Our Apologies

We were unable to publish our Aging Solutions newsletter in April and May. Hopefully, we're back on track now.

Caregiver Tip of the Month

— Is it Alzheimer's? Or, is it something curable? —

In addition to memory loss, Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia cause many other problems for patients and their families. We've listed the common symptoms below. It is important to remember that not everyone with dementia has all of the symptoms.

Recent memory loss. Everyone forgets things for awhile, but remembers them later. But, dementia patients forget things, and never remember them. For example, they might ask the same question repeatedly, forgetting that you already answered it.

Difficulty performing familiar tasks. Patients might cook a meal but forget to serve it.

Problems with language. Dementia patients may forget simple words or use the wrong words, making it hard to understand what they want. This can cause an outburst of anger directed at the person they're talking to.

Time and place disorientation. Forgetting how they got to a certain place and how to get back home.

Poor judgment. Anyone might get distracted and forget to watch a child closely for a short time. Dementia patients might forget about the child and just leave the house for the day.

Problems with abstract thinking. Anyone might occasionally have trouble balancing a checkbook. Dementia patients can forget what numbers are and how to use them.

Misplacing things. Patients may put things in the wrong places — an iron in the freezer, or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl, and can't find them later.

Changes in mood. Everyone is moody occasionally, but patients may have fast mood swings, going from calm to tears to anger in only a few minutes.

Personality changes. Patients may have dramatic changes in personality, often becoming irritable, suspicious or fearful.

Loss of initiative. Patients may become passive, not wanting to go places or see other people.

To help you determine the cause of your loved one's problems, the U.S. Administration on Aging has prepared a brief guide, "Questions to Ask the Doctor." To see it, click here. Fill it in as best you can, and take it with you to your loved one's next doctor's appointment.

Important Note: Even if your loved one has some of the above problems, he or she may not have Alzheimer's. Many treatable health conditions have the same symptoms. Among them:

• Prescription drugs interactions and side effects
• The combined effect of weight loss/gain and medications
• Dehydration
• Vitamin B12 deficiency
• Falls and concussions
• Depression
• Alcohol use

Prescription drugs interactions and side effects often mimic dementia symptoms. According to Consumer Reports on Health, "Any new health problem in an older person should be considered drug induced until proven otherwise." To see if medications could be the cause of your loved one's symptoms, click on Prescription Drugs Interactions.

Side effects and interactions between medications (including prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin, herbal remedies, nutritional supplements — even daily multi-vitamins) can produce symptoms that include mood changes, loss of energy, difficulty walking, confusion and other memory problems, even incontinence. Unfortunately, these symptoms are often overlooked, ignored, or chalked up to old age. Or, they can lead to incorrect diagnoses of senility or Alzheimer's disease, or another serious condition, with totally inappropriate care being prescribed.

Older adults tend to be more sensitive to prescription drugs than younger adults due to slower metabolisms and organ functions. This affects how a drug is absorbed into the bloodstream, how it reacts in the organs, and how quickly it is eliminated. But dosage amounts are usually determined based on the faster metabolic rate of younger people. Consequently, many drugs tend to build up over time to far higher levels than desired for older patients. This can produce allergic reactions or worsen already troublesome side effects. Be especially alert for dizziness, blurred vision, constipation, incontinence, diarrhea, nausea, sleep changes, mood changes or a rash.

The symptoms of dehydration, like those of many other treatable health conditions, can be virtually identical to Alzheimer's and dementia's symptoms. Correcting dehydration can allow an older person to return to a full and normal life.

The most common symptoms of dehydration include persistent fatigue, lethargy, muscle weakness or cramps, headaches, dizziness, nausea, forgetfulness, confusion, deep rapid breathing, or an increased heart rate. Dehydration is a very serious condition, more than most people realize. Since seniors often have a reduced sense of thirst, dehydration is one of the most frequent causes of hospitalization after age 65.

Other less common signs and symptoms of dehydration can include:

• Excessive loss of fluid through vomiting, urinating, diarrhea or sweating

• Poor intake of fluids, "can't keep anything down"

• Sunken eyes

• Dry or sticky mucous membranes in the mouth

• Skin that lacks its normal elasticity and sags back into position slowly when pinched up into a fold

• Decreased or absent urine output

• Decreased tears

Nearly everyone gets about half their daily water requirement from solid foods and fruit and vegetable juices. But seniors often have a reduced sense of thirst and a reduced appetite. Here's the water content (by weight) of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Include the ones with the highest water content in meals or serve as snacks to help avoid dehydration.

Find Eldercare for Your Loved Ones

We have partnered with ElderCarelink to help you find the right local eldercare services for your loved one. ElderCarelink has established a nationwide network of carefully screened eldercare providers and facilities. We are pleased to bring this referral service to you free of charge.

Within minutes of completing a brief Needs Survey, you will receive a detailed email report that list eldercare providers in your area who match your specific requirements. Last year alone, over 100,000 families utilized this service in their search for high-quality senior care.

We look forward to our family helping yours. Take a minute now to complete the Needs Survey and find the community that meets your family's needs. Let us assist you.

Our visitors ask ...

Q. I am trying to find assistance for my mother. She's 59 years old and recently had a heart attack. Her insurance is with a major health insurance company. They just sent her a bill for $9,000+. She is the sole provider of the home because my father is disabled with Renal failure and hasn't worked in over 25 years.

