Index
Acupuncture, 125
Alcohol(ism), 15, 21, 34, 61, 153
Alzheimer, Dr. Alois, 108
Alzheimer’s Association, 112, 158, 165
Safe Return Program, 138
Telephone number, 165-166
Alzheimer’s Disease/dementia
alternative treatments, 125, 128-129
behavioral issues, 135-138
blended families and, 54-55
cheering up patients with, 36, 48-49, 97, 130-132
children/grandchildren and, 54-55, 74-75, 145
documenting time with patients, 97-103
fear, 98
helping them cope, 96-103
stress/danger signs, 102-103
teenagers, 99-102
conversations about, 51-52, 176
cost of treatment, vii, 18, 53, 93, 100, 116, 158, 170-179
delusions, 58, 138-139, 142, 161
diagnosing/diagnosis of, 74, 93-94, 96, 108, 122, 125
self-, 109
tests for, 113-114
dressing, 115, 116, 134, 151-153
drug therapy, 25, 29, 113, 116-118, 129, 134, 139-142, 155, 161
how drugs work, 119-120
prescriptions for, 124, 140-141, 161
eating problems associated with, 126, 148-149
educating yourself about, 25, 81-82
family history of, 51, 81-82, 123
hearing loss, 134
independence and, 85, 129, 144, 151
keeping calm patients with, 21, 134, 135
late-onset, 108
legal issues regarding, 81, 116, 126, 158, 173-179
measuring progress of, 122-123
new treatments, 120-121
personal hygiene and, 62-63, 73, 115-117, 150-151, 166
bathing, 150-151
repetitive behavior associated with, 36, 116, 146-147
safety, 145-146
siblings and, 75-79
sleep patterns and, 116, 129, 139
spouses with, 4, 51-71, 80, 140
children’s input regarding, 54-55
stages of, 41, 61, 92, 112-117, 120, 155
early stages, 18, 29, 51, 58-60, 129, 163, 174
personal, 117
Stage Three, 115
Stage Four (Mild Cognitive Impairment), 115
Stage Five (Moderately Severe Cognitive Decline), 115
Stage Six (Severe Cognitive Decline), 115-116
State Seven (Very Severe Cognitive Decline), 116-117
tracking patients with, 137-138
treating, 107-127
violent behavior, 154-155
warning signs of, 111-112
Amazon.com, 11
American Academy of Neurology, 113
American Medical Association, 124
American Nurses Credentialing Center, 124
Area Agency on Aging (AAA), 158
Aromatherapy, 38-39, 121, 128-129
Assisted Living Facilities (ALF), 172
Barnes & Noble, 11
Bathing Without a Battle, 151
Bedsores, 169-170
Boy Scouts, 9
Breathing exercises, 128
Brookdale Hospital, 128-129
Care Agreement, 177
boredom, 22
companionship for, 66-67
death, 4
health, 44-48, 50, 85-86, 127, 157
mental fatigue, 22-23
professional help for, 162
reducing, 4-13
siblings and, 74-79
stress, 4-5, 62, 79, 80, 103, 162-163
combating/reducing, 38, 61, 147
drugs for, 38
from discrimination, 70-71
from sex, 63-64
physical signs of, 37-38
test, 160-161
Caregivers, professional, 83-95, 143
job description, 90
monitoring, 87
references, 89
relationships with, 84-85, 90-92
when to find, 83-84
Chiropractors, 125
Cholinesterase inhibitors, 118, 119-120
teenagers and, 101-102
Columbia Teachers College, 59
Communicating
Alzheimer’s patients and, 36, 38, 51, 62, 92, 116, 131-135, 154, 168-169
body language, 62, 64, 131-134, 150-151
facial expressions, 133
problems with, 113
referential conversations, 168-169
telephone versus computer, 158-160
Computer literacy, 10, 42, 159-160, 179
Could It Be B12?, 125
Creutzfedlt-Jakob disease, 108
Dementia,
definition of, 107-108
misdiagnosis of, 108-110
vascular, 108
Department of Motor Vehicles, 123
sending loved one to nursing facility, 34, 40, 53-54, 169
signs of, 34
Diary
of care recipient’s behavior, 153
time-management, 43-480
Doctors
communicating with, 81, 92, 94-95, 114, 122-123
drugs lists for, 122
house calls, 122
staff, 95
support, 123-124
visits, helping care recipient deal with, 121-124
your relationship with, 93-95
Drug therapy, 15, 25, 29, 113, 116-118, 129, 134, 139-142, 155, 161
alternatives, 121
for memory loss, 118
how drugs work, 119-120
inappropriate use of, 171
lists for, 122
