Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • geriatric care manager ChicagoChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence - Since 1991 | Page 6

A Radio Talk with Aging Info Radio
Earlier this month I had a chance to talk about some of the questions I most often get asked as...
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October 31, 2010
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Bad Medicine for Older Adults
Medicine today is full of miracles. But Aging Well magazine (Jan/Feb, 2009) reports that although the over 65 set...
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October 27, 2010
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Making Home a Safer Place for an Older Adult
Everyone’s abilities and needs change as they age, but home may still be the same physical space it was...
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October 22, 2010
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Is Home Still the Best Place for an Aging Loved One?
This is one of the most emotionally-charged questions I hear when I am called by a family member who...
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October 15, 2010
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

So, you may be asking yourself, is there unintentional caregiving? The answer is “yes,” and there is a lot more than you may at first think. We have all heard people use expressions like “I was so busy I didn’t know which way was up.” What they really may have been saying is that “I got so caught up in the chaos of the moment that I was doing more motion than making progress.” I have talked in earlier postings about the dementia of distraction. Well, that was a reference to the forgetfulness that comes from dividing our attention across too many simultaneous tasks. Well, life in the current high tech environment has us all stimulated by any number of people, things or gadgets. I am not going to recommend that caregivers unplug entirely from caregiving as some technology gurus encourage going through tech detox and simply disconnecting from all things tech periodically. Caregiving does not allow that, but intentional caregiving can be a way of engaging in what maybe a Zen master might call contemplative caregiving. Intentional caregiving is the opposite of the overwhelming chaos that can be the caregiving that comes from doing everything that is in front of us, everything we are guilted into doing and not giving any thought to whether we are really getting done what needs doing! Intentional caregiving is about recognizing that every task we set out to do for a care receiver is an opportunity to make choices that help us be centered, thoughtful, productive and on-task. By being more intentional we actually get more done with less …less time, less energy and less anxiety. Here are some tips:
- Keep it Simple: Try to do any task or series of tasks individually. A Logical sequence would be nice, but at the very least avoid multi-tasking; multi-tasking results too often in every task being done sub-optimally.
- Don’t forget to Breathe: I will get even more Zen than this, but appreciate that slow and even breathing is a way to give calming feedback to your brain. That feedback also helps to relax tension in the muscles. If you notice that your tongue is protruding while you are engaged in a task, you are probably holding your breath. Breathe…
- Try Something New. Even caregivers are susceptible to the old adage: “If you keep doing what you always have been doing, you will keep getting what you always have been getting.” Try new approaches, look for an app for whatever the task is, and maybe even change up the schedule a bit. Perhaps a hot shower at the beginning of the day is a way to soothe your muscles and refresh you mind before plunging into your chores.
- Yes, Meditate. This is the real Zen part. It is as simple as assuming lotus position…or anything that does not have your knees or ankles crossed and practice slow breaths …in through the nose…out through the mouth. Repeat.
- Recharge your Batteries. I knew a caregiver who started out conversation by observing that he had gone from five hours of uninterrupted sleep a night to five hours of interrupted sleep. That is not sustainable. Seek out a geriatric care manager for local resources, check out respite care, get other members of the family…or the village…who can contribute. You need rest.
Ultimately, intentional caregiving is a win-win. Not only does the care receiver get a better outcome for whatever task, but you as a caregiver are taking better care of you. Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Professional and a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecaremanagement.com.
