Thursday, October 31, 2013

Dating While You are Caring for a Parent

Expect a Lack of Knowledge


Don't expect this person to "get it" right away. Your situation may be way too complicated for someone to pick up on in one session. Handling a situation with someone who has lost all social inhibition and may say something extremely rude is hard enough for people who expect this and have learned to cope. We can't expect our new love to get it right off. If the person is willing to learn and support you as you grow together, you may have a winner, so give him or her time to learn the ropes.

You Deserve a Life of Your Own


As a caregiver, you are, well, caring. You have responsibilities. You probably love your care receiver (though some people just do it out of feeling of duty). Either way, you may feel that moving forward with a life of your own is selfish. It's not. You are a human being who deserves love and caring from a mate, if that is your choice.

Adjustments will have to be made by all. That may mean your care receiver will need some in-home help or other types of help so you can give some of your time to your new relationship. You deserve this and need not feel guilty.

Make sure the care receivers have good help while you are dating. Take care to let them know that you aren't abandoning them. Let them know that you are just trying to live a healthy, balanced life and dating can be part of that balance.

Drop the Guilt

Don't feel guilty. Know that your care receiver may try to make you feel guilty. When this happens, try detaching in a loving manner. They may be afraid of change, so they can become controlling. Your job is to understand that you aren't responsible for their feelings. Reaffirm your love and commitment to them, but be aware that they may deliberately use the triggers they know will make you feel guilty.

Not unlike two year olds, your care receivers may test the waters to see if a tantrum will keep you from making any changes in your life. Don't buy into it. Make sure the care receiver is well cared for in your absence and then enjoy having some life of your own. Being a caregiver doesn't eliminate your personal needs. You deserve to have your needs met as much as any other human being. View dating as part of your own good health, which, in the longer run, only comes back to better benefit those you are caring for.

Dementia Signage for the Home

 

Pearl Finish  Business Card Template

 

Applying for Disability Benefits for Someone with Dementia



Guest article by Ram Meyyappan

The recent 60 Minutes exposé on Social Security Disability (SSD) has many nervous about the idea of filing a new application for benefits. The report of the number of fraudulent claims filed in recent years may have you fearful of added scrutiny, especially when filing as a caregiver for one with dementia who is unable to file for him/herself.
The Social Security Disability program provides benefits for people with serious medical conditions including dementia.
As a caregiver for someone with dementia, you may apply for SSD benefits on behalf of that person without worrying about extra scrutiny. Dementia qualifies for disability benefits.

 

Medical Qualification for SSD with Dementia

 
Early onset dementia is covered by the SSD and is included in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) Compassionate Allowances (CAL) program. The CAL program is designed to expedite the review and approval of certain medical conditions. This means the application you file on behalf of the person with dementia in your care will proceed through the initial review in a fraction of the time it takes the typical SSD application.
There are also several other forms of dementia covered by the CAL program, though all essentially have the same medical eligibility requirements. The SSA specifically needs to see medical records that document at least one of the following symptoms:
  • disorientation
  • impaired memory
  • thought or perception disturbances
  • personality changes
  • mood disturbances
  • emotional impairment
  • issues with impulse control
  • loss of intellectual ability, with a recorded drop in IQ of 15 points or greater

In addition, the medical documentation of your SSD applicant must also show the symptoms of dementia have resulted in functional impairments in the following areas:

  • normal, daily activities
  • social functioning
  • concentrating and/or persistence in completing tasks
Demonstrating through medical records that there are repeated periods when the applicant suffers even more pronounced symptoms, can also qualify as one of the two limitations in this requirement.

It is also possible to satisfy the SSA’s medical documentation requirements by proving the applicant’s dementia:

  • Results in recurrent episodes of decompensation (worsening of prior abilities) OR
  • Gets significantly worse when s/he encounters changes, stressors, or intellectual or emotional challenges OR
  • S/he requires constant monitoring even in a supportive care environment.
Click to learn more about the compassionate allowance program.

