What You Need to Know: Six Tips for Alzheimer’s Caregivers

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1 Get a medical evaluation early.

As soon as you suspect that you or someone close to you is having memory problems, is disoriented or showing other symptoms of Alzheimer’s, see a doctor.

The earlier someone is diagnosed, the better their chance of preserving function and slowing down Alzheimer’s symptoms with medication. And since symptoms of other conditions, reactions to medications or depression can look like Alzheimer’s, it’s even more important to see a doctor and get a proper diagnosis as soon as possible.

2 Call the Alzheimer’s Association.

The association’s Aloha Chapter is a key resource for services and referrals in your community. They can answer questions, teach you how to prepare and cope as the disease progresses, suggest respite services and memory care facilities, and provide support groups where you can share and learn from other patients and caregivers.
The Aloha Chapter’s numbers are Oahu – 591-2771, Big Island – 981-2111, Kauai – 245-3200, and Maui – 242-8636.

For information on Alzheimer’s education, you can also email arlene.ige@alz.org.

For info on support and resources, email ira.kazama@alz.org.

3 Get help with caregiving.

“When the caregiver thinks they can do it themselves, that’s when I worry about the caregiver. I know eventually they’ll crack one way or the other,” says geriatrician Dr. Patricia Blanchette. “Share care with other family members. Look for day care. Find someone who can come in even half a day a week to stay with your loved one so you can go out and get your hair done, go to a park and sit, just recharge your batteries.”

4 Know what to expect.

Even though every Alzheimer’s patient experiences a different combination of symptoms and the diseases progresses at different rates, knowing the range of what might happen will help prepare you. This way, when something new crops up, you’ll know what to do or where to turn for advice and help.

5 Don’t suffer through hostile or paranoid behavior.

One of the hardest symptoms for caregivers to deal with is an Alzheimer’s patient who accuses them of outrageous behavior or is even violent. “That kind of behavior responds pretty well to certain medications,” says Blanchette. “You don’t have to live with lots of paranoia and accusations.”

6Take care of yourself.

“It would surprise a lot of caregivers to hear that they’re at higher risk of getting sicker than the person they’re taking care of—with heart attack, stroke, diabetes getting totally out of control, having some other stress-related illness, becoming clinically depressed, losing too much weight, or gaining too much weight,” says Blanchette.
“Even though they know they need help, in many cases it takes a lot of energy for people to ask. Sometimes the only way I can get someone to accept help is to say, ‘What if something happened to you and you had to be hospitalized? Your loved one would be taken care of by someone they don’t know at all, and that would be hard for them. Better you work in another caregiver so that person is at least known to them.’

Sometimes the light bulb goes on and they go, ‘I never thought of that.’”