Page 18 - Mid Valley Times 9-5-19 E-edition

Thursday, September 5, 2019 | B4 | Mid Valley TiMes
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Dementia Is Hard Work on Both Sides Part 2.
A few months ago, I wrote about
Laura Wayman’s book “A Loving Approach to Dementia Care.” In her book she writes about what happens
to a person who has dementia and what the caregiver experiences caring for the person. I want to expand on her book as she has some very practical advice.
Progressive short- term memory loss
a ects nearly everyone with dementia. De- mentia can change a person’s personality by impairing judgment, there may be a loss of inhibitions, behaviors
Now What?
can become odd, or out or character. e ability to organize
or do multiple tasks may become an ever- bigger challenge. ere are physical e ects that can spring up. A Dementia-challenged person may shu e their feet, be o bal- ance or have problems with depth perception.
Dementia can start in a person’s brain at least 10 years before the symptoms become life changing. If you are seeing changes
in the personality of someone you love, it may be time to see a doctor because there can be many di erent
By Ro Linscheid
things can bring on changes in behavior. Medications, over use of alcohol, anesthesia , concussions and sud- den traumatic events, all can cause personal- ity changes. Some de- mentias can be stopped but more likely, the process cannot be stopped.
It is easy to put o seeing a doctor be- cause it is easy to talk ourselves into believing this change in person- ality will be short lived. “If I just wait awhile everything will go back to normal.” It is easy to have dementia-de- nial in the early stages for both the caregiver and the person with the disease. Dementia- denial allows us to think that our loved one’s thinking process will straighten out. Maybe their medicines are causing an issue or it could be something
curable so we think we simply need to make a few changes. Nobody wants a person to have dementia so we make excuses for the errors in thinking. We put sticky notes around the house to help trigger memory. We try to quiz the person to trig- ger memory.
When a loved one has a dementia diagno- ses, it is extremely im- portant to become ed- ucated about dementia “dementia-aware” early in the disease pro- cess. ere are many types of dementia so knowing what signs to look for as the disease progresses helps the caregiver have an easier time providing the needed care. Know- ing and understanding what is happening in the brain to cause the behaviors helps the caregiver cope with the day to day challenges.
In Laura Wayman’s book she talks about ways to cope with dif- ferent types of demen- tia. Some people have a type of dementia that leaves them not aware they have trouble pro- cessing or even real- izing that they have
a disease. Reasoning will only aggravate the person and make them furious. Some people have a slow progression of being able to pro- cess the world around them. en there are some who have other major health issues that increase as the de- mentia becomes worse. Becoming educated
on how to approach and what you can expect from a person with dementia is vital to achieving everyday care.
It is di cult to watch a loved one slip into dementia day by day. If you are caring
for someone please make sure you seek help. Often it is the caregiver who wears out long before the person with dementia. e Alzheimer’s Asso- ciation has some good tools. Seek a support group to be able to ex- press your frustrations and your joys. Sierra View Homes is start- ing a support group
for people in the early stages of the disease. e community is invited to be part of this support group. Dr. Lance Zimmerman, a Clinical Psychologist, will coordinate the group. Becoming “De- mentia -Aware”, gives you a great advantage in the quality of care you provide. Education and support are key to making this time you have with your loved one meaningful.
RETIRED...
Health screenings men should discuss with their physicians
Routine doctor visits are a vital component of a healthy lifestyle. As noted by the U.S. National Library of
Medicine, even men who feel healthy and live active lifestyles must make routine visits to their health-
care providers. Such visits can assess risk for future medical problems and o er men the opportunity
to update vaccinations. Routine health check- ups also give doctors
a chance to screen for medical issues.
Doctors consider a man’s age and other risk factors to deter- mine when and how frequently he will
need certain medi- cal screenings. For example, while men
HealtH ScreeningS... continued on next H&F Page
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