Associate Care Manager Gregory Peebles returns with a series on the Internet and older adults. Gregory is both a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) whose work focuses on helping aging adults and folks with limited independence by providing resources and support to help them discover and lead their best life. Gregory has been a part of CCM, Inc. for over a decade. – Charlotte The Internet is a safe place if you know how to navigate is safely. It’s user-friendly if, like the youngest generation, you grew up using it all the time. Most, however, have not had that advantage. We learned on our own, and any self-taught amateur will tell you that without a teacher, you can learn a lot of things wrong. There’s no shortage of helpful information on scams directed at older adults who have ventured onto the Internet. At CCM, we try to feature this type of content as it becomes available. Today’s post, however, is about common, globally unsafe habits from which we’ve witnessed our clients and their families struggle to recover. Have these conversations with your older loved one before you have to clean up a digital mess or reclaim a stolen identity.
1. Passwords. Plural. There should be a different password for each online account, and they should change with some frequency. It’s annoying, but at least it’s easy. You know the “best practices” – upper and lower case letters, numbers and even the “other” characters (@, #, etc.).
2. The Not-So-Funny Joke Forward. Sometimes a dangerous link gets inserted into those joke message forwards. Anyone curious/unlucky enough to click on it gets a nasty surprise. Tell your loved ones Don’t click on links unless they are in a personally directed communication from a trusted source.
3. Oversharing. Social media encourage us to tell everyone everything, first among which is how we feel, where we are, what we’re doing. Older adults - not as fluent in the standard practices of safety - are most likely to fall prey to those seeking to benefit from oversharing, an example of which might include updating a status about leaving town for a while. Predators are looking for exactly this type of information, especially if they know their prey’s address already.
4. Oversharing: The Sequel. Similarly, older adults are much more likely to give out personal information casually in a public forum (as in a comment). Not only will it overwhelm your loved one with junk mail, placing them at higher risk for scams, but someone looking to take advantage can get an incredible amount of information from just a name, a phone number, and an email address.
5. Shopping the Black Market. Non-secure websites don’t even pretend to protect your information. How can you tell if a website is secure? Nothing is 100%, but if the URL you’re shopping at does not begin with [https:], leave immediately. The extra “s” is for “secured”, and without it, online shopping becomes a huge risk. Noting this one thing can save lots of money and trouble.
Internet safety could be its own series, but with these five tips, we’re confident your loved one will be safe exploring all the Internet has to offer. Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago.
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1 New contact form submission received from CreativeCareManagement.com - Roadmap to Alzheimer’s [fullname] <[emailc]> info@creativecasemanagement.com, lynda@llvirtual.com From: [fullname] <[emailc]> Phone: [phones] Message Body: [question] -- This email was sent via the contact form on the Creative Case Management website, http://www.CreativeCaseManagement.com. Your message was sent successfully. Thanks. Failed to send your message. Please try later or contact the administrator by another method. Validation errors occurred. Please confirm the fields and submit it again. Failed to send your message. Please try later or contact the administrator by another method. Please accept the terms to proceed. Please fill the required field. The field is too long. The field is too short. Date format seems invalid. This date is too early. This date is too late. Failed to upload file. This file type is not allowed. This file is too large. Failed to upload file. Error occurred. Number format seems invalid. This number is too small. This number is too large. Your answer is not correct. Your entered code is incorrect. Email address seems invalid. URL seems invalid. Telephone number seems invalid.
I have asked our vice president for geriatric care management and senior services, Dr. Steve Steiber, to share a guest posting about the recent Tylenol news. He has nearly two decades experience in pharmaceutical medical device consulting prior to joining CCM about 8 years ago.
By now most of you have heard the latest on the potential for possible deadly skin rashes owing to an allergic reaction to acetaminophen, or Tylenol as the branded medication is called. Before we all suddenly quit using this pain agent, it is important to understand the magnitude of the potential problem. And it all starts with how long Tylenol/acetaminophen has been available here in the United States. Tylenol turns 44 this year following its release to the market in 1969 as an analgesic that was quickly embraced for its ability to turn off the brain pain signals and relieve the consumer with minimal side effects. All drug companies are required by law to report all adverse events that could be associated with their drugs to the FDA. Now, FDA releases information that covers the period from 1969 to 2012 which show three types of significant skin reactions that have resulted in 67 hospitalizations, and twelve of these have resulted in patient deaths. Spokespersons have rightly pointed out that over the 44 year life span of Tylenol, to date, the drug has provided pain relief to millions and millions of people. In