<!–[CDATA[If you are an adult child caring for a father who lives with Alzheimer’s or the spouse of an older man who has the disease, a study released in the fall of 2014 may be of interest. Researchers looked at admission trends for older adults who moved to memory care assisted living communities. While women far outnumber men in traditional senior living communities, a greater number of men are being admitted to memory care programs. Men are moving to dementia care communities at a rate that is 14% faster than women.

Memory Care Admission Trends

The study examined new move-ins that occurred from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2014. In looking at the history of what prompted each move to a memory care program, researchers uncovered some interesting information. When men moved to a memory care assisted living program, 8% of the time it was because their caregiver was unable to successfully manage their wandering at home. 30% of the time it was because the family and caregivers were concerned about their aggressive behavior.

What Indiana Caregivers Should Know about Aggression in Men with Alzheimer’s

Pinpointing a cause of aggression for people who have Alzheimer’s isn’t easy. Dementia experts believe there are a few likely culprits:

• Undiagnosed or unmanaged pain
• Overstimulation or a hectic, noisy environment
• Fatigue or lack of sleep
• Unmet needs such as hunger, thirst or the need to use the bathroom

Because exaggerated behavior is quite common among people who live with Alzheimer’s, even a seemingly small problem can lead to an angry outburst. Researchers refer to these behaviors as catastrophic reactions.

Recognizing Potential Triggers for Aggression

A few common situations that may trigger aggression in an Indiana senior living with Alzheimer’s disease include:

• Uncontrolled Pain: If a senior with Alzheimer’s is in pain and suffering, he or she may be unable to communicate that with caregivers. As a result, they may act out.
• Fatigue: Researchers believe Alzheimer’s disrupts the body’s natural Circadian rhythm. It leads to chronic sleep deprivation. Many experts believe sheer exhaustion may be a common reason for aggression.
• Overstimulation: Because of the damage Alzheimer’s does to the brain, people who live with the disease have difficulty processing information. When they are in an environment that is hectic and noisy, such as a loud party or a busy shopping mall, they can easily become agitated and aggressive.
• Difficulty Communicating: Alzheimer’s typically robs people of their verbal skills. The frustration of not being able to communicate with those around them can lead to anger and aggression.
• Medication Side Effects: An adverse reaction or an interaction between medications may be another source of aggression behavior for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Because the body processes medicine differently with age, side effects are more common among older adults.

If you are having difficulty keeping an Indiana senior with Alzheimer’s disease safe at home, a Five Star Senior Living community may be a solution. We invite you to contact the community nearest you to learn more about how we can help.

Is your aging loved one suddenly acting different? Does your normally cool-as-a-cucumber parent now suffer from anxiety? Is he or she more irritable than usual? Does your loved one seem to be depressed?

Anxiety, irritability, and depression can all be early warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease. So are mood swings and paranoia.

Other Personality Changes to Look Out For

An older adult in the early stages of Alzheimer’s may become confused easily.  For this reason, they might crave routine or avoid new experiences and surroundings. They might become withdrawn, because they sense something is wrong and they don’t want others to notice.

On the other hand, some seniors in the early stages of Alzheimer’s may become more outgoing and gregarious. They might also begin to lose their sense of judgement or may not be able to determine “appropriate” behaviors in specific circumstances.

Exploring Other Causes for Personality Changes

Before you jump to the conclusion that it is Alzheimer’s disease, recognize that there are a number of other causes for personality changes. To discover if there could be another explanation, talk to your loved one and try to find out what’s bothering them.

Causes of Depression and Irritability

Depression and irritability can be caused by normal aging. Perhaps your loved one recently lost a close friend. Or maybe they are struggling to accept that the physical signs of aging are making it harder to participate in activities they used to love.  These types of events and situations can cause depression in many people.

Personality Changes Caused by Medication or Diet

Review the medications your loved one takes. Are they taking any new over-the-counter or prescription drugs? Are personality changes listed as a possible side effect? Could a drug interaction be causing problems?

