Dr. Mauk\'s Boomer Blog

Each week, Dr. Mauk shares thoughts relevant to Baby Boomers that are aimed to educate and amuse.

Guest Blog:Home care tips for Seniors with Fibromyalgia

According to the CDC, fibromyalgia affects an estimated four million Americans. Although it can strike both men and women at any age, it is most prevalent among women. Described as a chronic pain disorder, fibromyalgia is hard to live with even if you are young and otherwise in good health. For seniors, living with fibromyalgia is a constant struggle and can even be debilitating. This also makes the job of care givers so much tougher. Fortunately, there are steps to you can take to increase the comfort and make life easier for seniors with fibromyalgia.

Home Care Tips for Seniors with Fibromyalgia

There are various treatment options for fibromyalgia in seniors, including pain medications and antidepressants. However, the viability of some of these treatments is reduced when dealing with an aged population because of the increased risk of side effects. This makes nonmedical treatments or lifestyle interventions all the more important. Here’s how you can improve the quality of care.

Set Reminders: Aside from the fact that fibromyalgia increases the risk of depression, aging is also associated with memory loss. This makes it important for you to keep track of medication, meals, and other requirements that should be part of a daily schedule.

Encourage Activity: It may seem cruel to make someone move when they’re battling pain and just want to curl up in bed, but this is something you have to do. Be gentle and understanding, but coax and motivate your senior parent or patient to move. Exercise doesn’t have to involve anything vigorous, but can include mild activities like walking, gardening, and so on. The lack of physical activity has been linked to worsening symptoms and exercise will also help preserve muscle strength.

Meal Planning: In addition to enforcing disciplined meal times, you need to make sure that seniors receive balanced nutrition that will improve their condition. Focus on whole foods and anti-inflammatory ingredients, while limiting processed foods, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol as far as possible.

Sleep Schedule: Sleep requirements and quality decline with age, but that doesn’t make sleep any less important for seniors. It’s even more valuable for seniors with fibromyalgia as studies have shown sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality to exacerbate symptoms. Following sleep rituals and a strict sleep timetable will help cultivate healthier sleep habits in seniors.

Relive Anxiety: Stress and anxiety reduction techniques can help to lower the risk of depression, while also helping with pain management. Practices like meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation are known to alleviate both mental stress and physical pain.

Seek Help: Caring for someone with fibromyalgia is an immense responsibility and it’s not easy. If you’re juggling work and home care it can all get overwhelming. The best thing you could do would be to reach out to support groups and look for professional part-time or full-time home care providers to lighten the load.

The best thing you can do would be to speak to doctors to find out how you can best implement these steps in accordance with their treatment guidelines.

By Jim|2022-10-26T10:18:29-05:00November 11th, 2022|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off

Guest Blog: Home Care vs. The Alternatives: How to Make The Right Choice

Choosing the type of care for your senior family member can be stressful and difficult. The options alone can be confusing. While nursing homes and other more popular, familiar alternatives are often the first choices of most families, many are now choosing to hire medical homecare professionals to provide home care for their elderly loved ones.

Home care is a type of in-home service for seniors and the elderly. Care and services are provided in the home, so your loved one does not have to live separately and far away from you. It has several advantages for you and your senior family members. However, nursing homes and other alternatives also offer some benefits. So, which one should you choose? Should you go for home care, or should you choose a more familiar option?

To make sure you explore your choices efficiently, it is vital to understand each care type and what it can offer to your senior loved one – and to your family, as well.

Different Types of Senior and Elderly Care Services

Aging in Place/Home Care

Aging in Place is another term for home care senior services. This option is ideal for seniors and the elderly who need assistance or personal care for their daily living activities (ADL) – such as dressing up, personal hygiene, and preparing and eating meals – and instrumental activities of daily (IADL) living such as housekeeping and shopping. It does not provide medical care.

If you are considering home care for your senior loved one, there are several things you need to consider.

Home care is ideal for seniors whose homes are in a safe and secure neighborhood. A gated village or community is ideal, although it’s not necessary.
The home should be accessible; transportation should be easy so that your senior loved one won’t have to worry about driving the car.
Seniors should have their family, loved ones, or friends nearby. They should be available to help when needed.
The home should be easy to renovate or modify to accommodate to adjust to your senior loved one’s needs.
Home care is ideal for seniors who do not require a nurse or any other medical professional. Medical needs should be simple.

Aging in place is preferred by families who want a one-on-one and more personal senior care service. It’s an environment that allows the caregiver and his senior client to establish a comfortable and trustworthy relationship. Additionally, home care is also more exclusive than the alternatives because you and your family work with only one caregiver.

