R T DeMarco

Robert T DeMarco

2010-06-27T10:20:00.000-04:00

Care Giving Insight and Advice

2010-06-27T08:20:00.000-04:00

"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest." -- Thomas Moore.....

By Bob DeMarco

The Metamorphosis of This Alzheimer's Caregiver
The more I learned the more I wanted to know. I learned a great deal about Alzheimer's disease and dementia--including the science. It helped me understand a very mystifying disease. It helped me to put a frame around something that is difficult if not impossible to describe.

Communication in Alzheimer's World
Let's face it, dealing with dementia is not easy. Understanding Alzheimer's disease is not easy...

Alzheimer's World -- Two Circles Trying to Intersect
When Alzheimer's strikes communication and behavior change abruptly -- overnight. It is up to the caregiver to adjust since the person suffering from dementia is incapable of the adjustment. Understanding this need is the first big step.

Are Alzheimer's Caregivers the Forgotten?
Many Alzheimer's caregivers are forgotten by family and friends. This is a sad truth that is rarely discussed....

The Metamorphosis of This Alzheimer's Caregiver (Part Two)
It is difficult to describe the range of emotions a caregiver might feel or experience in a single day. Imagine being happy and then sad, caring then angry, focused then frustrated -- an almost endless stream of feelings and emotions that conflict.....

The Metamorphosis of This Alzheimer's Caregiver -- I Wish
Once I entered Alzheimer's world I did learn something fascinating -- my mother is full of feelings and emotion. I learned that I could connect with her....

The Alzheimer's Hamster Within YOU
I believe changing behavior, understanding what is happening, and a willingness to change the communication dynamic are the first steps to Alzheimer's caregiver happiness.

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How We Beat Alzheimer's Incontinence -- A Solution
We are on a three day roll. No pee pee. No pee pee pajamas. No pee pee underwear. No pee pee pants...

How do Alzheimer's Caregivers Think and Feel?
Which of he following apply to you as an Alzheimer's caregiver? Which of these constantly bother you?.....

Dealing with Difficult Behavior Caused by Dementia and Alzheimer's
I often get asked question about how I deal with my mother when she evidences erratic behavior.

Alzheimer's and the Dreaded Bowel Movement
I knew the solution to the dreaded bowel movement problem for years. I couldn't get my mother to cooperate. When she wouldn't cooperate, I would give up. At least three or four times over a two year period. I was finally able to implement my solution for one simple reason -- I was learning new and better techniques as an Alzheimer's caregiver over time.

Alzheimer's Caregiver Lament -- This is Not the Person I Knew
In order to communicate effectively with a person suffering from Alzheimer's disease you need to come to an understanding that they are now living in a new world -- I often refer to this as Alzheimer's world...

Alzheimer's Caregiver Lament -- I can't take her out because she eats with her hands
The positive effects of socialization, initiative, and motivation on the part of Alzheimer's sufferers and their caregiver should not be overlooked. I believe these are as important as the medication......

I promised not to put my parents in a nursing home
The decision to keep a parent home or place them in a facility is never an easy choice, and is usually contemplated for a long time. The horror stories we’ve all heard about nursing homes can make anyone cringe.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Sometimes while looking at all those stars I begin to look at the space between the stars -- I call this the Blue Nowhere...When I look at the Blue Nowhere, I begin to imagine all the persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The Blue Nowhere is very vast.

Alzheimer's Caregiver Love
"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest." -- Thomas Moore.....

Random Thought at the End of 2009
Alzheimer's will try to rob the Alzheimer's caregiver of their spirit. It will try and send them into the black hole of depression. Every day Alzheimer's whispers in the ear of the caregiver -- give up.

Alzheimer's and the Thyroid Revisited
People who are hypothyroid feel as though they have mild Alzheimer's and depression all mixed into one bad day. Get your thyroid tested. Nearly one in five people over the age of sixty has some degree of hypothyroidism, meaning a sluggish thyroid. The sympotms include forgetfulness, weight gain, depression, dry skin, intolerance to cold, muscle aches, and fatigue.

