Elder Care Cafe

The good news is that just because you are having problems with your memory that does not mean you are facing a diagnosis of dementia. The bad news is that you may have another problem or two in your life that needs to be addressed. As we age we become more forgetful because our brains [...]

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The Alzheimer’s Association released their 2013 Facts and Figures Report this week and the numbers are staggering. The results are likely to be of special interest to those diagnosed with or who are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, because one in three seniors dies with the disease or another form of dementia. The information released [...]

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With the growing number of baby boomers entering their senior years, we also see an increase in memory loss and related memory problems. This can be especially problematic if they live alone. In the sixties and seventies, we had problems with my maternal grandparents. My grandfather died from complications of dementia in 1966. My grandmother [...]

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Several years ago I wrote an article about sundown syndrome that apparently hit a nerve with quite a number of people. That article has been the highest searched post on this site, month after month since 2010. I’ve always wanted to write more about the topic, and did write one follow-up, but still felt like [...]

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As most of us know, when someone has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s symptoms one of the first things families should do is to make sure legal and financial information is in order while their loved one can still be a part of the decision-making process. That means taking care of their legal matters and getting [...]

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One of the greatest perks of turning of legal age and officially becoming an adult is that you get to legally make your own medical decisions as well as other decisions such as financial and legal. Contracts with those under legal age limit are rarely, if ever, honored in a court of law whereas contracts [...]

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As most of us who are over sixty have already figured out, as we age our body and our mind seem to slow down with often disturbing results. As much as we try, we cannot perform as we once did, either physically or mentally. It is frustrating for those of us who lived an active [...]

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Carol Bradley Bursack has written one of the most eye-opening articles I’ve read in a long time. The title is Who Is Worse Off: People with Alzheimer’s or Their Caregivers? There is a link to the article below. I just wanted to make people aware of the article in case they didn’t see it and [...]

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In recent years researchers studying all things concerning Alzheimer’s and dementia have seen a connection between lack of sleep and the disease. The question they are most concerned about now is whether the lack of sleep is due to Alzheimer’s or is it the other way around – is the disease causing sleep deprivation? A study funded [...]

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Although we knew Dad was having problems with his memory, some of us actually thought he was experiencing a series of mini strokes much as my mother had prior to her death. She was diagnosed with TIA dementia, and Dad’s symptoms somewhat mirrored hers. However, yesterday we got the dreaded news that rather rocked our world. Those [...]

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Alzheimer’s disease occurs when the brain cells of a person begin to die causing connections among cells to get lost. This disconnect causes cognitive symptoms to worsen. Cognitive involves conscious intellectual activity such as thinking, reasoning, and remembering according to Webster’s Dictionary. The sad news is that there is no drug on the market that [...]

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Any discussion of the warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease must include a caveat. Many misconceptions or simply fears of Alzheimer’s and lists of so-called early symptoms result in the danger of overreaction by individuals evaluating themselves, their partner’s, relatives, or others. Three types of Alzheimer’s disease are defined medically as early on-set Alzheimer’s, Familial Alzheimer’s [...]

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A working definition of dementia is that it is a medical condition in which the brain loses its ability to function. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and the terms are often used interchangeably. It is often difficult to tell whether someone has Alzheimer’s or any of the other many forms of [...]

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Every once in a while a book comes across my virtual desk that just rocks my emotional world. As a long time caregiver for my elderly father, I know the stress and strain on our daily lives that care giving can exact. When I started reading this book, I knew the author was on my [...]

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As many of us seniors know, there are many health problems associated with growing older. Because of such issues as our balance or heart, and increasing problems with our hearing and sight, we can all relate to the changes taking place in our body. However, there is one problem that usually attacks people over the [...]

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