Caregivers Health

How important is staying health for the caregiver?
I ask this because I myself neglect my health on a daily basis--- overwhelmed the pressures of managing a household (2 small children and elderly AD person). I simply don't have the time---I hope relaxation is therapeutic as that is the only type of relief and respite I get.
I do get a full retinue of exercise each day as I perform a paper route that includes about a mile of walking and going up and down stairs.
I am still concerned with my overall health and I advise people who have caregivers in their homes to be very conscious and considerate of the health of those we rely on to provide care for our loved ones.
klcouncil

Family Unit

It takes a unit to provide insight care---family memebes must work together for the benefit of the whole...caring for someone can not become the sole focal point of caregiving. Meaning that life has to have balances to avoid becoming overwhelmed by our duties to provide for our family.

Always reassess how you manage time and attention----as always never overlook self---considering that you well could be the linchpin of the family whose providing care.

Support

In being the primary caregiver of my mother-in-law what I find is the hardest part of this experience is getting her children (my wife included)to elevate their level of insight regarding the care of their mother.
It is essential for family members to reinforce good caregiving by proving to the caregiver---that they (family members) are committed to providing care---
this entails cooperation with the insightcaregiver, listening to the concerns and the instruction of the insightcaregiver, as well as providing the insightcaregiver with all reasonable support.
This area of support will be expanded on in future posts---the support system is essential; in keeping families and insight-caregivers on the same page (in the book of caring) and to prevent premature burnout in regards to caring for someone.

Insight

Getting a person off of anti-psychotics is essential to restore dignity and enhance end life care.
No one is functional on drugs used to control (so-called behavior problems in elderly people)-any caregiver who claims success at the expense of medicating people to death on hard drugs to make their job easier is outrageous. We cannot continue to give feeble-minded or elderly people powerful anti-psychotics.
I would suggest that the people who feel drugs help or slows down the process of mental aging consider this---
My mother-in-law could not talk or walk straight under the influence of anti-psychotic drugs (she’s also been certified as totally incompetent by a neurologist 11/2007)---
After being off anti-psychotics for seven months my mil can spell, write, do simple math, simple problem solving (interesting). Have a lot of young children’s workbooks on hand---in my mil case math books seem easiest for her to concentrate on.
The fact is she has more mental capacity since discontinuing anti-psychotics---yet the corporate care giving industry is telling us anti-psychotics are beneficial for our loved ones’ minds---this is absolutely false and may well be criminal.
I challenge any caregiver to bring their chemically induced patient to a neutral location, I will bring my Mil, and she will out perform their patient in any cognitive capacity.
My question is how do our elderly relearn the things they have known all their lives---and how do we retain our own mental capacity as we age.

Klcouncil
Thx fo carin

Insightcaregivers Menu

Many caregivers struggle with daily feedings of the ones they care for. Getting the ones we care for to eat is important---especially when they are anti-psychotic drug free---the right food can enhance memory and affect mood.
Under this post I focus on food, menu, and ways to convince loved ones to eat right---
For instance the person I care for refuses to eat dark green/leafy vegetables. No greens, spinach, broccoli, cabbage etc
We have found one method that works---feed fruit, juices, nuts, whole grain bread, and a small snack (sweet) throughout the day. (No meals)
Then feed one big meal around 3pm include two or three servings of vegetables on the plate (there is an options for a later meal around 7pm usually veggies and fish)---small portion of Fish/Meat (essential sources of b6 and b 12)---you can even add bits of meat to the veggies to make them more appealing to the one cared for.
However, never resort to allowing old people to live on junk food, can goods, or fast food (especially if they are on anti-psychotics drugs). Pay close attention to how a person responds to the food they eat---keep diet and feeding stable as possible.


klcouncil
thx fo carin

Hygiene @ Home

Young children and old folks living together is a real task. The main thing is hygiene for all family members---the washing of hands, changing toilet paper, soap and towels---those are a few of the basics. Make sure children learn the basic tenets of good hygiene

1. avoid contact in public
2. don't lean or wallow on items (furnishing shopping carts etc) in public
3. inspect your drinks in schools for dates of expiration----check the cartons or bottles for leaks----
4. check the bottom of the cartons for discoloration (if discolored discard)
5. use restroom carefully

Male moms and pops relearn the one's they taught us---

1. always wash hands(always)
2. check bathroom after usage
   
3. eat behind no-one
4. bathe regularly
5. clean mouth and dentures nightly
   

These tents are hard to keep at times----never-the-less we try and follow them.
Protecting the health/hygiene of the family is just as important as providing security for the family.
klcouncil
thx fo carin

relaxed living

These steps can help relax people with AD:

Walking on daily basis

Listen to calming music at sleep time

Pet dog

Keeping environment relaxed and focused on caregiving

klcoucil

Anticholinesterase Inhibitors Drugs

Dear Kenneth,

Thanks for contacting me. I am pleased to hear your MIL is better after having stopped her antipsychotics. I am not sure what Namenda is, but in my experience the anticholinesterase inhibitors drugs can make people very agitated too. There has been some publicity about this with the recent BBC Panoram programme, and i hope fewer people like your MIL will get started on antipsychiotics in the future.

