Internet Series “Ruth and Erica” Focuses on Family Dynamics and Alzheimer’s

Internet Series “Ruth and Erica” Focuses on Family Dynamics and Alzheimer’s

“Ruth & Erica” launched this week on the YouTube Internet channel WIGS, which, according to the press release, is now the most popular channel for scripted drama on YouTube. The show portrays the dynamics of a family facing the challenges that often accompany aging and ill health. read more..

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The “Hidden” Costs When We Quit our Jobs to Care for Our Loved Ones

I don’t need a study to tell me that leaving the workforce to become a family caregiver has cost me, financially. All I have to do is look my puny projected Social Security. Over two decades of my adult “productive” years have been spent caring for elders and children while not working at paid employment. read more..

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Caregivers Coping with Criticism from the from the Care Receiver

Each care situation was different. I started with an aged neighbor, then moved on to a childless aunt and uncle, my in-laws and eventually my parents. All of them appreciated me. However they each had moments when, because of their own misery, they’d lash out at me in some way. read more..

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Hospice Care

Palliative and Hospice Care at the End of Life

...For weeks, each time I walked into Dad's room in the nursing home, he'd be rigid in bed, up on one elbow and slamming his fist against his hand. Pow! Pow! Pow! Over and over, he pounded fist against hand. I'd try to get him to relax; to lie back. He couldn't comprehend. Pow! Pow! Pow! He was trying to knock out the pain. read more..

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Pecking Order-Caregiving-Decisions-Siblings

Only Children Vs. Sharing Decisions With Siblings – Which is Easier?

In the world of caregiving, sibling issues abound. Any problems that were around when you were growing up will likely turn up again, as your parents age. The pecking order rarely changes. The "girl" work and the "boy" work rarely changes. There are exceptions, of course. read more..

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Caregiver

Caregiving: What Would You Do Differently if You Were to Start Over?

As a seasoned caregiver of multiple elders, I can choose to torture myself with my perceived failures at being a perfect caregiver, or I can choose to forgive myself for being imperfect, and recognize that I did the best I could at the time. You have the same choice. read more..

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Don't feel guilty if you want a second opinion

Don't feel guilty if you want a second opinion

...Whatever the case, we do have the right to question a doctor's advice or diagnosis, ask for an explanation, and if we aren't satisfied, look for a second opinion. But the issue becomes more complicated when we question a life-long family doctor that our elders trust. read more..

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Medication Reactions-Friends And Family-Dementia Symptoms

When the Caregiver Shows Symptoms of Dementia

...If you find yourself exhibiting disturbing symptoms that you notice yourself, or friends and family gently bring up to you, don't immediately decide that you, too, have dementia. Other issues that can make you feel as though you are having dementia symptoms are medication reactions or interactions, infections and lack of sleep. read more..

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Medication Reactions-Friends And Family-Dementia Symptoms

When the caregiver develops dementia

If you find yourself exhibiting disturbing symptoms that you notice yourself, or friends and family gently bring up to you, don't immediately decide that you, too, have dementia. Other issues that can make you feel as though you are having dementia symptoms are medication reactions or interactions, infections and lack of sleep. read more..

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The Latest Headlines-Grandparents-Bone Density-Alzheimer

Coping with criticism from your loved one

Caregivers frequently turn their lives inside out in order to care for their loved ones in decline. I know, because I've done it. The number of elders who depended on my help increased throughout the years, to a total of seven, though the most I cared for at one time was five. I also had two children and work part time writing as a freelancer. read more..

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Reminiscing powerful “drug” for people with dementia

I love stories. When I was a teenager, I’d encourage grandparents to relate stories of their young years struggling to survive on the wind-swept prairie. When I grew older, I was fascinated by the stories my parents and in-laws told of their early years of growing up during the Great Depression. read more..

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Headlines in Alzheimer’s: The Downside of Hospital Stays; Proteins Linked to Alzheimer’s; Loss of Bone Density Linked to Alzheimer’s

Every week we scour the news for the latest headlines in Alzheimer’s stories, care, treatment and prevention. Here are this week’s biggest stories for the week of June 18, 2012-... read more..

