In a previous post, How Do You Feel About Yourself & Your Alzheimer’s Caregiving, I discussed that research shows caregivers do better when they feel good about themselves.  However, sometimes this takes effort when you’re dealing with the frustrations of caregiving and often the differing opinions of family members.

Nevertheless….take time for yourself.

1. Have your hair styled.  Do something entirely different that makes you feel grand.
2. Do your nails.  Choose something outrageous!
3. Go to a movie when someone else will stay with your Alzheimer’s patient for a couple of hours.
4. Lunch out with a friend.  Select something different from the menu.
5. Take a walk and notice something new along your route.
6. Find a support group.
7. Buy yourself some flowers and arrange them prettily in a vase.  Then set them where you’ll see them often. 

What do you do to make you feel you’re special and not simply dragging along from day to day?

Post from: Blisstree

7 Ways to Feel Better About Yourself as an Alzheimer’s Caregiver

One of the most frustrating aspects of caring for an Alzheimer’s family member or one with some form of dementia is their lack of need for sleep at night and their wandering when you want to sleep.  I found I cat napped and never slept soundly for the months Mother lived with us.

One of my Alzheimer’s Notes readers shares with us and asks for a solution:

I have a friend whose mother also has mild dementia and when she takes her turn at caring for her mother, she is up all night long.

We have had many conversations about what she and her sisters can do because they get no rest at all when they care for their mother. It is very frustrating for them and they have not yet come up with an answer.

Possibilities:

• Share the caregiving and try to alternate nights.  Or alternate day and night duties. This isn’t always possible, but see what you can work out.

• Talk with someone at a nursing home and see what they do. 

• Limit the area they can access at night.  I blocked off the stairs, the kitchen, and the office so there was only Mother’s sleeping area, living room, and bathroom available. 

• We locked the doors, so she couldn’t get outside.

• Put out snacks, magazines, and other items that might interest her in an area where there is a light on.

Do you have any suggestions?

(Amazon image; click image for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

How Do You Sleep When Alzheimer’s Patients Wander?

Many Alzheimer’s caregivers are caught in that “Gen Between” situation, with parents they’re responsible for as well as children.  Elizabeth at b5media’s Gen Between blog relates her own and other’s experiences.

Gen Between’s parents may or may not have some form of dementia.  However, their independence is waning, and the need for care by their children increasing.  Then there are children of various ages living in the household of the Gen Betweens.

So when you need inspiration and encouragment, check out what Elizabeth has to share at her Gen Between blog.

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

Check out “Gen Between” if You’re a Parent & Caregiver

The big question mark looms  instead of my photo on social media sites. So my granddaughter is helping me correct that.

As she showed me the pictures she’d taken of her quilts, I thought, “That’s it! I’ll have a quilt photo instead of the question mark. This is characteristic of me because I love quilts and quilt history. I write a quilting blog, Quilting and Patchwork”

We selected the picture of a quilt she made as a school project for American Studies, a quilt based upon Civil War designs and history.

We only have it at one location so far, but I may use it at others.

Why am I relating this at Alzheimer’s Notes?

Perhaps you don’t have a photo of yourself. Perhaps you don’t want a photo of youself posted everywhere. Perhaps you have something that can be associated with you, such as the quilt with my interest in quiltmaking.

You may have a connection on Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn or other social media sites, perhaps one related to Alzheimer’s caregiving.  Posting a photo  depends on the image you wish to project or what you want people know about you.

One lady has a photo of waterfalls, a relaxing spot for her.  Some post pictures of their pets.  Someone else may have vacation scenics, hobby photos, a place they dream of visiting, etc.  Unless the site says you “must” post your photo if you don’t want the question mark, something other than your photo could be appropriate and tasteful.

What do you use for your image instead of a question mark?

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen
 

Post from: Blisstree

Do You Have a Social Media Site? An Alzheimers’s Site? What do You Use for Your Photo?

 Throughout the week, the Health and Wellness Channel has been focusing on Celebrities and Health. 

Some are Hollywood celebrities; others come from other walks of life.  By going public with their illness, they often make the world more aware and more willing to talk about a health situation that families keep”hidden in the closet.”

You, the caregiver,  and your Alzheimer’s patient also are celebrities and heroes in this challenge with a devastating disease.

