Adeste In-Home Care - Colorado

In-Home Care in Colorado

How To Live Longer With Heart Failure

by Leave a Comment

Diagnosis of a chronic condition is often difficult to hear. You start doing your research. You focus on the worst. And fear becomes a new daily norm.

Congestive heart failure doesn’t mean your heart isn’t working. It means your heart no longer pumps enough blood throughout your system, the way it once did. Think of diagnosis as a wakeup call. It’s a way of telling you to change your habits to stop the condition from worsening.

When you’re diagnosed with heart failure, the blood moving away from your heart slows down. Because the blood returning operates in a more normal manner, the blood in your veins begins to block up, causing congestion throughout your body. This can cause problems in a variety of ways, from swelling in your legs, to fluid buildup in your lungs.

According to a fact sheet put out by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about one-half of all people diagnosed with heart failure will die within the first five years. The people that live longer after diagnosis are the ones that look for ways to manage the condition and make lifestyle changes to prevent it from worsening.

Once you’ve been diagnosed with heart failure, it’s important to realize that it is a chronic condition. It will get worse over time. However, you can manage it to the point it slows down the progression, and the symptoms reduce right along with it.

Millions of people are living active lives with heart failure. While you shouldn’t change everything about your lifestyle immediately, small changes over time can reward you with big improvements not only with the way you feel, but your outlook on life too.

The biggest change should be to get up and exercise. The American Heart Association recommends doing at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity at least five days a week. You should never feel breathless. Always check with your doctor before starting up a new routine. And then find something that’s fun for you to do. Look for a gym that offers wellness programs that cater to slower movement classes, something you can work up to over time.

You should also work to change your diet. Again, work with your doctor to decide the right steps for you. They may include lowering salt, reducing fat intake, reducing the amount of meat, adding more fruits and vegetables. You should also drink more water, and decrease your alcohol intake.

Other lifestyle changes should include:

  • Stop smoking
  • Getting adequate sleep
  • Reducing stress
  • Avoid sugar

For some, medication may also be a part of the routine. Be sure to discuss how any new medicines will work in conjunction with prescriptions you are already on. Watch for any changes in your health, and be diligent in working with your doctor towards reducing the amount of medicine you take each day.

6 Steps To Make Long Distance Caregiving A Little Easier

by Leave a Comment

When you live far away from your parents, you’ve probably established a routine. A phone call one day a week to check in. You share everything that’s happened during the week. You assume they do too.

But then you start noticing subtle changes. They become vague. They aren’t as willing to share.

Then you visit and find expired food in the fridge. Maybe a small dent on the car.

Then things escalate quickly. You receive a call about a minor car accident. Or a call from one of their friends saying they are in the hospital. And suddenly your world escalates out of control. You have a new job on your hands and it’s anything but exciting. What do you do now?

Change your line of communication

As you start to discover little things, it’s easy to put them aside and ignore them. But when you live hundreds or thousands of miles away, you don’t have that luxury. Bring up the things that concern you. Bring up things that seem out of place. Even if your mom or dad push it aside and won’t open up, it sets the dialog for the future. It gives you a chance to show your support.

Find your allies

When you visit, will your loved one allow you to go to doctors appointments? Can you attend the meetings and events they go to on a regular basis? Find allies in the people closest to your parents. Leave your contact information with people that will help you stay in the loop. Your mom might leave out the fact she was in an accident. But a trusting neighbor might give you the heads up as to how bad it truly was.

Put together a care book

The next time you visit, put together a file or notebook filled with the most important information in your loved one’s life. Add in medical information, financial advisers, lawyers, friends, and neighbors. Include all prescription information, including the pharmacies they use, and the dosage of each medicine. Gather all information about your parents’ income and assets, including where they bank, what credit cards they have, insurance policies, even passwords they use to complete phone and online transactions. The more information you have on your end, the easier it will be to handle any situation as it arises.

Get authority

Are your parents willing to let you have power of attorney? Are they ready to release all information to you and allow you to help in certain situations? This is something that may have to grow over time. Start small. Talk about it frequently to get your parents comfortable with the idea.

Coordinate with the rest of the family

Do you have siblings that also share in responsibility? Or maybe another family member that can take on part of the responsibility? It’s important to have a family meeting and decide who takes care of what. Nothing can be more frustrating to all of you, including doctors and other professionals, is having to repeat yourself again and again. Who will be in charge of what? You should also set up regular meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page. Can’t agree between yourselves? Find a mediator who can help.

