Medicines, Use Them Safely

When you’re at the doctor’s office, make sure you review your medicine record and ask your doctor about any new information concerning your medicines. And each time you are prescribed new medication, find out the following information:

• What is the name of the medicine and why am I taking it?
• What are the brand and generic names of the medicine?
• What is the name of the condition this medicine will treat?
• How does this medicine work?
• How often should I take it?
• How long will it take to work?
• How will I know if this medicine is working?
• How can I expect to feel once I start taking this medicine?
• When should I take it and how much? As needed? Before, with or between meals? At bedtime?
• If I forget to take it, what should I do?
• What side effects might I expect? Should I report them? How can I lessen the side effects?
• How long will I have to take it?
• What should I do if the medicine doesn’t seem to work?

Read the full article:

http://www.workingcaregiver.com/articles/seniormedicaladvice/medicinesafety

The Power of Thanks!

The feeling of thankfulness is quite different from all other emotions. Gratefulness is a complex and powerful emotion that is inherently connected with the condition of faith. The word grateful comes from the latin root gratus, which is also the root word of gratis and grace.

To be thankful requires an acknowledgement of two important aspects of our lives; 1) that we have something for which to be thankful and 2) that we have someone or something to which to be thankful. We cannot have one without the other for they are indivisibly linked.

As we take stock of our good fortune and many blessings, we find that the most impressive wonders of life seem far from our conscious control… the beauty of a fall sunset, the majesty of a mountain vista at dawn, the radiant warmth of the sun on a clear, cool morn, the awesome site of a rainbow. These simple, yet amazing phenomena bless all those who take the time to notice and appreciate them. More personally, if we review most impressive blessings of our lives, virtually all of them seem to have been beyond our control… perhaps gratis or grace inspired.

Elders and Seniors are choosing to live life differently. They’d rather whoop and holler through swimming classes over sitting parked in wheelchairs.

The food they prefer eating are steaks and lobsters instead of mashed potatoes, chipped beef, fish sticks and chicken noodle soup. No longer do they want plastic plants in their environment. They’d rather have their homes and bedrooms filled with live plants and the backyard given way to a Zen garden.

Many senior retirees resist living in a nursing home. They are dreading the day that may occur, and who can blame anyone!! Have you visited one lately? When thinking of a nursing facility, many of us have images of  neglected patients languishing on soiled sheets.

Home care is another option many seniors prefer!

http://www.agingcare.com/News/133500/Rebirth-in-Care-of-the-Elderly.htm

Skills Needed for Advocating for your Loved One:

-Educate yourself regarding your loved one’s illness and/or disability.

-Communicate efficiently and succinctly with healthcare professionals.

-Recognize you are a healthcare consumer deserving quality healthcare.

-Embrace your importance as a member of the healthcare team.

-Always provide input and ask as many questions as needed.

-Pick your battles; don’t sweat the small stuff. Identify inconsequential matters and focus your attention elsewhere

-Be an advocate—speak up. The squeaky wheel usually gets the grease.

With a major role change such as the one associated with becoming a family caregiver, emotions can and will run the gamut. There are in fact five stages of grief that are widely accepted in the scientific community to occur as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Living and coping through each of these stages composes the learning framework for us to be able to adjust to witnessing someone we love fall victim to a debilitating illness.

A few points to remember when stepping into the role of family advocate:

• An advocate simply speaks, writes for, or is present for an aging relative or a cause.

• An advocate is exhausted at the end of the day.  The diverse nature of being an advocate falls under the place/hours of just about anywhere/anytime. This is a given. It could be a 3AM phone call of “Help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up… I think something is broken.”  It’s reality.

• Try never to force your opinions or beliefs on the person you are advocating on their behalf.  Most people really do have a pretty good idea of what they desire as the outcome and a fairly good way to get there.  Just support their decisions and offer as much support as you can.

• Advocacy is not only doing, but showing and giving the options and tools to help your family.  Sometimes, yes, you do fill out the forms, as the family dictates what they want to say.  Make sure you run the forms by them to check for accuracy.

“The holiday season is quickly coming upon us.  If you are a caregiver for an elderly loved one, you may notice a change in your loved one’s mood as the holidays approach.  Perhaps you are one of many, who visit elderly parents and family during the holidays who live a distance away.  When you visit you may notice that loved ones are not as physically active, or they show symptoms of fatigue or sadness and have no interest in the holiday or in their surroundings.…” read the entire article by going to the link below

Please go to the following URL for the entire article and previous articles: Either click on the link   http://www.planforcare.org or copy and paste the following into your browser: http://www.planforcare.org

Seniors are more likely to suffer from a host of oral health issues that may result from the natural aging process, the inability to receive proper oral care due to financial constraints or the physical inability to care for themselves. However, age is not a dominant or sole factor in determining oral health. Certain medical conditions such as arthritis in the hands and fingers may make brushing and flossing difficult — if not impossible — to perform.

