Is Mom getting enough sleep?

Sleeping Problems for Elderly | Mom Sleeping Less | Older People with Insomnia
Phoenix, Tempe, Gilbert, Chandler, AZ, Arizona

Aging and Sleep

More than half of men and women over the age of 65 complain of at least one sleep problem. Many older people experience insomnia and other sleep difficulties on a regular basis.

As we get older, our sleep patterns change. In general, older people sleep less, experience more fragmented sleep, and spend less time in stages 3 & 4 and REM sleep (for example, deep sleep and dream sleep) than younger people. However, regardless of your age, good restorative sleep is essential to physical health and emotional well-being.

What Causes Sleep Problems in Older People?

Several factors may contribute to the inability to sleep well as we get older. Some common causes include:

To read the entire article on WebMD click here

Quality of Life...

This is more than a buzz word or phrase for a professional care manager. Providing the best possible care and living arrangements for the elderly or disabled is the mission of any Care  Manager or Care Giver. Depending on the situation, the phrase "Quality of Life" can have a very different meanings to different people. A recent study conducted by researches at the San Francisco VA Medical indicates that for disabled elderly people, quality living is closely tied to two factors: a sense of dignity and a sense of control.

"Control" to elders means a sense of autonomy in their activities and daily living. Because of disability, not all of them are able do to all activities on their own, but they want to feel they have some say in how those activities progress throughout the day” said lead author Jennifer King, MD

The two factors were singled out as important by members of all ethnic groups in the study, which was based on a series of qualitative interviews with 62 disabled elders. The ethnic groups represented included white, African American, Latino and Chinese American.

When asked to rate the quality of their own lives on a five-point scale that ranged from “excellent” to “poor,” 87 percent of the elders responded “fair to very good,” which was in the middle of the scale.

Read entire article here

Caring for the Elderly & Disabled, Arizona

Protecting yourself from your own family members…?

Yes, it’s true, sometimes as parents begin to age, family members start to take advantage of them… and each other.  You’d be surprised to learn how often family relationships implode as they try to take on the added responsibility of caring for aging parents or loved ones.

The elderly parents are not the only ones at risk either. It is essential to secure the assistance of a professional care manager before the situation gets out of control. A care manager can provide you with the tools and resources necessary to ensure the best possible quality of life for the care recipient as well as supporting family members.

Risk for family members…It may sound simple to take on the added responsibility of caring for an aging loved one, but you can get overwhelmed quickly. In some cases, caring for the elderly in Arizona is more than a full-time job and can jeopardize your individual health and well-being. It is easy for a seeming “easy” care situation to completely take over your life if you aren’t careful.

The added stress can also begin to dip into your pocketbook as well. Most adult children feel a responsibility to their parents and loved ones and find it difficult to ask for financial help. Before you know it, your gas bills will double, you’ll be buying their groceries and hiring babysitters for your own children so you can care for your parents. Sometimes it makes sense for the family members to quit their job and have the parents hire them as a caregiver in order to offset the financial burden.

Risk for the elderly care recipient…The elderly are prime targets for would-be scammers and charlatans, with the disabled and those suffering from Alzheimer’s especially vulnerable to fraud. It is important to protect your aging loved one from financial loss at the hands of these unscrupulous people. Surprisingly, many of these situations involve family members, close friends or even the family pastor on occasion. Your care manager can suggest ways to protect your family’s assets and preserve available funds for sustaining the lifestyle of the one needing care and attention.

Pay close attention to their bills and checkbook for suspicious expenses. Be careful when someone suddenly seems to show an uncharacteristic amount of attention to your elderly loved one. They may be up to something! Sometimes poor decision-making shows up first in spending habits, so make sure to pay attention to the warning signs.

For a family facing an inevitable elder care situation, the most mutually beneficial decision they can make is to hire a professional Care Manager to guide them as they make critical decisions while they plan and prepare for the future of their loved ones.

Medication Management – Keeping it Simple

Taking medication the way it was prescribed seems like such a simple task.  Then why is it such a problem for the elderly?  Consider the fact the most elderly take multiple medications, often more than once a day, prescribed by various doctors, for a number of medical conditions.  Add supplements into the mix and you can start to imagine the number of pills an elderly adult must juggle.  There are several ways that can make medication management safe and easy.  