Line up home services

For many adult children, they rarely learn about their options before they need them in an emergency situation. Assisted living or nursing care is usually all they understand. But there are many options out there that can help your loved one stay strong and independent for as long as possible. In home care gives your loved one the individualized attention they deserve while staying in the comfort of their home. It also gives you peace of mind.

What questions can we answer for you as you go through this new phase of life?

10 Things Not To Say To A Caregiver

by Leave a Comment

If you’ve been a caregiver for any length of time, chances are you’ve experienced your fair share of unsolicited advice. While the person usually means well, it can hurt when they speak out of turn. When all you hear is criticism, it’s hard to turn the other cheek, smile, and move on.

I had to laugh as I read through this list of 10 things caregivers don’t want to hear:

10. Doesn’t Medicare (or your insurance) pay for that?
9. It must be hard to work and take care of your husband, so why don’t you just quit your job?
8. Your mother belongs in a nursing home. OR: I could never put my mother in a nursing home.
7. You have to take care of yourself; your husband (mother, father) needs you.
6. Why don’t you get your family to help out more?
5. I don’t see what you’re complaining about. Dad seems fine to me.
4. I don’t know how you do it. You must be a saint.
3. Just call me if you need some help.
2. I know just how you feel.
1. God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.

See yourself in any of these? Ever had to bite your tongue holding back a not-so-nice response?

While sometimes it is appropriate just to hold back and move on, if you find a continuing pattern of criticism or “suggestions” from the same person, it might be time to correct their behavior.

1. Acknowledge their concern and ask for suggestions

Many siblings fight over differences of how to care for mom or dad. “You let mom eat that?” or “Why didn’t you let dad do this?” It can be frustrating, especially when they don’t contribute as much time for caregiving as you do. The next time they make a comment, acknowledge their concern and ask for suggestions. [Read more…]

Senior Need Advocates – When You Can’t Be There

by Leave a Comment

Imagine your elderly mom or dad is in the hospital several days after surgery. The doctors and nurses visit several times during the day, offering advice and asking questions about further care. Your loved one answers but can’t recall the details of the conversation once you arrive.

This is how many health-related situations go from bad to worse. Your loved one has difficulty expressing themselves. You don’t have the option of being with them twenty-four hours of the day. You have a family too.

That’s where a senior need advocate can help. They can be there when you can’t. They can do many different things.

Education

A senior need advocate is there to ensure that both the medical staff and the patient understands the problem and the treatment. They can educate both sides to help stay on top of the latest medical advice and ensure both sides make informed decisions. Your loved one often has many doctors, nurses, therapists, and other staff adding to the level of care. A senior need advocate can ensure their messages aren’t mixed, offering countering levels of advice. A senior need advocate will also ensure that your loved one understands the process they will be going through, and relay that information to you as well. [Read more…]

Making The Move For Better Care: How Do You Know What’s Right For You?

by Leave a Comment

One of the most difficult things you can hear in the hospital is that your loved one will need long term care. And they usually make the announcement hours before they release her.

What do you do?
Where can you loved one go?
How will they survive?

How will YOU survive?

It’s not just their lives that are turned completely upside down; yours too.

For many, the only thing that comes to mind is a facility. Assisted living, nursing care, it’s the only option that makes sense. Because when you’re in the throes of chaos, your mind flips to the things being talked about in the news. And both assisted living and nursing care receive a lot of press.

While both may work in some situations, let’s look at a few things you’ll have to navigate.

First is finding an open facility. It’s no secret the population is aging. Senior centers are being built as rapidly as possible. Yet when you need a facility in days or even a matter of hours, you’re left with taking what’s available. And for the most part, that means accepting whatever skill set they have on hand, whether it matches your needs or not. You don’t have time to ask questions like: [Read more…]

The Best Ways To Coordinate Your Care

by Leave a Comment

As a caregiver, there is a lot involved in ensuring your loved one receives the very best care. It depends on many things, including finding the right health professionals, advocating for the best possible care and services, arranging payment, and following up on everything that occurs in the process. It can be a full time job in some cases.

It’s also easy to get overwhelmed.

In most cases, the job falls to the primary caregiver. But sometimes he or she needs a little support. That’s where things can get lost in the shuffle. Managing care in the most efficient way requires:

Have a single point of contact for all things medical

Depending on the health of your loved one, you may have a broad range of treatments and therapies in place. That means regular outings to a variety of different facilities, all with different strategies and treatments in place. The easiest way to control it all is by listing one person in the family as point of contact for all providers. That way there is never a mix up for who is notified for what. Everything goes to one person who can track services and ensure everything is in place.