Also consider your loved one’s diet. Certain vitamin deficiencies can cause personality changes. For instance, some studies have linked a vitamin D deficiency to depression.

So, Is It Alzheimer’s?

If you’ve explored other possibilities and still can’t pinpoint a cause for your loved one’s behavior and emotions, it could be time to delve deeper to see if they have other possible signs of Alzheimer’s.

Most times, personality changes will not occur in the early stages without other symptoms. Look for other common signs of Alzheimer’s, such as:

• Difficulty following story lines
• Forgetting familiar names, places, or faces
• Forgetting facts and not recalling them later
• Repeating themselves
• Habitually misplacing items

Talk with a Physician or Health Professional about a Memory Screening

If your senior loved one exhibits any of the above symptoms in conjunction with changes in their personality, consider a memory screening. While it can’t provide a definitive diagnose, it is 80 to 90 percent accurate in detecting memory problems.

If it’s Alzheimer’s, Five Star Senior Living Is Here To Help

If your suspicions were correct and your senior loved one’s doctors determine they have Alzheimer’s, Five Star Senior Living can help. Our personalized memory care program is based on a customized plan of action for each resident. Contact us today to learn more.

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When a senior loved one with Alzheimer’s is hospitalized, it can be emotionally jarring. The change in environment, not to mention the lights and sounds of a hospital, can cause agitation and outbursts. It’s easy for family caregivers to worry about the care a loved one is receiving and how to minimize the disruption to their routine.

You’ll likely need to play an active role in their care to ensure your loved one’s hospital stay is as comfortable as it can be considering the circumstances.

Look for the following red flags to determine if they need additional support while they are hospitalized.

Increased Agitation and Alzheimer’s

Seniors with Alzheimer’s will often show increased agitation, and even aggression, in a hospital setting. They are taken off their routine. Strange people come and go at all hours. A hospital can be a noisy and overall confusing place for people with Alzheimer’s.

Speak to hospital staff about minimizing disruptions. Can staff serve meals on your loved one’s usual schedule? Ask that the television remain off unless your loved one requests to watch it. Play soft, soothing music instead. Keep the lights lowered whenever possible.

In extreme situations, you might ask for your loved one to be moved to a room that is in a quieter area of the hospital.

Dehydration

Seniors with Alzheimer’s are at increased risk of dehydration in a hospital setting, because they may forget to drink. Staff members who aren’t familiar with the disease might not know that a person with Alzheimer’s needs frequent reminders.

Reinforce the need for cues to “drink more” with hospital caregivers. You might even consider posting a note on your loved one’s bed side table. This can help them stay hydrated when you aren’t around to monitor their liquid intake.

Signs of Pain

Seniors with Alzheimer’s may suffer from untreated pain in a hospital setting, if they can’t convey their discomfort to medical staff. Use your intuition and knowledge of your loved one to look for signs of pain, and request the appropriate measures be taken to alleviate it.

When a Senior with Alzheimer’s is Hospitalized

A few additional tips that may help include:

• Permission to stay overnight: The best way to calm a loved one with Alzheimer’s is to have a familiar family member by their side. Ask if the hospital can accommodate this request.
• The room décor is busy or frightening: Photos of animals or other busy room décor can be threatening to someone with Alzheimer’s. Ask for a room with minimal decorations, no busy patterns, and lighting that minimizes shadows.

The Bridge to Rediscovery

When your loved one is released from the hospital, the next step may be a move to a dedicated memory care program in an assisted living community. They will receive the support they need to manage their Alzheimer’s and maintain their best quality of life.

Five Star Senior Living communities offer personalized memory care programs to ensure residents stay safely engaged with life despite their disease. Contact us to learn more and to schedule a private tour at your convenience.

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Would you be surprised to discover that Alzheimer’s can only be definitely diagnosed after death when an autopsy reveals certain characteristics in the brain tissue?

When doctors think Alzheimer’s is present in an older adult they must first eliminate other possible illnesses. (Here are 5 medical conditions often mistaken for Alzheimer’s.) They will investigate if vascular dementia or memory loss is caused by alcoholism, depression, prescription drug side effects, an infection or thyroid issues. Each of these problems can usually be treated.

