Guest Poster Mary Emma Allen Shares About Alzheimer’s Patients With Diabetes

7 Tips for Care of Alzheimer’s Patients with Diabetes

By Guest Blogger Mary Emma Allen

It’s difficult enough when you family member has no health problems other than Alzheimer’s, but when there are other issues, such as diabetes, their care becomes more complex for family caregivers and for staff at nursing homes.

Here are 7 tips which hopefully will make diabetes care for Alzheimer’s patients a bit easier:

1. Learn about diabetic diets, especially if you’re the one preparing the food.

2. Learn about your family member’s medical needs.

3. When your family member resides in a nursing home, make sure you note this on the forms you fill out. Diabetes should show up in their health records, but be sure you have it documented… every place possible.

4. Coordinate with caregivers at the nursing home and make sure they know your family member has diabetes. Monitor diet at a nursing home or with a caregiver in the patient’s home.

5. You’ll find a diabetic Alzheimer’s patient becomes forgetful about medications and diet. They eventually won’t know why their diet is restricted and may rebel against this. Don’t take it personally when the patient gets upset with you as they lose the ability to comprehend diet and medication.

6. Seek advice from the patient’s physician about their care. Being informed makes it easier to cope.

7. Remember you aren’t expected to know and do everything, only the best you can!

(Guest blogger Mary Emma Allen co-authors Alzheimer’s Notes at the Science and Health Channel, as well as Home Biz Notes at the Business Channel. She writes Quilting and Patchwork at b5media’s Lifestyles Channel. She cared for her mother and aunt who had Alzheimer’s. Her aunt was a diabetic.)