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Parent Care Elder Care-Television Talk Show-Phone Interview-Travis Stork-Adult Child

Dr. Travis Stork interviewed about obesity and fitness

Dear Readers: Do you or a loved one use age as an excuse to not bother with taking off weight? In a recent phone interview with Dr. Travis Stork of the television talk show “The Doctors,” I asked how we can encourage our aging loved ones to lose weight and exercise when they say it’s too late to do much good. read more..

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When siblings disagree on parent care

Elder care has a way of sneaking up on people. Generally, if there is an adult child living in the same town as the aging parents, it is this child who becomes, at the first sign of need, the default caregiver. That usually makes sense. You live in town. Your folks need some help with their Medicare forms, so you stop over. read more..

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Sweet Intentions-Cohabitate

Are you having second thoughts about having your aging parent live with you?

Many people are facing the fact that their sweet intentions have taken a sour turn. Certainly, for some, the decision to cohabitate with their elders works out fine. Two or even three generations residing in the same home can work. It can work when there is plenty of space so that everyone has some degree of privacy. read more..

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Depression-Retirement

Keeping a retired elder active after retirement or change can help avoid depression

He helps out too much. Ann's dad had owned his own business and had employees. He was very successful. Ann's mom used to complain that after he retired, he wanted to run the house, but it didn't seem too serious. Then, when Ann's mom got sick, her dad's energy went into caregiving. He was a wonderful caregiver all the way through. read more..

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Adult Children

Setting boundaries in parent/adult child relationships

It's natural for adult children to love their parents and even want to care for them as they age. But, if your parents abused you when you were a child, how do you care for them without harming yourself by being subjected to ongoing criticism and abuse? read more..

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Types Of Dementia-Imperfections-Human Side

Has dementia turned your spouse into a stranger?

Although Alzheimer’s disease is likely the most common and well-known dementia, the reality is that there are many other types of dementia. One lesser known but increasingly recognized dementia is frontotemporal. FTD generally presents itself as a baffling change in a loved one's personality. read more..

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The Human Side of Motherhood: accept and celebrate it

We need to understand, love and forgive ourselves for our perceived imperfections as mothers. And yes, we need to try to understand, love and forgive our mothers for what may have been less than perfect mothering practices. Perfection is hard to define and resides in the eye of the beholder, so it's a subjective idea, anyway. read more..

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Negative Thoughts-Constant Care

Nearly every caregiver will have negative thoughts at times

Elders in need of constant care feel their own pain. They generally feel a lack of control over their lives, as bit by bit their abilities slip away. This can make some of them disagreeable and bossy. Generally, the answer to this is to learn to detach with love. read more..

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Immediate Family

Are you approaching caregiver burnout?

When you are taking care of a parent with Alzheimer's, you are trying to cope with your own grief over their illnesses, help them with their feelings of loss, keep them safe, make your immediate family reasonably content and work at your job. You are wearing out, but caregiver guilt won't let you say – enough! read more..

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Public Service Announcement-Alzheimer’S Association-Awareness Campaigns

Is shock value an appropriate approach to Alzheimer’s awareness?

A recent public service announcement broadcast in Belgium has added fuel to the controversy over how “clever” it’s appropriate to be when it comes to Alzheimer’s awareness campaigns. The Flemish League Alzheimer’s Association recently commissioned a PSA message that has brought strong responses from viewers. read more..

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Family Mediator-Sexual Impulses-The Rocky Road-Family Issues-Dementia

How a family mediator can help you over the rocky road of caregiving

Even siblings who grew up together with fondness for each other often have different ideas about what the right care for aging parents incorporates. When siblings have clashing personalities, or family issues have driven them apart, finding middle ground on anything can be extra challenging. read more..

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Sexual Impulses and Needs in Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients

Recently, I received a question from a reader whose mother, in her late 70s, is in love with a man who just turned 80. The reader wondered what I thought about this situation, because she frankly, as she put it, found it "creepy." read more..

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Middle Aged Women-Eating Disorder-Health Issues-Weight Loss-Caregivers

Eating disorders can affect middle aged women; could caregivers be at risk?

Middle aged women who have become caregivers report many health issues because they feel that their lives are spinning out of control. Depression and weight loss, or weight gain, are common symptoms reported. Could the recurrence of a previous eating disorder, or the development of a new one, be far behind? read more..

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