Establish a routine in your healthcare

Medical visits and treatments can be stressful even in the best of times. For the person you are caring for, they can be an extreme source of anxiety. And because you may be attending appointments on a regular basis, that means the stressors in your life can become insurmountable. Whenever possible, use routine to your advantage. Can you schedule appointments all at a certain point during the day? Can you meet certain professionals at the same time every week? Establishing as much routine and consistency as you can reduce the stress of everyone involved, which results in a higher level of care.

Treatment and Diagnosis together

With most chronic illnesses, life becomes a never-ending process of diagnosing a problem and finding a treatment that can increase quality of life. And just when you think you have it figured out, the nature of the illness changes. When working with a professional, be sure you ask about all phases of the condition. If you’re still undergoing tests, what can you do to make life better now? Remember, change is inevitable. The best thing you can do is address today.

Keep your own set of medical records

The more medical professionals you see, the more convoluted the process can seem. Sometimes telling a physician about a previous issue isn’t enough, and it can be difficult to get the right paperwork to bring it into the process. Instead, keep everything together in one place. Ask for copies. Keep records of what forms you fill out and where you send things. Get access to everything you can and keep it safe together for easy access.

What else have you found helps to coordinate your care?

Women and Caregiving: What You Should Know

by Leave a Comment

Most people who need care rely on family and friends to provide at least part of their assistance. Around 30 percent will also rely on paid providers to supplement their needs.

When you look at who is providing the care, it may come as no surprise to discover that women are the backbone of the support system. Women provide the majority of care for spouses, parents, friends, and neighbors.

The average caregiver is a 49 year old woman providing care for a mother who does not live with her. She is married and employed.

Women spend as much as 50 percent more time providing care than male caregivers.

Two out of three caregivers are women.

Women make up the majority of caregivers in our country, but they also have the most long term care needs. Women tend to live longer than men, outlive their spouses, and have less access to savings and pensions. [Read more…]

Newly Diagnosed With FTD

by Leave a Comment

FTD – frontotemporal degeneration – is a disease that results from progressive damage to the temporal and/or frontal lobes of the brain. It can also be referred to as frontotemporal dementia, frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), or Picks disease.

FTD is separated from other types of dementia in two important ways:

With FTD, you’ll notice a gradual, progressive decline in behavior and/or language, yet memory usually stays relatively intact. As the disease progresses, you’ll find it difficult for the person to plan and organize, behave appropriately in social settings, interact with others, even personal care can be difficult.

FTD usually impacts at a younger age, with 60 percent of all cases affecting 45 to 64 year olds. FTD can impact both work and family in ways that other forms of dementias do not.

Like other forms of dementia, there are currently no treatments available to slow or stop the progression of the disease.

When first diagnosed, it’s important to start building your team for long term management of the issues you’ll be facing in the coming years. [Read more…]

Why Caregiving Is A Corporate Issue

by Leave a Comment

Caregiving isn’t just a family thing, it’s something that impacts each and every one of us.

According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, more than 15 percent of the US workforce plays a caregiving role. Yet most are reluctant to tell their employees about their situation for fear of the impact on their jobs and future promotions.

According to a MetLife study, many caregivers leave positions when the conflict between responsibilities gets to be too much. It ends up costing as much as $304,000 in benefits and wages over the average employee’s lifetime.

66 percent of all caregivers have reported to work late, left early, or have been forced to take time off during the day to deal with caregiving issues.

20 percent of all caregivers are forced to take a leave of absence somewhere during the process.

10 percent of all caregivers quit or take early retirement before they are ready due to caregiving needs.

5 percent of all caregivers say no to a promotion because they worry about how it will impact their caregiving duties.

Some of it is due to fear. Corporate structure is of such that we worry about job potential if we reveal weakness. We prefer to deal with it in our own way rather than asking for help from those around us.

It’s not that employers aren’t willing to work with a person; in most cases, it’s that they are simply unaware.

But it’s this communication breakdown between employers and employees that are contributing to the lack of support. The only way to change it is to reach out and talk about it and find out what your options are.

Some employers offer resources and services that can help a family caregiver. When employees don’t take advantage of the services, human resource analyzes and refocuses their needs in other directions.

Start by asking what is available to you. Don’t be afraid to open up about your situation and ask what can be done to support your needs. Even if they don’t have a program in place, it can open up the opportunity to learn. And even from the very first conversation, it may be enough to help you solve some of your needs and discover how you can continue doing what you do.