1. Make sure your doctor and your pharmacy know your drug allergies.
2. Set up your the medications in a weekly pill box.  This serve as a reminder for each day’s medication
3. Discuss your medication with your physician. Take all of your medication (even the supplements and over-the-counter drugs) to your physician at each visit. This allows them to review all the medications and make adjustments as needed.  
4. Have all your prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy. This will allow the pharmacist to check for drug interactions and appropriate dosing.
5. Medications have more than one name – the brand names and the generic name.  This means the same medication may have several different names and types of packaging.  If the pharmacist gives you a pill that looks different than the one you are used to, ask for an explanation.
6. Always take your medication as prescribed by your doctor.  Make sure you know what to do if you miss a dose.
7. Talk to your doctor about the possible side effects of your medication so you know what to look for.
8. Always check with your pharmacist before taking over the counter or herbal medications.
9. Keep an updated list of your medications, dosage and frequency in your wallet.  That way if you go to the urgent care or the emergency room, you will be able to provide them with a current medication list.  Write your drug allergies on this list in red ink.

If you are setting up pills for a person with dementia:

1. Keep the extra medication locked up or off-site.
2. Set up medications in a weekly pill box, but keep it out of site and take out one dose at a time.
3. Watch the person take their medication.  It is common for people with dementia to spit their medication out or hide it.

If you have a loved one with memory loss, it may be beneficial to consult a Geriatric Care Manager to assist in developing a plan for medication management.  The Care Manager can help you determine the best plan for medication management, including devices that dose the medication throughout the day.  With a little planning, medication management can become an easy routine and your chances of a problem will significantly decrease.

How to Introduce a Caregiver

As our parents age, we are often faced with the reality that they are no longer able to safely care for themselves.  This may be due to a physical imparity or a cognitive deficit.  Unfortunately, many times our parents do not recognize their own deficits and believe they can care for themselves without assistance.

So what do you do when Mom or Dad needs help and they are resistant to the idea?  What if they flat out refuse any help?  These situations can be difficult for everyone involved.  One option is to introduce a Geriatric Care Manager into the mix.  The Care Manager can look at the situation objectively, without the emotion and history of a family member and make recommendations that are in the best interest of the client.  They can also make recommendations for a specific strategy of introducing caregiving services, if that is determined to be necessary.

Once the decision has been made to introduce caregivers into the home, it should be done gradually.  Four hours a day, 3-4 days a week is often a good place to start.  Once your parents adjust to this situation, the number of hours and the number of days per week can be increased gradually until you have the caregiver in place as much as you need.  Be patient.  It can be hard for your parents to adjust to a new person their home, especially if they don’t believe they need any assistance in the first place.

Enjoying the Holidays with Memory Loss

A person with memory loss needs structure, routine and a calm environment.  These things are sometimes absent during the holidays.  If you have a loved one with memory loss, there are ways to make the holidays enjoyable for everyone.  Experts at the University of California, San Diego, offer the following tips:

• If an older family member tires easily or is vulnerable to over-stimulation, limit the activities or length of time that person is included in the festivities.
• Consider planning a nap time or providing a "quiet room" where an older person can take a break from the noise and confusion.
• If there's a get-together at the home of someone with memory impairment or behavioral problems, don't rearrange the furniture. This could cause confusion and anxiety.
• If the family function is somewhere else, remove slippery throw rugs and other items that could be hazards or barriers to people who have difficulty walking.
• Avoid comments that might embarrass someone with short-term memory problems.
• Involve everyone in holiday meal preparation, assigning tasks to include the youngest and oldest family members.
• Make sure that older people adhere to their regular schedule of medications during the holiday hustle and bustle.
• Reach out to older relatives and friends who are alone. Loneliness in older people is associated with major depression and with suicidal thoughts and impulses.

If you have a loved one with memory loss, it may be beneficial to consult a Geriatric Care Manager to assist in developing a plan for the holidays.  This preventative plan can help keep the holidays from becoming more stressful for everyone, especially the person with memory loss.

Help With Disabled Loved Ones...

Arizona Care Manager | Developmentally Disabled

Caring for a loved one with a disability can be a traumatic experience for many families. You will always have many questions about what their disability means and the impact it will have on your family. Caring for those with disabilities is a huge responsibility and it can affect every single person in the family in a different way. 

Consulting with an experienced Care Manger in Arizona is an absolute necessity in order to get a care plan in place that works for everyone. Your Care Manager can help assist you in finding the right care solutions in Arizona for the following needs and more...

-Learning disabilities

-Autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorders

-Memory loss, Dementia & Alzheimers

-Communication needs

-Sensory needs

-Mental health and behavioural support

-Mobility needs

-Technology dependence