 

The Disability Benefit Programs


The SSA has two disability programs for which your charge may qualify:

  • Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Qualification for either or both of these programs requires the applicant meets the medical requirements for SSD. Early-onset dementia due to any cause qualifies medically. The applicant’s medical records must show the proof mentioned above.
Both of these programs also have financial and technical eligibility criteria, and when you apply for benefits on behalf of your care recipient, you will need to provide the SSA with more than just medical records.

  • For SSDI, the SSA must see the applicant has a work history during which work credits were earned through the payment of Social Security taxes.
  • For SSI, the SSA needs to see the applicant has very limited income and other financial resources, including assets, with which to pay for his or her daily needs.

Click to learn more about SSDI and SSI.

 

Applying for Benefits


While the person in your care who suffers from dementia is technically the applicant for benefits, you can apply on his or her behalf. It is important to know that you can complete the application for benefits in two ways: online or in person. An online application can be started at any time on the SSA’s website and be electronically filed when complete. An in-person application requires that you schedule an appointment with the Social Security office by calling 1-800-772-1213.Ram Meyyappan Social Security Disability benefits

Ram Meyyappan is the editor and manager of Social Security Disability Help, a website that contains information on how to apply for benefits with over 400 disabling conditions. Ram has written blog posts for various organizations on the process of applying for disability with different disabling conditions.



Dementia Signage for the Home




Common BP Drugs Tied to Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

People who take certain commonly used blood pressure medications have a significantly lower risk for Alzheimer's disease than those who don't, a new study suggests.

Although it remains unclear exactly how drugs such as ACE inhibitors or diuretics might protect the brain, researchers say these new findings could lead to a better understanding of Alzheimer's and new treatments to slow or delay the progression of the memory-robbing disease.
 
"We found a risk reduction by 50 percent. That tells you there must be something there," said study leader Dr. Sevil Yasar, an assistant professor of medicine in the department of geriatric medicine and gerontology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
 
The study involved information compiled from more than 2,200 older adults between 75 and 96 years of age. They had originally enrolled in an observational study examining whether the herb ginkgo biloba could reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.

 

The answer to that question was no, but the researchers were able to use the data already collected to conduct a separate analysis on the protective effect of some commonly prescribed blood pressure drugs, including diuretics, ARBs and ACE inhibitors.
 
The study, published recently in the journal Neurology, showed that regular use of these medications cut the risk of Alzheimer's dementia by at least half.
 
These drugs are used by millions of older Americans. For example, Lasix is one of the most commonly prescribed diuretics. Examples of ACE inhibitors include Lotensin, Capoten and Vasotec. Teveten and Avapro are two commonly used ARBs.
 
The researchers said diuretics, which are the first-line treatment for high blood pressure, also were linked to a 50 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease among participants who were already showing signs of "mild cognitive impairment" -- the slight impairment in thinking and memory that is often a precursor to Alzheimer's.
 
Exactly how these drugs reduced the risk for Alzheimer's dementia, however, is still unclear. One theory is that the protective effect is the result of lower blood pressure.
 
 
High blood pressure is a known risk factor for long-term thinking and memory problems, said Dr. Matthew McCoyd, assistant professor of neurology at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago.
"High blood pressure increases the risk of small vessel ischemic disease, in which the small blood vessels in the brain get smaller and tighter," said McCoyd, who was not involved in the study. "This can lead to a number of problems with [thinking and memory]." A reduction in blood pressure can reduce injury to the part of the brain involved with memory, he said.
 
Still, if reductions in blood pressure were at the root of the drugs' benefit, then all blood pressure medications should have lowered patients' risks for Alzheimer's disease. But not all classes of these drugs had a protective effect, according to the research.
 
"We did not find any beneficial effect from calcium channel blockers, which was surprising and disappointing," Yasar said. Beta-blockers also were not associated with a reduced risk for Alzheimer's dementia, she said.
 
Prior studies have suggested that a specific subgroup of calcium channel blockers might still have a protective effect. "It's not a finished story," Yasar said. "There is something to it, but a larger sample size is needed for an analysis of this subgroup."
 