An early diagnosis allows an Alzheimer’s sufferer and their family to begin planning for the future.

Benefits of Early Alzheimer’s Diagnosis and Treatment

Early diagnosis and treatment may help preserve the cognitive functions and quality-of-life of someone with Alzheimer’s. While the disease cannot be stopped or reversed, treatment can sometimes help the person continue with normal day-to-day functions longer.

Preparing for a Doctor’s Visit

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis begins with the doctor confirming memory loss and dementia. To do so, the doctor will conduct memory tests and assess the person’s problem-solving, counting, and language skills, as well as the attention span.

The doctor may also speak to loved ones about the person’s overall health, their ability to carry out activities of daily living (ADL), and changes in behavior and personality. Sometimes a person with Alzheimer’s fails to recognize the changes, even though they are obvious to their loved ones.

To prepare for the doctor’s visit, write down when you first noticed signs of memory loss and other behavioral changes, how often it happens, and the reaction of your loved one when it does. Keep a close watch, sometimes seniors will try and hide memory issues out of fear or embarrassment.

Also, bring your loved one’s complete medical history, along with a list of prescription and non-prescription drugs they take and a list of any vitamins, supplements, or herbal remedies they use.

Diagnostic Tests for Alzheimer’s

The doctor may prescribe a battery of tests to either identify or rule out other causes of dementia or memory loss.  This may include:

• Blood and urine analysis
• Computed tomography (CT)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Positron emission tomography (PET)

How Accurate Are Diagnostic Tests for Alzheimer’s Disease?

Don’t hesitate to get a second opinion on an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, especially if the doctor who made the diagnosis is not a specialist in memory care and dementia.

Often, the primary care doctor will provide a referral to another professional, such as a neurologist, a neuropsychologist, or a geriatric psychiatrist. But if he doesn’t provide a referral, ask for one. Experts skilled in recognizing the signs of Alzheimer’s are correct in their diagnosis about 90 percent of the time, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Additionally, new research and developments make Alzheimer’s testing even more comprehensive and accurate, which may someday lead to better treatment.

In the future, routine diagnostic tests for older adults may be able to detect Alzheimer’s even before any symptoms appear. For now, it’s important to get help when you first begin noticing any changes in the memory, mood or behavior of your aging loved one.

Caring for Those with Alzheimer’s

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia, Five Star Senior Living provides memory care services focus on maintaining quality of life. Find a senior living memory care community nearest you to learn more today!

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For caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s, dealing with the effects of the disease can often feel like caring for a toddler.

But it’s important not to treat an aging loved one with Alzheimer’s like a child. That is, don’t talk down to them, sound patronizing, use “baby” words like “diaper” or “bib,” or have conversations about them in their presence while ignoring them.

Treat your aging loved one with Alzheimer’s as a capable adult. Here are a few ways you can do that:

Dignity & Dementia

Think about Your Loved One’s ‘Life Story’

Every person has a history of likes and dislikes. We all have a past and a personality that makes us who we are. Keep this in mind when caring for a senior with Alzheimer’s.This includes respecting their sense of spirituality, the foods they prefer to eat, and the things they like to do.

Remember That Your Loved One is More Than a Diagnosis

Caregivers often focus so much on numbers and statistics, such as their aging loved one’s weight, how much food they’ve eaten, blood pressure or blood sugar levels.

Don’t just pay attention to vital statistics

Ask your loved one how he or she feels daily. What would make your loved one comfortable? Happy? Consider alternative ways of increasing their sense of self such as with music, art or pet therapy.

Build Confidence and Self-worth by Getting Back to Basics

In some ways, it is appropriate to treat your aging loved one as a child you love. That is, show respect and patience. Speak kindly and compliment them genuinely and generously to increase their self-esteem. Give them tasks they can accomplish to help maintain their self-worth. But don’t expect more from your aging loved one than they are capable of.

Answer questions patiently—no matter how many times you must repeat your answer.