Dr Joanna Moncrieff,
Senior Lecturer,
University College London,
Department of Mental Health Sciences

Comment by Sandra - December 4, 2007 at 9:33 am

My deceased father who had mild dementia was put in rehab for pain control for a compression fracture. The SMF put him on resperidol, zyrexia, along with MS contin for pain, robinol, lexapro and nerontin. He went from alert and able to walk to on his own to unarousable in a chair within 48 hours of admission. He also developed urinary retention as a side effect and ended up being straight cathed and then developed a UTI. He lost 50 lbs. in 6 months. Oh, they also put him in diapers. He was too sleepy for PT and they would not discharge him as he wasn’t ready yet. Some meds were discontinued but his affect never came back. He had many set backs with 2 hospitalizations in between, but once we got him home, he had 14 months of good life at home before he died from an aortic aneurysm that ruptured due to being put on coumadin for afib. I was at the SNF every day to oversee his care. If I hadn’t, he would have never made it

Myth of the Chemical Cure

Joanna Moncreiff a London psychiatrist has brought moral charges against those of her profession who fail to admit that anti-psychotics are doing NO GOOD and in fact are causing brain damage in feeble-minded and elderly minded people who have been instructed to take these pills by doctors and caregivers.
Anti-psychotics cause side-effects equivalent to and greater than symptoms commonly associated with Alzheimer's disease. That being the case why are we relying on these drugs---instead of focusing on other (less intrusive) methods of health-care? Dr. Moncrieff has concluded that anti-psychotics almost triple a person's risk of dying prematurely.
klcouncil

Caregivers using insight and good vibe ideas

Anti-psychotic drugs used to treat (so-called symptoms of Alzheimer's) is a questionable practice.
Caregivers using insight and good vibe ideas---understand that the patients rights are paramount in caregiving. Using the less restrictive means necessary is an absolute prerequisite to good caregiving.
This entails detail orientated care---in order to provide this level of care a caregiver cannot rely on drugs to control and manage a patients attitude or behavior---
The caregiver must use other means to control and manage the patients which do not violate the patients human right to life.
Insightcaregiving keeps the patient in sight of the caregivers 80% of time care is being provided---there is constant presence, eye contact, reading, casual touching, (family setting ideal).

(As an insightcargiver here is an example of day therapy I perform:
Patient (un medicated) up in room (alone) making beds, already dressed when observed, dentures located and in (alone), glasses located and on (alone), walked downstairs to kitchen (attempted to wash dishes--stopped and advised to use soap---did not agree (felt not needed "I go can home and never come here again" ramble for 5 min.)(caregiver calmed down went to turn on heat)---patient sits at kitchen table---juice, banana(2),---bp checked and is (high 186/93 pulse 70)---given bp pill and OJ---reading flower book (normal)---used rest room and is now in family room sitting directly in front of caregiver and young girl---patient reading daily news paper (quietly)---now watching dvd with daughter...

The above is a daily passage from the life of a lady who was first diagnosed with, Alzheimer's in 2004 and went through 3 years of anti-psychotic drug use, anemia, urinary tract infection, homicidal and suicidal incidents, fall incidents, extreme aggression and agitation, confused wandering, hallucinations, endless rambling and self-talk---constant ER visits and mental ward confinements.
klcouncil

Texas APS Out of Control

In 2004 Texas Department of Adult Protective Services was found to need the following:
"APS workers need training.
APS workers lack knowledge and understanding of Alzheimer's effect on the patient and its impact on the patients family
APS does not follow through and does not provide feedback
APS like a black hole, they never know what priority was given to their report and what action was taken.
APS workers need managerial support.
Caseloads are overwhelming
APS is proprietary; they have control of clients and won't allow other agencies to help patients
Most services provided by APS are for clients with capacity and Alzheimer's patient do not have capacity
Need a local number for APS
APS needs a place to take clients who are out of control"
Out of control!
Dear Kenneth:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your experience with Adult Protective Services (APS). I was truly sorry to read of your difficulties.

I sympathize with your concerns, and I appreciate you bringing this matter to my attention. Because senatorial courtesy requires that Senators each be allowed to assist their own constituents, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your correspondence to Senator Steve Ogden, who represents you in the Texas Senate. You may also contact his office directly at (512) 828-5224.

I wish you a satisfactory resolution to your concerns and hope that you will continue to communicate with your elected representatives on issues of importance to you.