prescriptions for, 124, 140-141, 161
Elder-proofing your house, 145-146
Electronic brain stimulation, 120
Environment, 38-39
facility, 128-132
role of, 128-132
Estate planning, 176-179
Feelings, 14-40
agitation, 134-135, 138-139, 142-143, 147, 168
anger, 14, 17, 18-20, 36, 59, 171
frustration, 18, 31, 35-36, 58-59, 130, 134-135, 154
getting professional help for, 39-40
gratefulness, 29-31
guilt, 14-18, 40, 52, 78, 80, 145, 156, 166, 171
appropriate, 16-17
inappropriate, 16-17
mourning/grieving, 15, 33, 166
sadness, 14-15, 34, 155-156, 166
shame, 26-28
tiredness, 22-23
Food and Drug Administration, 118
Geriatric Nurse Practitioners, 124
Geriatrician, 124
Geriatric Psychiatrist, 124
Gerontologist, 124
Geropsychologist, 124
Girl Scouts, 9
Globe and Mail, 29-30
Grimaldi & Yeung, 173
Health care proxy, 174-175
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 174
Healthboards, 160
Hebrew Home for the Aged, 128-129, 132, 139, 172
Help,
accepting offers of, 6-8
activities, 11-12
organizations, 158
reciprocating, 10-12
turning down, 76-77
Holidays, 149-150
Hospice, 126
Huntington’s disease, 108, 154
Inhibition, loss of, 5, 142, 152, 154
masturbation, open, 64-65, 152
saying inappropriate things, 27
researching facilities on, 17
Journal of the American Medical Association, 4
Judgment, poor, 112
Kiwanis, 9
Kleptomania, 154
Labeling objects, 146
Laughter, 128
Leckie, Robin, 29-30, 57-58, 109-110
The Legacy, 165
Lions Club, 9
Losing things, 112
MRI, 108
Massage therapy, 121, 125, 128, 170
Medicaid, 177-179
eligibility for, 177-178
Meditation, 128
Memory Impairment Screen, 113
Memory loss, 5, 39, 109, 111, 115-116, 168
medications to help with, 118
Mini Mental Status Exam, 113
Mood/personality changes, 112-115, 123
National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), 158
National Institute on Aging, 112
NeedyMeds website, 42
Neurofibrillary tangles, 108
Neurologists, 125
Neuropsychologists, 125
Neurotic plaques, 108
Nursing Home Transparency Act, 171
Nursing homes, 128-132, 168-172
communicating with, 169
cost of staying in, 18, 53, 93, 170-171, 176-178
environment, 128-132
guilt/depression from sending loved one to, 34, 40, 53-54, 169
professional help with sending loved one to, 39-43, 124
protection from other patients in, 170
quality of care in, 170
rationales/reasons for sending loved one to, 18, 26, 54, 116-117, 141
researching, 17
spouses in, 52-54
Nutritionists, 125
O’Connor, Sandra Day, 55, 65-66
Older American Act, 158
Parents with Alzheimer’s, 72-82
history with, 72-73
making a memory book with, 73-74
verbal abuse from, 72-73
visiting, 80-81
Parkinson’s disease, 108, 120, 125
Photo albums, 11
Power of attorney (POA), 81, 126, 174-175
Reasoning, problems with, 111-113
Rewarding yourself, 4-6, 12, 45-46, 144-145, 149-150
inappropriately, 21
Self-discipline, 20
Seminara, Joanne, 173
Senile plaques, 108
Sleep, 4
Social workers, 40
at work, 50
fear of, 26-28
in-person visits, 32
scheduled conversations, 20
videophone calls, 32
with other Alzheimer’s patients, 135
with yourself, 69-70
Spatial/depth perception, 112-113, 136-137, 150
Spouses with Alzheimer’s Disease, 4, 51-71, 166
children’s input regarding, 54-55
gay couples and, 70-71
marital status and, 55-57
new relationships, 56
alternatives to, 61
giving up, 61-62
hypersexuality, 61
inappropriate behavior, 152-154
rejecting, 63-64
restrictions to, 60-62
Steuben Day Parade, 29
Support
family, 75-82
groups, 32, 124, 135, 158, 163-167
physical, 31
social, 31
telephone, 165-166
where to find, 83, 159-160, 163-165
Task completion, difficulty in, 111
Television watching, 21, 33, 48-49
timebanks.org, 10
Twitter, 32
Verbal abuse/arguing, 42, 19, 72-73, 89, 117, 144
Volunteers, 7
finding, 44-45
unreliable, 13
volunteering yourself, 50
Walking, 130
Well Spouse Association, 158
Wills, 174