Learn their daily patterns and routines and use them as a way to create a stable environment. This can help reduce confusion, sundowning, and aggression in seniors with Alzheimer’s.

Let Your Loved One Do as Much They Can

Your loved one’s patterns, understanding, and capabilities may change daily. Allow them to do as much as they can at any time. This may include bathing, feeding themselves, or light chores. Step in to help only when you see it’s needed. Good caregiving changes daily based on your loved one’s needs. And research shows that allowing a person with Alzheimer’s to do as much as they can for themselves may delay the progression of the disease.

Listen to Your Loved One

How do you know what your loved one needs at any given moment?

Listen.“I’ve found the best caregivers are the ones who give themselves permission to enter into the world of the person they’re caring for. What that means is looking for signs –the life someone once led, their passions, daily routines, and memories, all still matter,” writes columnist Molly Carpenter at EverydayHealth.com.

Watching and listening with true empathy can help you, as caregiver, provide what your loved one needs at any given time. Doing so helps preserve your loved one’s dignity.

Dignity and Sense of Self Contribute to a Better Quality of Life

Evidence shows that people with Alzheimer’s who maintain their dignity and receive respect from caregivers have less risk of depression and anxiety, leading to a better quality of life.

Five Star Senior Living offers a personalized approach to memory care. Contact us to learn more.

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A behavior Alzheimer’s caregivers often find most frustrating is when their loved one asks the same question over and over. Because the disease robs people of short-term memory, it’s a situation many family caregivers encounter. Finding productive ways to handle this behavior is crucial.

From identifying potential causes to taking a short break, we have a few suggestions for you to try.

3 Tips for Handling Repetitive Questions Caused by Alzheimer’s

1. Identify potential triggers

In many instances, there is a reason why an adult with Alzheimer’s disease is repeatedly asking the same question. If you can identify potential triggers and find a way to address them, you may be able to minimize repetitive questions.

If, for example, your senior loved one keeps asking when it’s time to go shopping, there may be something triggering that question. They might see your purse or car keys near the front door. By changing where you store those items, you may be able to prevent the questioning process.

2. Create structure in the day

An older adult who has Alzheimer’s disease may engage in repetitive questions when they are anxious or agitated. Both are common in people with the disease. This repetition helps to relieve their discomfort.

Other times, the behavior is a way of trying to figure out what is going on in their environment. Creating a daily routine and sticking with it may be another way to reduce repetitive questions and behaviors. It’s vital that productive activities be a part of that plan.

Here are some suggestions for productive activity for adults with Alzheimer’s disease:

• Sorting and folding laundry
• Dusting the living room
• Looking through old photos
• Tending to plants or a garden
• Baking cookies
• Completing craft projects
• Filling the bird feeder

3. Respond to the emotion

If you pay close attention to the emotion behind the question, you might be able to determine the reason it is being repeated. Is your senior loved one scared, sad, bored, or lonely? Responding to the emotion, instead of the question, might help them move beyond it.

For example, if the senior sees you are busy doing tasks they associate with leaving them, it might make them fearful. A close hug or few soft words of reassurance may help allay their fears.

Respite Care for Adults with Alzheimer’s

Caregiving for an adult with Alzheimer’s can be overwhelming. It’s important to take mental health breaks on a regular basis. Ask another family member or trusted friend to visit with your loved one for an hour or two while you get out. If you don’t have anyone to help care for your loved one when you need rest, consider respite services. This short-term care option is designed to give caregivers a break.

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When a loved one has Alzheimer’s disease, family members may struggle to find ways to manage difficult behaviors. A common one is agitation. It is difficult on its own, and can also cause other issues to arise, such as wandering. That’s why it’s so important to learn what might be triggering agitation and to take steps to minimize it whenever possible.