Very truly yours,
Senator Jane Nelson

cc: The Honorable Steve Ogden

My family has experienced APS lack of planning in regards to people without capacity---in my family's case the APS attempted to treatment my MIL as if she had capacity when it would help support the APS investigation, however they APS found that she was without capacity in regards to anything we have done. For example in 8/07 my MIL requested that my wife help get her life back---my wife agreed and applied for POA of her mother, the POA was notarized and consistent with Texas Law. APS in an investigation 8 months later claimed that the POA was invalid---however the APS had my MIL sign a privacy release in 10/07, the APS questioned my MIL as if she had capacity, and the APS documented information from these investigations as if my MIL had capacity. I agree APS needs uniformed overhaul in regards to Alz clients.

klcouncil

Razadyne

According the FDA "two randomized placebo controlled trials of 2 years duration in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a total of 13 subjects on Razadyne(n=1026) and 1 subject on placebo (n=1022) died." http://www.drugs.com/pro/razadyne.html
My question is if so many more people died while on these mind drugs---why do we keep using them on the elderly?
Insightcaregivers must be aware of the dangers of these drugs period, not merely concerned with how these drugs are administered.
klcouncil

The symptoms for Dementia are the same as the symptoms for anti-psychotic drug addiction

The symptoms for Dementia are the same as the symptoms for anti-psychotic drug addiction

* Progressive memory loss
* Inability to concentrate
* Decrease in problem-solving skills and judgment capability
* Confusion, severe
* Hallucinations and delusions
* Altered sensation or perception
* Impaired recognition (agnosia)
o Impaired recognition of familiar objects or persons
o Impaired recognition through the senses
* Altered sleep patterns
o Insomnia
o Need for increased sleep
o Disturbance or change in sleep-wake cycle
* Motor system impairment
o Impaired skilled motor function (apraxia)
+ Inability to reproduce geometric figures
+ Inability to mimic hand positions
+ Inability to dress self
o Gait changes
o Inappropriate movements
o Other motor system impairment
* Disorientation
o Person, place, time disorientation
o Visual-spatial disorientation
o Inability to interpret environmental cues
* Specific disorders of problem-solving or learning
o Inability to generalize
o Loss of abstract thinking
o Impaired calculating ability
o Inability to learn
* Memory deficit
o Short-term memory problems (can't remember new things)
o Long-term memory problems (can't remember past)
* Absent or impaired language ability (aphasia)
o Inability to comprehend speech
o Inability to read
o Inability to write
o Inability to speak, without muscle paralysis
o Inability to form words
o Inability to name objects
o Poor enunciation
o Inappropriate speech; use of jargon or wrong words
o Inability to repeat a phrase
o Persistent repetition of phrases
o Other language impairment
* Personality changes
o Irritability
o Poor temper control
o Anxiety
o Depression
o Indecisiveness
o Self-centeredness
o Inflexibility
o No observable mood (flat affect)
o Inappropriate mood or behavior
o Withdrawal from social interaction
o Inability to function or interact in social or personal situations
o Inability to maintain employment
o Decreased ability to care for oneself
o Decreased interest in daily living activities
* Lack of spontaneity

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease are as follows:

* Swallowing problems
* Incontinence

Preparing for old age is an immediate challenge

Whose going to safe guard your health and mental well-being is the central question to living a full and long life.
Your primary concern is your mental health a healthy mind means a healthy body---people with little bodily functions (and good mental capacity) live fulfilling lives.
In contrast many people with healthy bodies lack good mental capacity.
When your body slows down your brain speeds up that is what the AGE of WISDOM teaches us---if we lose focus on that then we have lost focus on ourselves.
klcouncil
thx fo carin

Set a positive mood for interaction

Many caregivers have been taught to “set a positive mood for interaction” with the person cared for---they have been told that body language and attitude communicates your disposition stronger, than words?

Not only is that flawed its dangerous---especially if your loved one is on any type of antipsychotic drug, suffering current pain, or recent victim of abuse---

Anti psychotic drugs alter the mind to such a degree that they cause (heart failures, sudden death and open the door to every inflection imaginable).

A person under the stress of anti-psychotics cannot socialize, will not respond to touch, and cannot talk---with vision distorted by these drugs any form of physical body language is sure to trigger aggression.

Words the most useful form of caregiving to reassure people suffering confusion, other illnesses, and under the influence of drugs that we are there to help and that we are concerned with their needs. Words, music, sound breaks through the chemical clouds of confusion----helps them reconnect to the familiar sounds of family.


Thx fo carin
klcouncil

Aggression is often the result of a medical condition

Many health care organizations and caregivers claim that aggression is a medical condition.

Aggression=a medical condition?
Then our entire prison population is sick and prisons are merely hospitals for those who are aggressively sick.