Liz and I have written a number of posts on this topic this week.  In case you’ve missed any and would like to check them out, here is a roundup:

Celebrities Health This Week’s Theme at the Health & Wellness Channel, Alzheimer’s Notes Included

Did Ronald Reagan Have Alzheimer’s Disease While He Was President

Alzheimer’s Association Celebrities Speak – Video

Alzheimer’s Notes Visits Hollywood ThisWeek

Terry Prachett Fan Sets Up Match It For Prachett Alzheimer’s Fundraising Site

Author Terry Prachett, Another Celebrity Who Faces Alzheimer’s

More Celebrities Speak Out About Alzheimer’s

Actress Arlene Francis, an Alzheimer’s Victim & Artist

Your Alzheimer’s Patient & You Are Celebrities, too

(Amazon image; click for details) 

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

Roundup of Alzheimer’s Notes for Celebrity Health & Wellness Week

 As I read Liz’s recent post, Sleep Disturbances in Alzheimer’s Patients & Their Caregivers, I recalled the lack of sleep when I cared for Mother.  An uninterrupted night’s sleep was something I received little of. Mother lost track of day or night, cat napped during the day, so was awake or only napping at night. Her sleep patterns (or non-patterns), always erratic  before Ahzheimer’s, became more so after she developed this disease.

“Mary, one of the most difficult things about caring for someone with Alzheimer’s is you never get a good night’s sleep,” a friend said, when she learned I was moving Mother to my home from hers in another state.  Audrey had taken care of her father and found the sleeplessness most difficult.

So, be aware, if you find yourself an Alzheimer’s caregiver, sleeplessness may be in the cards for you.  Lack of sleep can be a danger to your well being, especially if you have any health conditions that are intensified by tiredness. 

Find ways to get a good night’s sleep by:

* Alternating caretaking with others

*Getting naps during the day

*Keeping the patient active during the day so (hopefully) he/she sleeps at night

*Checking with other caregivers and professionals for tips on getting adequate sleep and getting your patient to sleep for longer periods.

Fortunately my health was good, so sleeplessness didn’t bother me on that account.  I learned to sleep lightly, as I had when my daughter was small.  I learned to awake when I heard the slightest unusual noise and find that Mother and her cat were enjoying some nightly adveture.

How have you managed to get more sleep as an Alzheimer’s caregiver?

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

Warning: Lack of Sleep a Danger for the Alzheimer’s Caregivers

I’ve generally found reading relaxing when stressed out from caretaking tasks and other challenges in life.  Perhaps this is because I’ve always enjoyed reading.

Also, my mom would settle beside me with a magazine and often look through that while I lost myself in the novel’s world.  I could read to Mother, too, and this often quieted her.

Some of my favorite novels involve Jennifer Chiaverini’s Elm Creek Quilter’s series, about a group of quilters with Elm Creek Farm as their commonality.  Although the novels center around one main family and town over a number of years, they don’t have to be read in order.

You might want to check out the latest...The New Year’s Quilt.  I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on my “must read” list.   It’s also on my Christmas list!  Another novel, The Winding Ways Quilt, has not yet been released.  Although in some stores you can pre-order it.

What are your favorite books that help you get through stressful times?  Are there books or reading material that your Alzheimer’s patient finds comforting?

Post from: Blisstree

Relaxing from Caretaking Tasks by Reading

 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 a nursing home.

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.

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 becomes forgetful about medications and diet.  They eventually won’t know why their diet is restricted and may rebel against this.  So..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.   

When I  cared for Mother and Auntie, both of whom had Alzheimer’s, I had some experience with diabetes.  Although Mother didn’t experience this complication, her sister, Auntie, was a diabetic.  When she lived with Mother and I cared for both of them there, I had to watch Auntie’s diet.  For some reason, she craved sweets like she never had before. 

Mother was concerned and tried to control Auntie’s diet when I had to return to my home in another state.  However, because she was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s herself, she wasn’t always aware what Auntie ate…or managed to sneak from cupboard to her room.

However, we must have managed fairly well, in spite of not being perfect (see tip #7 above), because Auntie lived to be 88 years old.

(c)2007 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

7 Tips for Care of Alzheimer’s Patients With Diabetes