Potential Alzheimer’s Agitation Triggers

Here are a few potential causes of agitation you can explore to help your senior loved one:

• Fatigue: Adults with Alzheimer’s commonly go without sleep for long periods of time. They can also have difficulty relaxing during the day. Both can contribute to extreme fatigue which increases the risk for agitation. If this sounds like your loved one’s situation, it might be good to talk with their physician for help overcoming their sleep problems.
• Environment: Alzheimer’s makes it difficult for a person to process too much at one time. When the adult is in a noisy location, such as during a party or at a mall, the noisy, hectic environment can lead to anger and agitation. An environment that is calm is usually better. Playing soothing music may also be beneficial.
• Pain: Verbal communication skills are often impaired early in the disease. This makes it tough for the senior to let you know when they are in pain. Undiagnosed pain is a common trigger for restlessness and agitation. While it might be difficult to do, try to assess your loved one for signs of pain. Do they have a fever? Are they grimacing? Having trouble walking? You may need the intervention of a physician to pinpoint the problem.
• Change: Memory loss can make it difficult for a senior with Alzheimer’s disease to adapt to change. Because short-term memory is typically compromised in the early stages of the disease, a person with Alzheimer’s may not be able to remember new things. A change in one’s daily schedule, caregiver, or environment can increase the risk for agitation. It is usually best to create and stick with a structured daily routine.
• Fear: When memory is impaired, even once familiar faces and places can seem foreign. This can leave a person with Alzheimer’s fearful and uncertain about what is happening to them. Understandably, this confusion can trigger episodes of agitation and wandering. This fear can be a difficult trigger to overcome. Try placing family photos in the home—those from past days are generally best. While it can be frustrating to do, some days might require you to explain who you are over and over.
• Overactivity: Family caregivers have busy days. You may have no other choice than to take your loved one along when you run errands. Be aware, however, that doing too much in one day can increase the risk for agitation. Consider splitting up your stops over several days instead. Alzheimer’s experts recommend planning your outings around your loved ones best and worst times of day. For many, mid-morning is the optimum time of day for activity.

If you test each of these potential triggers without seeing any change in a senior’s agitation, you will likely need to talk with their primary care physician or neurologist for further advice.

Dementia Care at Five Star Senior Living

As part of our commitment to educating older adults and their families about dementia care, we routinely share resources and information on our blog.

If you would like to schedule a tour of one of our award-winning Bridge to Rediscovery programs at a Five Star Senior Living community near you, please contact us. We’ll be happy to make the arrangements!

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If you’re the caregiver of an aging parent with Alzheimer’s, you face communications challenges every day.

And if you’re a member of the sandwich generation, also caring for young children, one of these struggles may be talking to your kids about their grandparent’s Alzheimer’s disease.

Here’s some good news: You don’t have to keep quiet any longer. Honesty is the best policy. Just be sure to share age-appropriate information in bite-sized chunks.

Talking to Toddlers and Pre-schoolers about Alzheimer’s

Toddlers and preschoolers may not notice any difference in a grandparent with Alzheimer’s. If they ask why their grandma or grandpa forgets their name, it may be enough to say, “Grandma is sick and it’s making her forgetful. She won’t get better, but she will always love you.”

Talking to Older Children

School-age children have more capacity to understand that Alzheimer’s is a brain disease, changing the way their grandparent thinks and feels, and making them do unusual things.

Children may be frightened or uncomfortable witnessing their grandparent’s odd behavior. They may feel guilty as a result of these feelings. You can explain that you, too, feel scared, frustrated, and uncomfortable at times. It’s completely normal and nothing to feel guilty about.

Provide specific examples of how Alzheimer’s affects their grandparent, as well as the things they can still do. “Grandma may not remember what grade you’re in, but she still loves baking cookies with you, if you show her which ingredients come first.”

Older children may wonder if they can “catch” the disease. Explain to them that “No, it’s not contagious.”

Talking to Teens and Tweens

Teens and tweens may have many questions about AD or may not want to talk about it at all. If they want more details, you can discuss how the disease may progress and what they can expect.

Teens and tweens may also be concerned about their responsibilities and how their grandparent’s disease is going to affect the family structure.

If a teen wants to help out, let them spend time with their grandparent. But ensure their caregiving doesn’t get in the way of their own development, schoolwork, or duties as a teen.