Perfectly sensible people don't become aggressive unless under duress or attack. These people are caused to live in panic mode, due to noise, family disorder, lack of activity, quick bad food, and support instability---the caregiver is swamped by the sheer volume of having to provide someone with virtual minute to minute care for an indefinite period of life (what qualifies one for such a demanding task)?


Alzheimer's is a social disorder that warrants social caregiving… the social caregiving means the physical act of socializing (families who socialize together more due to ALZ disorder overcome more, have no stress related to the care (in fact social caregiving improves the caregivers stress level the caregivers are healing along with the people they care for), socializing induces good behavior on the parts of us involved in the caregiving process.
thx fo carin
klcouncil

Postmarketing Surveillance

Late breaking news---the Food and Drug Administration has ruled that treating people with Alzheimer’s/Dementia “increased mortality” in elderly people!
Drugs like olanzapine (Zyprexa), aripiprazole (Abilify),risperidone (Risperdal), or quetiapine (Seroquel) increase behavior problems in the elderly---These powerful “modifier” were not meant for the feebleminded or the forgetful.
Klcouncil8

FDA Public Health Advisory
Deaths with Antipsychotics in Elderly

Patients with Behavioral Disturbances

Insightcaregiving

This is an open charter please feel free to add your thoughts on what we can do to enhance private caregiving.

Insightcaregiving

The basics of insightcare- giving is transparency. We want other to see and know how we care for our loved ones.

This open display of caring protects the family in various ways;

1. It makes it easy for the community to identify that your loved one needs special care and to look out for her.

2. It reassures others in the community that you are committed to caring for our aging population and can be trusted to insure that the elderly are looked after of in the community.

3. Demonstrates to young people that it is a GOOD thing to be seen with the elderly in public.

4. It demonstrates our competency as caregivers.

5. It provides more freedom for the family and the uBeloved (persons cared for)

6. It gives us leverage in our cause to be respected and recognized as a bonafide element in the caring-health industry.

7. Insightcaring is in our nature it is what you do when others around you have to rely on you when they are sick---insightcaring has been taught to us by our grandmothers and grandfathers---

insightcaring lets you see what you are living for and not dying for

insightcaring extends life because you are interested in extending life---

insightcaring cooperates with all segments of the healthcare world, we keep daily(two hour) records, we inform and share advice, we research while caring, we interact with the mind doctors

8. Insightcaring holds the caregiver responsible for the care being provided.

It must be nonrestrictive for optimal care.

Banded From Caregivers Site For Caring

On Apr 11, 2008, at 10:56 PM, Jim Broede wrote:

Kenneth:

Just curious. Did the message board administrator Kelli Morehead give you a difficult time? Did she suspend you? Or tell you to stay away? Wouldn't surprise me. We've had some donnybrooks in the past on the message board. Some of the ladies have tried to get me banned. Without success. Some of the ladies, you know, have either been suspended for periods of time, or outrightly banned. They've even used profanity in addressing me. Even a 'fuck you.' Some of 'em are really out of control. Just imagine how they must deal with their patients. --Jim

Caregivers Daily Report

Daily report
MIL up and moving about in room with BG (Bg is 5)---
MIl talking quietly with bg---
appears to have good night sleep---
caregiver sleep in extra bed in room with bg noted no apparent problems---
classical music on troughout the night---
made little movement when lights went on during the night---
no bed wetting problems---
thx fo carin



daily report
MIl had a pretty day we did sweep detail---
she swept the next door neighbors drive and walk way....
beans rice and sausage for noon meal---
read baseball news golf news and a good part of the sport page...outloud...
no problems---cleaned kitchen together

551pm----

mil in back yard with kids eating ice cream no problems

long day wife wont be home until late---

Caregivers Insight

Posted April 05, 2008 11:24 PMApril 05, 2008 11:24 PM

I have been the primary caregiver of my 77 year-old mother-in-law for 8 months here is a before and after break down of her condition.
Before
1. Frequent hospitalization/mental ward confinements
2. Weight loss to the point anemia (weighed 89 pounds)
3. Dehydration resulting urinary tract infections
4. Extremely violent/attempts to cause injury to others (butcher knives, axe, fire)
5. Expressions of suicide
6. Isolation
7. No interaction
8. Antipsychotic drug abuse (allowed to self medicate)
9. Wandering episodes
10. Allowed strangers into house
After
1. Frequent doctor visit (general and neurological)(no mental health visit)
2. Weight gain (12 pounds)
3. Constant flow of juices/water (not a single infection)
4. Mild out burst easily redirected with attention (able to distract with kind words)
5. No suicidal words unless nursing home is mentioned
6. Never isolated (allowed very brief period of time alone)
7. Constant interaction reads daily and almost any subject
8. Only medication for high blood pressure (as needed)
9. Allowed to wander in enclosed backyard with dog/daily walks with caregiver
10. Not allowed to answer door