JacquelineMarcell

Alzheimer's Research: Help by Getting Involved with Clinical Trials

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregivingJacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME!WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! Everyone is anxious for medical science to come up with better treatments that not only delay the progression of Alzheimer's, but that stop the progression all together. And what we really want is for science to tell us how to prevent any kind of dementia from starting in the first place. But how many are willing to enroll them self or their elderly loved one in a clinical trial so researchers can effectively study new treatments and methodology? While in San Francisco recently to speak at Alzheimer's conferences, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Wes Ashford, Senior Research Scientist from the Stanford University/VA Aging Clinical Research Center. He's involved in a nationwide study (The Home Based Assessment Study) to evaluate the effectiveness of home-based assessment methods for memory protection research in people over 75 years old. More…

Lock Up Medication if Loved One Has Dementia

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregivingJacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME!WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! When I arrived in San Francisco from Southern California to help my elderly parents (both with early Alzheimer's--not properly diagnosed until a year later), I found my father's medications all mixed up with my mother's in their weekly plastic pill containers. Since I had Durable Power of Attorney, their doctor's office was legally able to talk to me about my parents' health and all their many medications. To avoid having a mix up happen again, with Sharpies I color-coded the pill bottle tops with red for Mom's and black for Dad's. I also mounted an erasable bulletin board on the wall above the meds so we could easily check off after their morning, afternoon and evening doses. And then, by consolidating their pharmacies so all medications only came from one place, we had a much better chance of any drug interactions being caught by a computer. I thought I finally had the "Medication Project" working perfectly, well, until I happened to notice More…

Healthcare: Plot Graph to See Where You Stand Compared to All Candidates

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregivingJacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME! More…

If I Get Alzheimer's--Just Shoot Me!

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving Jacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME!WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! I have heard people say that if they are ever diagnosed with Alzheimer's, they want to take a pill (or worse) and exit quickly rather than endure living with that quality of life. I nod that I understand that fear, but that I actually think More…

Hurt Feelings? Before You Fire Back--Look for Intention

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregivingJacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME!WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! I often hear people say how much a friend's offhanded comment hurt, but when I ask if they think the comment was really intended to hurt, they usually ponder a bit and finally say, well, no. If we all looked behind the minor statements that happen to rub us the wrong way and searched to see if there was a blatant intention to cause pain, a lot of time-wasting feuding and heartache could be avoided. More…

Dreading the Holidays? You're Not Alone

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving Jacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME! WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! When I hear people say, "I hate the holidays", I usually find out it's because they have a little PTSD left over from too many holiday horrors of the past. They dread feeling obligated to spend time with their extended dysfunctional family (does anyone come from a completely NON-dysfunctional family?) and they worry about whose going to be bickering and offended this year. Then what gifts aren't going to be appreciated, what drama and trauma will occur--and they walk on eggshells trying to prevent old wounds from opening up and spilling out all over the dinner table. Not only is the glass not half full, when it comes to the holidays--they say, "What glass?" I always say I understand how they feel, because when I was a teenager my father got into a heated argument with his own brother--just as Mom set the turkey down in front of him to start carving. It got so intense (nose-to-nose and nearly coming to blows) that my father More…

Life-Long Negative Behaviors That Become Exaggerated--May Be Early Signs of Dementia

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving Jacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME! WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! I have to stop listening to "Dr. Nora" while I am driving, as I am going to get in an accident from my jaw hitting the steering wheel. I rarely tune in, but I swear, every time I do--some adult daughter is calling in about being at her wit's end with her "challenging" elderly mother. I wait... and sure enough, she starts unknowingly describing early signs of Alzheimer's (or some type of dementia), which are intermittently exaggerating and distorting her mother's life-long negative behavior patterns. As I yell at the radio, "It's the beginning of dementia!", Dr. Nora asks the caller why she would possibly subject herself to such negative behavior? The caller stutters and stumbles and finally says, "Well, I can't just not see her--she's my mother!" More…

How to Get Obstinate Elders Evaluated for Dementia and Take Medication

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving Jacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME! WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! I spent Thanksgiving trying to convince my friends' elders that their short-term memory loss needs to be evaluated and treated ASAP, to delay the progression of dementia and hopefully keep them out of a nursing home. Eighty-year old Dora dismissed everything I said with, "Ohhh, I'm going to die soon anyway, next year for sure, so it doesn't matter." Then she spent most of the dinner complaining about all her pains from head-to-toe. Clearly depressed, but when I asked if she took anything for the pain or her mood, she said, "Nooo, I hate taking pills." More…

Durable Power of Attorney: Essential to Obtain Before a Diagnosis of Dementia/Alzheimer's

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving Jacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME! WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! I received a crisis call recently from an adult daughter at her wit's end with her demented elderly parents, who had finally agreed to move to Assisted Living, but just as the moving truck arrived--they changed their minds and refused to go! And earlier this year I received a call from a man, crying, saying his 90+ year old parents left the stove on and burned the house down, were in the hospital and fortunately would be okay, but had hired a contractor to rebuild their home--rather than moving to Assisted Living! More…

Those With Dementia Should Not Watch the News!

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving Jacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME!WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! Since I live in Southern California, I have been watching the news about all the terrible fires we are having-showing on every channel. I am not in danger (yet), but the smoke is so bad I can't even open a window and am glad I don't have to go anywhere. I have been worried about several friends who are evacuating, so last night I fell asleep with the television on hoping to hear better news. Amazingly my brain incorporated many of the news stores into the most complicated vivid dreams about my own home being threatened and then engulfed in flames as I struggled More…