brief and stick to the point.

What Questions Should You Ask?

Ask the provider to explain anything you don’t understand.

• Ask the provider about the survivor’s diagnoses and what to expect.
• Find out different choices for treatments.
• Find out why tests are being done.
• Ask why your loved one is taking each medicine.
• Talk about local stroke support groups and other resources in your area.

Make Sure You Understand the Provider

• Repeat instructions or treatment information. Ask if you understood correctly.
• Call the provider’s office later if you are unclear.
• Ask pharmacists questions about medicines.

Contact your healthcare team with new problems and adverse effects from medicines. Your healthcare team wants to know right away about new symptoms.

How Can My HealtheVet Help You?

Ask a VA staff person to show you how to use My HealtheVet. With just a few clicks on My HealtheVet (www.myhealth.va.gov) you can keep track of personal health information. For example, you can record blood pressure readings and daily weights. You can find handy tools to record medicines and lab test results. Print and bring this information to visits with the healthcare team.

Remember

• Make a list of questions to ask the healthcare team.
• Use your time wisely on each medical visit. Stick to the point.
• Be sure you understand what the provider tells you.
  

More Resources

The following resources are related to this fact sheet only. View a full list of the resources from all RESCUE fact sheets.

My HealtheVet Web: www.myhealth.va.gov My HealtheVet (MHV) provides trusted information on stroke and other health conditions. It also provides resources for stroke caregivers and tools to track your loved one’s health. Visit the My HealtheVet Caregiver Assistance Center for more information on caregiving.
National Institute on Aging (NIA) Web: www.nia.nih.gov* Phone:  1-800-222-4225  The National Institute on Aging has guides on obtaining good healthcare and information. Information also available in Spanish. Read their fact sheet on "Talking with Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People"*

Need Cash For Caregiver (seen on freeway on-ramp)

The cost of health care is undeniably high. Most people that don’t provide care think of health care costs as the money that Medicare and Medicaid provide. But the real struggle with these costs is not what the government pays (ultimately out of our taxes), but the out-of-pocket expenses the we caregivers have to shell out of our own pockets. That’s the piece that hurts us every month when we are buying the groceries and filling up the gas tank.
Well, some caregivers have found a creative solution to the problem. The internet!
That’s right, now there are websites that you can go to where seriously kind-hearted people will help you out directly. One site that got some attention in the news recently is www.youcaregiving.com Listen to this, your story may be similar to Vicki’s. Vicki, a 52 year old from Chicago was traveling 400 miles to get treatment for a heart defect with only $200 to her name when a friend recommended she try www.youcaregiving.com and by the time she got out of the hospital she learned that friends, family and even complete strangers had donated over $1,000 towards her medical bills. Over the next few months she pulled together $7,000 more.
But there are other online fundraising websites: www.giveforward.com and www.Fundly.com It’s called crowdfunding, and it might just be your salvation.
Word of caution however, if you are going to try one of these websites, please check the rules. Some charge a large percentage and others will not release funds until your requested amount is reached.
Ultimately, my sincerest wish is that you never need it. Hopefully, you are on the other end of the spectrum, a potential doner. Interestingly, about 1 in 4 people that donate are over 50, while the those that are on the receiving end represent a slightly larger percentage overall.
* If you want to stay current on news like this, please come to Facebook.com and take a peek at the Dementia Care Secrets fanpage.

How many years does smoking cost you - exactly?

Great little calculator. use it for yourself or with a loved one.

Cool Little Smoking Calculator

and come visit us on facebook at:

FACEBOOK: Dementia Care Secrets

FREE MONEY! - SERIOUSY...free. no kidding

Are you one of the millions of American's that bought those Sketcher 'shape ups'? Well they lost a class action lawsuit and have to refund $40 million.  For you piece of the pie go here: http://www.skecherssettlement.com/

Its on the honor system, you don't need a receipt.

But if you get 30 or 40 bucks because of this can you do me a favor? Go to my friends facebook page and 'like' it. 

DementiaCareSecrets

Ever go into a room and forget why?

EVER GO INTO A ROOM AND FORGET WHY?

We all forget, and as we age we start to worry.  Am I getting "it"?  Well here's a reason not to worry so much. A recent study from the University of Notre Dame finds that  doorways serve as "event boundaries." ?When you walk through a doorway from one room to another, your mind processes a new event, making what you were thinking about slip your mind, says study author Gabriel Radvansky, PhD.  -- Prevention Magazine April 2012.
Whew, now if I can remember what I was going to do this information once I wrote I down???

MAYBE YOU WERE WONDERING WHAT TO FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Are you getting close to retirement? Maybe you are just tired of doing the same job for 20 years? Well, many middle aged adults are are finding new careers. A good resource for ideas is A new book by author Patricia Cohen called "In Our Prime: The Invention of Middle Age". Perhaps you have been away from you career for a few years as a caregiver?  Two place that you go to find more information is encore.com and idealist.org.
-- source Prevention April 2012