Nursing Homes

Nursing homes are the more popular option among the alternatives. They offer custodial care, which refers to non-medical assistance such as bathing, eating, and dressing up. Nursing homes also provide professional medical care. Licensed physicians and nurses are usually on-call 24/7.

These places are ideal for seniors in need of a high level of personal and medical care. Many of its senior and elderly residents were brought there because of an illness or after hospitalization. Nursing homes are also ideal for seniors with Alzheimer’s or dementia as the facility is safe and security is tight.

Assisted Living Facilities

Assisted living facilities offer 24-hour access to care and supervision. These facilities provide room and boarding services to seniors and the elderly. The residents can easily and freely interact with each other.

These facilities do not offer professional medical services as there are no physicians or doctors and nurses in the community.

Assisted living facilities are ideal for seniors and the elderly. They need assistance with some of their day-to-day activities, such as going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and preparing meals.

Independent Living

Independent living housing arrangements are ideal for seniors and elderly residents aged 55 years old and up. It is specifically for those who do not need assistance or require minimal help with their day-to-day activities. There are no licensed physicians and nurses in the housing facility.

Seniors can choose from two housing types: freestanding or apartment-like homes. These houses are easy to manage and do not require yard work and heavy maintenance.

Independent living housing provides its senior residents with fun activities, amenities, and services.

Retirement Community

Also called Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), retirement communities put together assisted living, home care, and independent living in one location. This concept allows seniors to live in one community, so when their housing needs and care level changes, they can conveniently move to one that’s ideal for them.

Retirement communities can be expensive, though, as housing costs and monthly fees can change as the level of care required changes.

Things to Consider

Aside from understanding each option, it is also essential for you and your family to consider the following when deciding which senior care service to choose.

Daily physical and medical needs of your senior loved one.
How accessible and safe the community/facility location is.
Are you capable of meeting the required expenses?
Your senior loved one’s emotional and social needs.

With all the information you have, choosing the right care type for your senior family member will be easier and less stressful.

By Jim|2022-10-26T10:18:15-05:00November 9th, 2022|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off

Guest Blog: How to Take Care of Elders Who Are Living Alone: 4 Important Tips

Do you feel that your elders are not safe in their house anymore? Of late, you may be noticing that their house is always in a mess, or that they are not grooming regularly. It is apparent that they are skipping meals and medications. It is all too frightening to see the people who brought you up becoming so helpless and careless in their old age. It is not their fault, but now it is your responsibility to take care of them.

We have put together some tips that will help you plan long term care for your loved ones when you feel they are getting too old to take care of themselves:

1. Confront Your Elders: Sit with them and inquire about the problems they may be facing. Is it an untreated chronic pain that has worsened over time, rendering them unable to do simple tasks that they had no problems executing previously? Is it a loss of a loved one they are mourning? Are they feeling marooned from the rest of their family? Isolation or lack of support can be a major recipe for depression.

2. Express Your Concerns: Sometimes elders feel that they have become a burden on their family. This is why they stop sharing their problems. Maybe if you express your concerns, they will honestly tell you what is troubling them.

3. Respect Their Independence: Unless your elders are not completely disabled, they have the right to make their own decisions. If you think something is right for them, let them know about it in an open-ended way. Never impose anything on them.

4. Keep External Help Handy: You might be confident about your situation-handling capabilities, but it is a good idea to keep home care providers, doctors, and geriatric care managers in the loop. Also, you might consider making your elders meet other people who have used home care services before. Hearing unbiased feedback might remove their fear of the unknown.

Old age is the onset of childhood. Even though we tend to ignore our elders as they age, we should realize that, with age, they need greater affection and care. If you are not able to take care of your elders due to responsibilities and work pressure, taking in professional help is a viable option.

By Jim|2022-10-26T10:17:53-05:00November 7th, 2022|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off

Guest Blog: Romance can spark retirement planning

Romance is an exciting prospect to pursue during the retirement years. In fact, a study conducted by Merrill Lynch and Age Wave revealed that 69% of retirees find romantic activities a priority during the golden years.

Of course, proper retirement planning is needed in order for couples to make time for love. It can’t be stressed enough that 70% of people age 65 years and above is expected to receive some form of long term care in the future. And a long term care insurance (LTCI) basically covers that particular need.

Now, the great thing about planning early for long term care is that not only will partners be able to receive care when they need it. Couples preparing together can also strengthen their relationship. A stronger bond with each other effectively prevents any arguments that spouses may encounter in the future. Planning, in a way, sets one’s hopes and expectations for the romantic ride in the next couple of years.