fact, it took that many cases of Tylenol use to find this many extreme reactions. To the twelve who died, the drug clearly should not have been used. Tylenol spokespeople maintain that any kind of rash or skin reaction ought to be taken seriously and a person should find an alternative to Tylenol. They conclude, in effect, that the benefits outweigh the costs. Now, the other panic button... Not two years ago, acetaminophen was linked to liver damage when used above certain quantities. FDA subsequently limited the milligrams of acetaminophen per dose to 325 milligrams. But that in itself is not enough. If you are a caregiver to an older loved one, be aware of how many doses within a 24 hour period your loved one is taking; that quantity should not exceed 3,000 milligrams. Sounds like an unbelievably large number, but we need to recognize that acetaminophen is not just a stand alone pain reliever. It also appears in cough and cold medicines, in sleep aids and in other pain medications along with opioids. If one takes two of these every 8 hours, and then takes other medications that may also contain acetaminophen in combination, it becomes very easy to meet or exceed the 3,000 limit. And as I have talked about in other postings, older individuals have less fluid in their tissues and they process foods and chemicals more slowly. So, arguably the total quantity of Tylenol intake ought be monitored more closely than with a younger person. So, let's use the occasion of this most recent panic on acetaminophen to resound the alarm on something we have already known. Maybe it is a good time to have a conversation with your older loved one and maybe even visit their medicine chest with them. Please let Steve know if you have any questions about geriatric care management, drugs, their side effects or the unique medical challenges faced by older adults or others with special needs. Please email to: ssteiber@creativecaremanagement.com.
Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are elder care management experts, geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecaremanagement.com.
“You are a source of stress relief for all of us.”
A satisfied client
Dementia is a fairly broad category that can include a number of different manifestations and/or causes. But the truth is – as I discussed in my post last week – that a number of other medical conditions actually can mimic Alzheimer’s specifically, or dementia generally. Read on to see the dementia-like symptoms that can come from problems with other organs of the body. The good news is that the conditions in these other organs actually can be treatable, so it is important to get a clear diagnosis from your loved one’s provider if they show signs of dementia. Here are three culprits to investigate if you see dementia-like symptoms in your loved one…
1. Heart disease understandably affects a person’s circulation, and that, of course, is considered a problem in itself. But when the heart is not pumping effectively, other organs are getting a poor supply of oxygen. Or there can be other vascular issues like severe restrictions in blood flow owing to strokes of varying degrees, and the brain is one of the first organs to respond to the shortages. Be aware of any dementia-like symptoms in your loved one that can be a warning to get them to a cardiologist instead of a neurologist.
2. Lung conditions also can impair oxygen to the brain as well as the rest of the body. As with the circulatory issues of the heart, impaired oxygen supply can affect cognitive processes and memory, resulting in possible misdiagnoses of dementia. If your loved one has a history of breathing disorders, what appears as dementia could actually be an exacerbation of the underlying lung condition.
3. Kidney and liver diseases can induce dementia-like symptoms, because the body is not clearing waste from the blood system if one or both of these organs is affected. In such cases, the brain may be the proverbial canary in the coal mine that can alert your loved one’s medical provider to these other systemic malfunctions. Clear up the liver or kidney issues and the brain is back to working order.
Each of these three conditions arguably are problems in their own right, but they also cascade into other issues of which dementia symptoms may be a part. But there are three more in the list I will add next week – there actually are even more than that. If you can guess one of the three in next week’s list, I will send you a free copy of my book on dementia that is linked in the next paragraph. Please send your answer to info@creativecaremanagement.com and I will let you know if you are correct. I’ll ask for your address also so that we can ship the book to you. More to come. Charlotte Bishop is a Caregiver Coach, an Aging Life Care Advisor, a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. She also is the co-author of How Do I Know You? A Caregiver’s Lifesaver for Dealing with Dementia.

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Posts tagged with ‘geriatric care manager Chicago’

A Radio Talk with Aging Info Radio

Bad Medicine for Older Adults

Making Home a Safer Place for an Older Adult

Is Home Still the Best Place for an Aging Loved One?

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