Older adults are more prone to gum disease resulting from improper dental hygiene, poor diet, ill-fitting dental appliances and diseases such as cancer or diabetes. They are also more likely to suffer from inflammation of gum tissue or dry mouth syndrome often caused by medications.

Visit www.nidcr.nih.gov/HealthInformation/FindingDentalCare.

Call 888-275-4772 (toll-free) or visit www.ask.hrsa.gov/pc/ to locate a community health center that offers dental services.

Check a state or a local dental association at www.ada.org/ada/organizations/searchcons1.asp to find dentists in the area who have lower fees for older adults.

Why Bergen County Seniors Should Save for Retirement?

• In order to meet your financial obligations and pay related bills
• To lead the lifestyle of your choice once you retire
• To help fund any long-term care requirements and home care

About Long-Term Care Insurance

• Funds skilled nursing care or custodial care in a long-term care facility, nursing home, home care or private residence care, or adult-day care
• Why it may be required – should you need care for a prolonged illness (i.e. cancer), a degenerative condition (i.e. Parkinson’s or a stroke), a disability, or cognitive disorder (i.e. Alzheimer’s)
• When to sign up – around 65 if you are in good health, or 50+ if you have a chronic illness or family history of serious health complication
• Cost – between $55 and $12,000 per year, typically paid with monthly premiums
• What to consider – stability of the insurer, settings for care, type of care, conditions covered, maximum daily benefit, benefit period, eligibility criteria, elimination period, inflation adjustment

Medicare & Medicaid Coverage

• Medicare coverage- does not cover custodial care and home care, and doesn’t typically cover long-term care since its coverage only applies to medically necessary skilled nursing care or home health care
• Conditions – there are certain conditions with Medicare even to be considered for medically necessary care
• Medicaid coverage- helps individuals with low income/limited assets fund medical care and does pay for some long-term care at home and in the community
• Eligibility – varies state to state, but is based on income and assets

There are roughly 70,000 centenarians in the United States. About one-third are doing quite well and living without any cognitive impairment or other functional disability. Estimates are that by the middle of this century, 800,000 Americans will be centenarians.

The increased scientific attention to longevity has uncovered some common characteristics among centenarians:

Geography may play a role. Growing up in harsh physical environments may be an advantage. Scientists have observed a prevalence of centenarians in a belt running through the Dakotas and Minnesota up through Nova Scotia. Sardinia and Okinawa also have disproportionate pockets of centenarians, yet no one knows why.

It helps to be female: 85 percent of centenarians are women, but male centenarians tend to be in better shape than women. Women who have children after age 40 stand a greater chance of living to 100.
People who live to the age of 100 are born to relatively young parents.

Genetics is a big factor, but lifestyle is critical, too. The Adventist Health Study at California’s Loma Linda University found that members of the Adventist faith with good lifelong habits such as healthy diets, exercise and not smoking had an average life expectancy of about 10 years longer than the U.S. population as a whole.

A sense of humor is important. “We wonder if that’s part of some interesting personality traits that are conducive to managing stress well,” according to Perls. When he asked a husband-centenarian how he kept his centenarian wife happy, the husband said, “If I told you, you’d lose your job.”

According to a 2002 study by the National Council on the Aging, 42 percent of people 65 and older say they’re retired and working or not retired at all. Entrepreneur and executive Marvin Tolkin said, “Retirement is not about not working; it’s about re-directing your life into other useful work.”

A common goal for many people is to keep the same standard of living after retirement, so they can continue enjoying the lifestyle they’ve worked so hard to achieve. This goal may seem daunting, but it is feasible with the right planning and commitment.  

While Working

• During your working years, your strategy should be capitalizing on all economic opportunities available.
• Start preparing as soon as possible. In the first part of your life, start making plans as to how you will maintain your lifestyle later in life.
• Make smart investments. Keep in mind that poor economic decisions in the past don’t have to prevent wise decisions for the future.
• Conserve capital. Protect the principal of your investments.
• Live within your means. Incur debt with caution and only when necessary. Repay debt as quickly as possible.
  Capitalize on retirement and investment options at work. Take advantage of 401(k), 403(b) or 457 programs. Be sure to contribute the amount necessary to get the maximum match from your employer.
• Make extra contributions to boost savings late in your career. Always take advantage of tax benefits for late savers.
• Consider working three years longer. Extend your working years to significantly increase your investment principal.