Watch for Odd Behavior in Your Child

Younger and older children, alike, may experience a variety of feelings:

• Grief over the loss of the grandparent they once knew
• Confusion and fear about a grandparent’s changing behavior
• Resentment if the aging grandparent is taking up a lot of your time

Keep an eye on your child to see how he or she is coping. Their distress could manifest in stomachaches, poor grades, or attention-getting behavior and “acting out” in negative ways.

Have candid conversations with your child and don’t forget to inject humor, where appropriate. Laughing together about old memories can help the whole family feel better in a stressful time.

Use the Resources Available

With 5.4 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it’s no surprise plenty of resources exist to help children cope with the disease in loved ones.

Maria Shriver’s video, Do You Know Who I Am, explores the lives of five children whose grandparents have Alzheimer’s.

The Alzheimer’s Society also offers a number of resources to explain Alzheimer’s to young children, tweens, and teens.

Don’t Hesitate

Even very young children deserve an explanation of their beloved grandparent’s strange behavior. Your children may be relieved to find out that their grandparent isn’t mad at them or ignoring them, and is acting so strangely because of an illness.

Struggling to find the right words?

The memory care experts at Five Star Senior Living may be able to offer advice and guidance. Contact us to learn more or to inquire about our Memory Care program.

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If you are the family caregiver for a senior with Alzheimer’s disease, a phrase you’ve likely heard them say is “I want to go home.” In most cases the older adult is already home, but home is an environment that no longer looks familiar to them. While it might be that memory loss is causing them not to remember their surroundings, the phrase might also mean something else.

Communicating with a Loved One Who Has Dementia

Adults with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia often lose some or all of their verbal communications skills fairly early in the disease process. This makes it hard for their loved ones to understand what is wrong or what the senior is trying to say.

Sometimes a person with dementia is searching for home because of unmet needs or because they are feeling isolated and alone. Here’s what they might really mean:

• Undiagnosed pain: Is the senior in pain? Sometimes you can tell by the look on their face that something isn’t right. If they aren’t able to tell you what is wrong, try pointing to different parts of the body and asking them to answer yes or no if it hurts.
• Sad or lonely: The very nature of Alzheimer’s disease is isolating. As memory and abilities slowly decline, the older adult’s world becomes smaller. They might remember faces of loved ones but be unable to recall names. Eventually, they live in a world where no one and nothing looks familiar.
• Confusion: As short-term memories fade, an adult with memory loss might be confused about where home really is. They may try to find their way back to a house that was home many years ago.
• Unmet needs: Sometimes the senior wants to “go home” because they are hungry, thirsty, tired, or need to use the bathroom. When the environment they are in doesn’t look familiar, they feel an urgent need to search for home. It can help to offer them something to eat or drink or show them to the bathroom.
• Boredom: Creating meaningful days can be difficult when a loved one you are a caregiver for has memory loss. Their need to find home might be the result of boredom and not enough activity.

Redirecting a Senior with Alzheimer’s Attention

When a senior with Alzheimer’s is frustrated and agitated at not being allowed to search for home, redirecting their attention is often the best solution:

• Ask for their assistance. Bring a basket of towels in to the living room and ask for the senior’s help folding them. Or try offering them a dust cloth and asking the senior to clean the dining room or help make dinner. Giving the senior a job may help redirect their thoughts.
• Turn on favorite music. Research shows that music has the power to change mood. Uplifting songs can boost mood, while the sounds of nature can soothe agitation. Music an older adult associates with the happiest times in their life might also help calm the senior and make them forgot about searching for home.
• Agree to go later: If you aren’t able to redirect your senior loved one’s attention, agree with them that you will go to their house later. Tell them you have to make a cake and clean up the kitchen first. Agreeing with them might help soothe the agitation they feel, while also buying you time. It’s entirely likely a senior with memory loss will forget they were searching for home before long.

Memory Care at Five Star Senior Living

At Five Star Senior Living, our memory care program helps each resident live their most independent life in an environment designed to support success.

The best way to learn more about MBDP and our award-winning memory care is by scheduling a personal visit. Contact the Five Star community nearest you today!

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