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Geriatric Care Management Blog

By Charlotte Bishop on 1/3/2012 9:16 AM
For those of you with a loved one who suffers from dementia of any sort, it is hard to see them fade in their ability to remember familiar surroundings, important experiences from the past or even remember you.  And as if that is not enough to manage as a caregiver, your loved one may also at times become inexplicably angry or aggressive.  So what can you do when dementia becomes violent? It is really critical that you always remember that the dementia is not about you, and it is not even really about the parent who once walked you to school, or down the aisle if you are married, or any of the countless other wonderful episodes in your collective life.  It is about the dementia and you cannot reason with it.   The Alzheimer’s Association, an organization founded to provide optimal care and services to individuals confronting dementia, and to their caregivers and families, offers some very helpful advice.  When you are with a person suffering from dementia, and they become aggressive...
By Charlotte Bishop on 10/2/2011 3:40 PM
What do hearing aids, exercise, support groups and travel have in common?  They all are ways that individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, specifically, or dementia, generally, can fight these diseases’ progression.  Even more important, they help to fight the personal isolation that accompanies these frightening conditions. We often associate dementias with older adults and the stereotypic confusion that can characterize the individuals with the diagnoses.  But it is not just a condition of older adults as the recent public disclosure of The University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach, Pat Summit, highlights.  Ms. Summit is just 59 as she goes public with her diagnosis, and it helps others to understand that it can happen as early as 30 and 40 years of age.  Younger onset Alzheimer’s Disease technically speaking is the manifestation affecting those under age 65, and there are 250,000 new cases in America every year.  Yet, there are ways to fight the downward spiral of dementia.

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By Charlotte Bishop on 8/17/2011 1:33 PM
I have written in earlier blog postings about dementia: “preventing” Alzheimer’s Disease, Alzheimer’s from the inside outmaternal genetic links to Alzheimer’s, and women’s predisposition to Alzheimer’s.  I would like to share some research that shows dementia to be tied to a number of other chronic conditions we often find among the elderly.  This posting is about monitoring and managing other medical conditions in order to reduce the chances of developing dementia, and it underscores one of the most important parts of geriatric care management...
By Charlotte Bishop on 5/31/2011 1:57 PM
I have written in the past about some of the current knowledge on dementias that can affect elders for whom you may be caring.  But one thing we do not always talk about is how decisions made earlier in life can actually help to ward off failing memory function or actually mitigate the risk of dementia.  I am going to share here results from two separate studies that offer some hopeful information for those who wish to start right now in habits that will help to preserve a healthier, older brain later in life.

A group of researchers led by Kirk Erickson reported on the normal course of “brain shrinkage” with age in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The authors talked about the typical shrinkage of a part of the brain that affects spatial memory, the hippocampus.  They conducted a clinical study among 120 adults in which half of the adults were given a walking regimen...

Recent Comments

re:
love it! very interesting topics, I hope the incoming comments and suggestion are equally positive. Thanks for sharing information that is actually helpful.

allinfouneed
www.tulleeho.org
Re: A Radio Talk with Aging Info Radio
I have read this post. Really it is so nice.
Re: A Radio Talk with Aging Info Radio
I heard all the answers. I did not know those answers. Thanks for providing answers.
Re: Four Tips for the Accidental Caregiver
Great article Charlotte - I am always heartened at how neighbors and acquaintances will step forward to assist a senior in need. Sometimes it is because the senior has outlived their family members - sometimes there are other reasons. In any event, these situations are really unique, and they require some planning to handle thoughtfully. A geriatric care manager can be a really important piece of that puzzle. You have provided some really good suggestions in this article. Keep up the good work.
I would really love to guest post on your blog.`
This kind of post is very rare.. its so hard to seek a post like this. very informative and the contents are very Obvious and Concise .I will look more of your post
Re: Two More Ways to Make Elders' Homes Safer
Nice article Charlotte - really solid suggestions. I just can't figure out why I'm accumulating so much stuff already!
Re: Caregiving to Older Workers
Nice article Charlotte. This is really becoming an important issue.
Re: Four Steps for "The Talk" About Giving Up the Car Keys
This is the conversation I have been dreading for the longest time. My dream was to have a driver in place before this actually happened, but at this point I don't know. My mom has never been the best of drivers to begin with, but still manages to function well enough and as of this writing is still fully functional. Whether that lasts another week, a year or a few years is out of my control, but when it happens, I will have to deal with it just as you suggested. I expect it to be a huge fight and really would not have it any other way.

My biggest fear really isn't for my mom's safety as it it for everyone else's. My grandfather drove until he was in his 80's and one day drove his car through his next door neighbor's living room. Obviously, that was it. (I have every intention of getting the keys from her before it gets to that point.)

Here is another thing to consider: My mom's car is bought and paid for, so my thinking is that when the time comes, there should be enough sale value left on it to pay for a driver for a certain amount of time. I have no idea what that costs, but this article lit the fire and I intend to find out.

Keep these posts coming, I am sure I am not much different than a lot of your readers in that even though I know I shouldn't, when it comes to my mom, I would like to live in a state of denial as long as possible. It gets harder and harder as she slowly watches her friends die around her and starts to question her own mortality.

Re: Alzheimer's Related Medical Conditions
This is the information that I've been looking for. I'm really glad that you posted it. Thanks for sharing this one!
re:
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Joseph
www.joeydavila.com
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