She also said the study was limited by the fact that the data was collected to assess the effects of ginkgo biloba. As a result, the researchers were not able to determine if the patients took their blood pressure medication as prescribed or if they had used these drugs in the past.
 
So the question remains: Do certain blood pressure medications reduce the risk for Alzheimer's dementia due to a lowering of blood pressure, or is something else going on?
 
"The inherent overall health benefit of these medications isn't as clear independent of high blood pressure," McCoyd said. "Do these drugs provide additional benefits in terms of brain health? If that's the case, patients at high risk for brain disease, particularly dementia, may benefit from repurposing these medications."
 
Blood pressure drugs are already used to treat other conditions independent of blood pressure, such as tremor and headache, McCoyd said. "With so many people affected by [thinking and memory] changes, using these drugs to prevent or delay dementia would probably have the greatest social impact."
 

McCoyd cautioned, however, that a lot more research is needed before people with normal blood pressure would be automatically prescribed blood pressure drugs to decrease their dementia risk. Although these drugs are widely considered safe, all drugs have side effects, he said. Common side effects of blood pressure medications include dizziness, cough, rash, fatigue, nausea and headache.
More observational studies like this one -- which cannot prove a direct cause-and-effect link -- are not the answer, Yasar said.
 
"It's time to do clinical trials for these [blood pressure] drugs," she said. "We know these medications lower blood pressure, but could there be something else going on? Our hypothesis is that yes, there is something else."
 

Dementia Signage for the Home

 

Pearl Finish  Business Card Template

 
 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

How We File Memories

With an estimated 100 billion brain cells, are our brains like a giant filing cabinet?
 
If so, what are the similarities between how we file information in our brains vs. in a file drawer or on our computers?

As researchers study the different causes of dementia, we are learning more about how our brains work.

Johns Hopkins posted a health alert recently about how we make memories.

Memories are formed in three stages:

  1. Acquisition
  2. Consolidation
  3. Retrieval
As I read the article, I visualized how I use a file cabinet or the computer.


ACQUISITION


With today’s onslaught of information, I glide through the busy patches of life by placing information on my computer’s desktop–yes, the home screen on my computer. You may do the same on your tablet or smartphone. And who doesn’t toss hard copies of information in a pile? When that pile grows too tall or our screens grow too cluttered, what do we do? We create a catchall file or box in which we place information we’ll refer to later.

In effect, we postpone learning and digesting the information we set aside. Since we’re aware of it for a moment, this awareness resides in our short-term memory, which is fleeting.


CONSOLIDATION



It isn’t until we file the information that we begin the process of consolidation.
Evaluating where to store it–which file is most appropriate for this information–helps us strengthen the neural pathways to our memories.

If the information is of interest now–it relates to a project we’re working on–we’ll likely add it to our layers of knowledge; thus, forging more connections in our brains.

To forge these connections, which impacts retrieval, we’re smart to add new labels to file drawers or to create easily accessible shortcut links on our computers. These actions will strengthen our recall.


RETRIEVAL



The stronger these connections grow, the more quickly and easily we’re able to retrieve information. This is why we remember peoples’ names with whom we interact regularly and forget those we meet once.

Information is worthwhile if we can retrieve it when we need it.

For millions of people living with cognitive impairing diseases like Alzheimer’s, vascular, and other causes of dementia, this becomes an excruciating and frustrating issue.
For the rest of us, the Johns Hopkins article admonishes:
…if you have a problem remembering something,
maybe you weren’t concentrating on it too hard in the first place.
Retrieving information grows easier the more often we use it. The same holds true if we’ve filed an interesting or other significant piece of information. The key is how we file the information and this depends on what’s important to us now. Our filing categories change based on what we’re focused on at a given time in our lives.

We first need to decide whether a piece of information is important enough to retrieve. And if it is, then we must file it appropriately in order to retrieve it when we need it.


 Dementia Signage for the Home
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