Alzheimer's, Sleep, and Patterns
With Alzheimer's disease it is all about establishing patterns of behavior. Whether it is the pee pee war, poop war, or sleeping you have to get into a pattern. You have to establish a pattern of behavior that is conducive to accomplishing a mission....

Which Drugs Increase the Risk of Falling for the Elderly
Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for adults sixty-five and older...

More About the Alzheimer's Reading Room

The Alzheimer's Action Plan

300 Tips for Making Life Easier

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

What is Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia?

2010-06-16T11:31:00.001-04:00

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

What is Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's disease is a physical illness that causes radical changes in the brain. As healthy brain tissues degenerate persons suffering from Alzheimer's experience a steady decline in memory and the ability to use their brain to perform tasks.

Go here to read more about Alzheimer's disease.
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What is Dementia?

Dementia is the gradual deterioration of mental functioning, such as concentration, memory, and judgment, which affects a person’s ability to perform normal daily activities.

Go here to read more about Dementia.
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Dementia and the Eight Types of Dementia

Dementia is a an illness that usually occurs slowly over time, and usually includes a progressive state of deterioration. The earliest signs of dementia are usually memory problems, confusion, and changes in the way a person behaves and communicates.

Go here to read more about the Eight Types of Dementia.
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Is it really Alzheimer's or something else?

Many people assume that if an older person becomes forgetful and can no longer deal with some of the basic activities of daily living, he or she must have Alzheimer’s disease. This is not always the case.

Go here to read more about Is it really Alzheimer's or something else?

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Vascular Dementia

Vascular Dementia is considered to be the second-most-common type of dementia.

Impairment is caused by decreased blood flow to parts of the brain, often due to a series of small strokes that block arteries.

Symptoms often overlap with those of Alzheimer’s, although memory may not be as seriously affected.

Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Pattern of decline may be similar to Alzheimer’s, including problems with memory, judgment and behavior changes.

Alertness and severity of cognitive symptoms may fluctuate daily.

Visual hallucinations, muscle rigidity and tremors are common.

Hallmarks include Lewy bodies (abnormal deposits of the protein alphasynuclein) that form inside nerve cells in the brain.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is caused by the buildup of fluid in the brain. Symptoms include difficulty walking, memory loss and inability to control urine.

NPH can sometimes be corrected with surgical installation of a shunt in the brain to drain excess fluid.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition in which a person has problems with memory, language or another essential cognitive function that are severe enough to be noticeable to others and show up on tests, but not severe enough to interfere with daily life.

Some people with mild cognitive impairment go on to develop dementia. For others, the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment do not progress to dementia, and some people who have mild cognitive impairment at one point in time later revert to normal cognitive status.

Frontotemporal Dementia

Involves damage to brain cells, especially in the front and side regions of the brain.

Typical symptoms include changes in personality and behavior and difficulty
with language.

No distinguishing microscopic abnormality is linked to all cases.

Pick’s disease, characterized by “Pick’s bodies,” is one type of frontotemporal
dementia.

Mixed dementia

Mixed dementia is characterized by the presence of the hallmark abnormalities of Alzheimer’s and another type of dementia, most commonly vascular dementia, but also other types, such as dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia and normal pressure hydrocephalus.

Parkinson’s disease

Many people who have Parkinson’s disease develop dementia in the later stages of the disease.

The hallmark abnormality is Lewy bodies (abnormal deposits of the protein alpha-synuclein) that form inside nerve cells in the brain.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Rapidly fatal disorder that impairs memory and coordination and causes behavior changes.

“Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease” is believed to be caused by consumption of
products from cattle affected by “mad cow disease.”

Caused by the misfolding of prion protein throughout the brain.

More About the Alzheimer's Reading Room

60 Good Reasons to Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading Room
Alzheimer's CareGiving -- Insight and Advice
Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's (5 Best Self Assessment Tests)
Communicating in Alzheimer's World
Worried About Alzheimer's Disease -- You Should Be

The Alzheimer's Action Plan

300 Tips for Making Life Easier

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

The Alzheimer's Project

2009-04-30T01:54:00.003-04:00

Announcement.