Please respond. My mom really needs some help. She was told she only has 5 doctor's visits and she has exhausted 3 already.

A. The Patient Advocate Foundation may be able to help your mother. (click on the link to visit their website.)

This non-profit organization helps patients negotiate with insurance companies, HMOs and Medicare to resolve coverage and benefit problems, including seniors who need help getting reimbursement from Medicare for prescription drugs. It also offers a national legal resources network that provides legal consulting and referral services for patients who are denied insurance coverage or who need negotiating support with state and federal public assistance programs, including Medicaid.

Daily Living Solutions

— products for seniors and the elderly —

As we grow older, it often becomes difficult to use many everyday products because of arthritis, disability or other conditions. If you or a loved one needs a little help – or a lot – here are practical and affordable solutions that make life a little easier – solutions that help people continue living independently in their own home. To help you find what you need, everything is sorted into convenient categories in our Solutions for Seniors section.

You will also find, usually at a substantial discount, hundreds of medical equipment items, home health care products for the elderly, disability assistive devices, and more.

Whether you are looking for yourself or a loved one, Solutions for Seniors offers a wide variety of products, supplies and accessories – raised toilet seats, safety rails, incontinence supplies, large-handle eating utensils, pain relief, diabetic supplies, pill splitters and crushers, big-button hearing-amplified telephones, canes, walkers, rollators, wheelchairs – and much more.

Caregiving – Finding the money for care at home

A variety of resources can help pay for care at home. We discuss these resources in some detail in our article 12 tips to help you find money (and free resources) for care at home.

Our visitors ask ...

Q. My mother is 64 and has Alzheimer's. She has been in the same nursing home in Florida for almost 4 years. I want to move her to a facility closer to my home in Missouri.

She is on Medicare and has Medicaid in addition to a supplemental insurance plan that covers some of her medication.

I have encountered some problems in being able to move her to another facility. Is there any help available to get this accomplished? Are there any additional issues in getting her moved to a home in another state?

A. Your mother's nursing home expenses are paid by Medicaid (her Medicare coverage pays only for her medical care and a portion of her prescriptions.) Even though Medicaid is a federal program, it is administered AND PAID FOR by the state in which a patient resides. The fact that Medicaid's rules can vary somewhat from state to state is probably causing at least some of the problems you are having.

We recommend that you talk with an attorney who specializes in elder law. Check the yellow pages in your local telephone directory, or go to the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys' web site. You'll find a link on the left side of their home page that will help you locate an elder law attorney.

Our visitors ask ...

Q. My father was a WW2 veteran and passed away in 1999. We are looking to see if my mother could get some kind of benefits for Home Health Care. If she can, what do we need to do?

A. Your mother may be eligible for the Veterans Administration's Aid & Attendance Special Pension for widows of veterans. This often overlooked VA benefit can pay widows of wartime veterans up to an additional $998 per month for in-home care, assisted living and nursing home care. For more information, please take a look at our article VA Aid & Attendance Special Pension.

Our visitors ask ...

Q. My mother and her two brothers are facing all the typical issues of caring for parents advanced in age. As often happens, they are having difficulty agreeing on what care is needed. My grandmother has home hospice care available, which is only utilized every two weeks or so for a brief visit. My grandfather is a man of good health, but has a heart condition he doesn't acknowledge. He feels he knows best how to care for her. This may mean giving her more doses of certain medications as "more is better" and ignoring the fact that she sees people who aren't there, doesn't recognize him or others from day to day, or other strange occurrences. They are both in their mid 80's and still living at home with no weekday assistance. My mother is running herself ragged with trips to Iowa every weekend. Her two brothers and their spouses live in the same town and feel she's fussing over nothing.

The sibling divide is adding to my uncles' misinterpretation of the severity of my grandparents' situation. They cannot sit down for a family meeting as the discussion would be tainted with the martyr attitude perceived by all on the part of my mother. They need a solid intermediary to sit down with them as a family and discuss living arrangements, medical matters as well as social needs, the state of their finances and the update of their will, value assessment on their home, etc. Is a social worker the person for this job, or another type of professional?

A. We recommend that a geriatric care manager be brought into the picture. While their services are more expensive than, for example, a county social worker, a geriatric care manager is a multi-talented medical professional trained in geriatrics, social work, nursing or counseling. They have a lot of experience in working with elders who are in denial, and probably will also be of some help in helping your mother and her brothers reach an agreement insofar as what plan of care would be in the best interest of your grandparents.

First, the geriatric care manager will conduct a thorough patient assessment to identify needs and develop an appropriate plan of care for your grandparents. They can also screen and supervise professional caregivers; coordinate medical care; pay bills; and act as a liaison with your family. Depending on your grandparents' needs, they can also screen and supervise other qualified people to help with housekeeping, laundry, shopping, maintenance and repairs; review applicable financial and legal issues and offer referrals to geriatric specialists; and assist with a change of living arrangements, if that is most appropriate.

To find a care manager near your family, look at the website of the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers. This is the major national association of health care professionals who oversee long-term care arrangements needed by older people. Their Web site includes a locator to help you find a nearby care manager; click on their "Find a Care Manager" button on the left side of their page. You may also be able to find a qualified geriatric care manager in the yellow pages.

Recommended Reading and Videos

Many excellent books and videos can help guide you through the caregiving process. For our recommendations, including a brief description of each one, click here.

The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is intended as a supplement, not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. More