As a couple, setting your sights on some romantic retirement activities can be a motivational tool for you both to prepare for your tomorrows. Here are some suggestions you may want to do together:

Travel

Experience unforgettable moments by exploring new places. It doesn’t need to be far – the important thing is you’re together in a strange and exciting place!

Higher Education

Bring back the wonders of school romance by pursuing higher education. Aside from having the chance to pass love notes in class, the knowledge gained from school can be used for possible business opportunities during retirement.

Movies

Retirement means more time with each other. So grab some popcorn and enjoy watching some romantic movies together.

Cooking

Food is the way to a man’s (or even a woman’s) heart. Enjoy whipping up some meals for each other.

Health

Keeping fit is better when done with a partner. Even something as simple as walking together in a park should keep you and your date fit and happy.

Go on a Date

Even single retirees can join in the fun. Retirement can be a good time to meet, mingle, and spend time with a new and special friend.

And the list goes on. No matter which activity you and your spouse may want to do, an LTCI will grant the security in case something dire happens. Make sure to get a suitable LTC coverage for your romantic retirement getaways today.

Author Bio: Violet Swenson is the Online Content Director at LTC Global Agency, a reliable provider of long term care insurance since 2002. Our strong partnerships with top companies across the country help us deliver the most competitive products in the industry.

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By Jim|2022-10-26T10:17:06-05:00November 5th, 2022|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off

Guest Blog: The 5 Most Common Types of Dementia

Many people assume that dementia is a disease in itself, but it’s not.

Dementia is more of a blanket term used to describe several conditions affecting the brain, typically characterized by the loss of cognitive functioning.

People living with dementia often have problems thinking, reasoning, and remembering, often to the point where it interferes with their daily lives.

Even behavioral abilities are affected by dementia, with some having difficulty controlling their emotions.

At its earliest stage, dementia would be starting to affect cognitive abilities. As it progresses, the symptoms become worse.

By the time the affected person reaches dementia’s most severe stage, they would be dependent on in-home dementia care for the most basic functions of living, like brushing their teeth and taking care of their personal hygiene and grooming.

There are several types of dementia, the most common of which include:

1. Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, as it makes up 60 to 80 percent of all dementia cases..

A progressive and irreversible condition, Alzheimer’s affects that part of our brain responsible for language abilities, formation of short-term memories, and comprehending and remembering information.

Apart from the diminished ability to understand and remember information, other signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s include:

Inability to remember recent events
Eventual loss of memories of long-term life events
Reduced decision-making abilities
Inability to perform simple tasks
Difficulty following a conversation
Confusion/Disorientation
Disinterest in favorite activities and hobbies
Repetitive words and sentences
Paranoia
Reduced fine motor skills

2. Vascular Dementia

As its name suggests, vascular dementia is associated with reduced blood flow in the brain, typically caused by a stroke or atherosclerotic disease.

Next to Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia, and it causes, among other things, confusion and disorientation, inability to concentrate for extended periods, difficulty completing tasks, and vision problems.

3. Lewy Body Dementia

About 5-15% of all dementia cases are classified as Lewy Body Dementia, which occurs when abnormal protein deposits in nerve cells affect the area of the brain responsible for thinking and physical movement.

These deposits prevent the brain from sending chemical signals to the body, leading to memory loss and delayed reactions.

On top of memory loss and diminished language and reasoning abilities, people living with Lewy Body dementia also experience insomnia, depression and anxiety, and symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, including feelings of weakness, difficulty walking, and tremors.

4. Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is caused by nerve cell loss in the substantia nigra, the part of the brain that plays a crucial role in movement. When people living with Parkinson’s reach the disease’s advanced stage, they will likely develop dementia.

Aside from dementia, Parkinson’s patients also experience symptoms such as difficulty comprehending visual information, irritability, paranoia, depression, trouble walking and speaking, and tremors, which could affect any part of the body but are most common in the hands.

5. Frontotemporal Dementia

Frontotemporal Dementia affects the brain’s front and side areas, which are tasked with controlling a person’s behavior and language.

While its cause has not yet been identified, frontotemporal dementia is already known to run in families and affect individuals as young as 45-years-old.

As frontotemporal dementia affects the parts of the brain responsible for behavior and language, behavioral issues such as loss of motivation and inhibition and speech problems are common symptoms among those who have the condition.

These are the most common types of dementia, and there are several other subtypes and rare forms.

If you suspect that a loved one has dementia, it’s best to bring them to a neurologist for immediate diagnosis.

By Jim|2022-09-29T15:19:49-05:00October 31st, 2022|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off

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