Subscribers to the Alzheimer's Reading Room can now obtain a free, complimentary, copy of the Memory Loss Tapes from HBO.

EF Hutton: S an P Two Standard Deviations Below the Line

2009-03-03T09:16:00.000-05:00

EF Hutton: S an P Two Standard Deviations Below the Line

If you look at the blue line on the S and P futures chart you will notice the line is sloping down and the market is hugging it on the way down. If you click the link and look at the bigger version of the chart you will notice that every time the market trades well below the line it snaps back up.

The line represents two standard deviations below the mean. This is a very good indication of when the market is oversold intraday.

It seems that every time the market bounces up off the line the TV talking heads start discussing a market bottom. Not yet.

For more than two weeks we have been forecasting this hard drop in the market based on this formation. The market is in a downside range expansion.

Expect some serious volatility and wide trading ranges. It is almost over though, so be careful.

Hard dips below the line should find good support today.

clipped from charts.barchart.com

2006-11-28T23:21:00.000-05:00

The CareGiver: Dementia

I ran across this factsheet on Dementia from the Milton S Hershey Medical Center. The section entitled, What are the Symptoms, is particularly interesting.

Source Milton S Hershey Medical Center

Dementia

What is it?

Dementia is the gradual deterioration of mental functioning, such as concentration, memory, and judgment, which affects a person’s ability to perform normal daily activities.

Who gets it?

Dementia occurs primarily in people who are over the age of 65, or in those with an injury or disease that affects brain function. While dementia is most commonly seen in the elderly, it is not a normal consequence of the aging process.

What causes it?

Dementia is caused by the death of brain cells. Brain cells can be destroyed by brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, or strokes (called vascular or multi-infarct dementia), which decrease blood flow to the brain. Lewy body dementia is another common cause attributed to changes in brain tissue. Other causes can include AIDS, high fever, dehydration, hydrocephalus, systemic lupus erythematosus, Lyme disease, long-term drug or alcohol abuse, vitamin deficiencies/poor nutrition, hypothyroidism or hypercalcemia, multiple sclerosis, brain tumor, or diseases such as Pick’s, Parkinson's, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, or Huntington's. Dementia can also result from a head injury that causes hemorrhaging in the brain or a reaction to a medication.

What are the symptoms?

In most cases, the symptoms of dementia occur gradually, over a period of years. Symptoms of dementia caused by injury or stroke occur more abruptly. Difficulties often begin with memory, progressing from simple forgetfulness to the inability to remember directions, recent events, and familiar faces and names. Other symptoms include difficulty with spoken communication, personality changes, problems with abstract thinking, poor personal hygiene, trouble sleeping, and poor judgment and decision making. Dementia is extremely frustrating for the patient, especially in the early stages when he or she is aware of the deficiencies it causes. People with dementia are likely to lash out at those around them, either out of frustration or because their difficulty with understanding makes them misinterpret the actions of others. They become extremely confused and anxious when in unfamiliar surroundings or with any change in routine. They may begin a task, such as cooking, then wander away aimlessly and completely forget what they had been doing. Dementia is often accompanied by depression and delirium, which is characterized by an inability to pay attention, fluctuating consciousness, hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions. People in advanced stages of dementia lose all control of bodily functions and are completely dependent upon others.

How is it diagnosed?

Dementia is diagnosed through a study of the patient’s medical history and a complete physical and neurological exam. The doctor will speak with those close to the patient to document a pattern of behavior. He or she will also evaluate the patient’s mental functioning with tests of mental status, such as those that require the patient to recall words, lists of objects, names of objects, and recent events. Diagnostic tests, such as blood tests, x-rays, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), or computed tomography (CT) scans, can help determine the cause of the dementia.

What is the treatment?

In some instances, treating the cause of dementia may successfully reverse some or all of the symptoms. This is the case when the cause is related to a vitamin/nutritional deficiency, tumor, alcohol or drug abuse, reaction to a medication, or hormonal disorder. When dementia is related to an irreversible destruction of brain tissue, such as with Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, or multiple strokes, treatment involves improving the patient’s quality of life as much as possible. This includes maintaining a stable, safe, supportive environment and providing constant supervision. While this may be done in the home, people in the advanced stages of dementia may require round-the-clock care in a long-term healthcare facility. It is important to provide the patient with structured activities and avoid disruptions to his or her daily routine. Many patients enjoy therapeutic activities, such as crafts or games, designed specifically for people with dementia. Some medications, such as donepezil and tacrine, have been effective in improving the mental functions of those in the beginning stages of dementia. Patients with hallucinations and delusions may also be treated with antipsychotic drugs, while antidepressant medications are used to treat depression.

Self-care tips

There is currently no known way to prevent dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease. You can decrease your risk of dementia associated with stroke by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, following a heart-healthy diet, and controlling high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Healthy lifestyles, including not smoking and not abusing drugs and alcohol, go a long way in keeping most people in good health. Caring for a person with dementia is stressful. It is important to learn all you can about the disease, seek the help of support groups, and find a responsible caregiver who can give you a break when needed. There are daycare programs specifically designed for patients with dementia that are good for the patient and the family.

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This information has been designed as a comprehensive and quick reference guide written by our health care reviewers. The health information written by our authors is intended to be a supplement to the care provided by your physician. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

The CareGiver Blog

Robert T DeMarco

AllAmerican Senior Care

AllAmerican Senior Care Weblog

Senior Care Elder Care CareGiver Alzheimer’s Dementia CareGiver

2006-11-27T12:33:00.000-05:00

The CareGiver: Americans Fear Alzheimer’s More Than Heart Disease, Diabetes or Stroke

A recent study by the MetLife Foundation found that Americans fear getting Alzheimer's disease more than heart disease, stroke, or diabetes. Alzheimer's ranks second in the minds of American's only to cancer.

MetLife Survey Highlights

The Complete MetLife Survey on Alzheimer's: What America Thinks (36 pages)

The Major Findings of the Study included the following:

Finding 1: Americans fear Alzheimer’s disease.

Finding 2: Americans Know Little or Nothing about Alzheimer’s.

Finding 3: One-third of Americans say they have direct experience with Alzheimer’s disease.

Finding 4: Most Americans are concerned that they will be responsible at some point for someone with Alzheimer’s disease.

Finding 5: Most Americans recognize the need to create a plan to address the possibility of Alzheimer’s disease, but very few have taken steps to do so.

Conclusion

Americans fear Alzheimer’s and the impact that it could have on their lives in the coming years. And although they may recognize the need to look toward the future, the majority hasn’t started making plans.

The downside of living longer has a high price: Nearly 50 percent of those who are 85 or older are affected, and the rate of Alzheimer’s increases exponentially every five years past the age of 65. And with the aging of America’s population these numbers are sure to become even more dramatic in the future, making it imperative that individuals and institutions plan for the future.

The growing number of people with Alzheimer’s will have an impact on every part of society. The vast majority of people know that this disease may someday affect them, either directly or as a caregiver. In addition, many already know a family member or friend who has Alzheimer’s. They strongly support the concept of planning now to cope with the life-changing impact of the
disease – at least in theory.

Despite widespread agreement, few have taken steps to prepare for the possibility of developing Alzheimer’s. Only a few have a solid understanding of the disease. The overwhelming majorityhas done nothing to plan.

The survey reveals a mismatch between fear of Alzheimer’s and acting on that fear to prepare for the future. The findings from this survey suggest that there is an opportunity to build awareness and help bridge the gaps that were identified in knowledge and behavior. Americans should learn all they can about the disease that will touch so many of us and plan for the future.

The CareGiver Blog
Robert T DeMarco
AllAmerican Senior Care
AllAmerican Senior Care Weblog

Senior Care Elder Care CareGiver Alzheimer’s Dementia CareGiver