Dementia

Mistletoe and holly, fa-la-la-ing and jingle-belling and one-horse open sleighs...the holidays conjure up all sorts of memories and feelings for all of us. They are special moments in the year to gather with friends and family, share the joy and make memories. This is especially important if you have a loved one in your family living with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. The holidays are a unique time to surround them with beloved traditions, the caring of others and the sensory delights of the season. However, the holidays can also be busy and stressful, which can be overwhelming for someone with dementia. Large groups of people can be scary and disorienting, while the disruption to their routines can leave them cranky and agitated. If you’re a caregiver, the holidays pile on additional responsibilities on top of your existing, extensive to-dos. How can families find balance this holiday season? The answer lies in understanding, patience and grace – for you and others – and a little extra coordination and planning. By knowing what to expect, taking steps to navigate potential pitfalls and plan for all sorts of situations, the holidays can be happy, merry and bright for everyone, including your loved one with dementia. Here are some of Avalon’s top tips for helping make the season holly-jolly for all your family members. Scale it back. It’s hard to get past the idea of throwing a picture-perfect holiday – all you have to do is turn on the television to see Norman Rockwell-esque scenes of snow falling, families laughing and the halls decked just so. Many of us put extra stress on ourselves to make the season as spectacular as possible, which leads to burning the candle at [...]

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with dementia, you may have heard the disease discussed as having “stages.” These different stages are used to signify how the disease has progressed and what is happening currently to their mind and body. This helps caregivers, medical professionals and family members understand what is happening with their loved one and prepare them for the current and future changes. There are several different tools memory care professionals use to determine an individual’s dementia progression. The most commonly used scales are the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and the Functional Assessment Staging Test (FAST). Each of these scales has a different system for determining the stage and severity of an individual's mental decline. At Avalon, we tend to use the FAST Scale to help us determine the progression of memory loss so we know best how to treat our residents – and help family members. In order to serve you, we’ve put together some of our most frequently asked questions about the FAST Scale to help bring some clarity and understanding about this useful tool. What is the FAST Scale? FAST stands for Functional Assessment Staging Tool. This scale was developed by Dr. Barry Reisberg, who is a leading expert in Alzheimer’s disease. It’s used to help doctors, medical professionals and family members understand, talk about and follow the progression of dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease. How does the FAST scale determine a person’s level of functioning? Unlike other scales that focus primarily on cognitive decline, such as the GSD, FAST focuses on a person’s ability to function and perform tasks of daily living. How does the FAST Scale break out the stages of [...]

Alzheimer’s may be the most common type of dementia, but there are many other forms of it. Some dementias are even reversible with the proper medical care. While the individual is recovering, specialized dementia care can help families meet their loved one’s needs. Reversible dementias and dementia-like symptoms can be caused by the following health issues. Dehydration Sudden changes in a loved one can be alarming, but in some cases, temporary, dementia-like symptoms may simply be the result of dehydration. A person’s awareness of thirst declines with age. This means that seniors are at a higher risk of dehydration, which can cause confusion. Nutritional Deficiencies Individuals who suffer severe malnutrition may develop reversible, dementia-like symptoms. Memory loss and confusion may be attributed to deficiencies in vitamin B1 and B12. People with alcohol use disorder are at an increased risk of this complication, as alcoholism has a strong association with chronic malnutrition. Alcoholism treatment and mental health counseling may be appropriate. Medication Reactions If memory loss and problems with word recall developed after a change in medications, it is possible that this change is responsible for these dementia-like symptoms. Some medications that can cause cognitive issues include the following: Cholesterol-lowering statins Chemotherapy drugs Pain medications Anti-anxiety medications Sleeping pills Of course, it is important for individuals to take medications as prescribed. However, any troublesome side effects should be brought to the doctor’s attention. The doctor may be able to adjust the dosage or prescribe a different medication to reverse the dementia-like symptoms. Anoxia Anoxia or hypoxia is a state of oxygen deprivation. When the organs are not receiving enough oxygen, the person may experience problems such as memory loss and confusion. Oxygen deprivation may be a [...]

It is not uncommon for individuals receiving dementia care to experience delusions. Delusions are firm beliefs in something that is not true. They are not the same as hallucinations, which refer to hearing, seeing, or smelling something that is not real. Some common delusions include the belief that someone is out to harm the individual, someone is stealing from the individual or the individual’s spouse is having an affair. Watch this video to hear some essential tips for dementia caregivers on dealing with delusions. Firstly, never argue with the individual, and never tell him or her that the belief is not true. Offer words of reassurance. Second, consider joining in the delusion. You could tell your loved one that you just spoke with the police, and the person who was out to harm your loved one is now in jail. When it is no longer possible to provide continuous care for your loved one at home, you can rely on Avalon Memory Care for compassionate assisted living services. Call (214) 752-7050 to discuss our mental healthcare for individuals with dementia in Dallas, Arlington, and Houston.

When you have a family member who is suffering from dementia, it’s not unusual to find yourself experiencing sharp and sudden emotions. The gradual loss of a loved one is, in many ways, comparable to experiencing the death of someone close to you. With progressive dementia, this sense of loss is accompanied by another emotion known as anticipatory grief. What is anticipatory grief? Anticipatory grief is a term coined by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the psychologist famous for developing the notion of the five stages of grief. It is the grieving we experience prior to the death of someone close to us, as we become aware that our loved one will leave us soon. As you notice the gradual disappearance of your family member’s mind and personality, you may begin to feel that the person you knew is already gone. When does anticipatory grief begin and end? The experience of anticipatory grief is different for every person. Many people begin to experience it as soon as they realize that they are losing their loved one, while others begin to grieve once their family member’s dementia symptoms have become difficult to overlook. Most of the time, anticipatory grief only ends at the death of the loved one. Is anticipatory grief normal? It is completely normal to experience anticipatory grief. Many people find that they have already gone through the grieving experience by the time their family member passes away, while others still feel the grief of bereavement just as vividly. Other people find that going through anticipatory grief provides them with a greater sense of closure in the end, as they are given the time to come to terms with their loved one’s death before it happens. Avalon [...]

Parkinson’s disease is an incurable neurological disorder, with progressively worsening complications. Perhaps the most well-known symptom of Parkinson’s is a hand tremor, but it can also cause speech changes, muscle rigidity, and impaired posture. Eventually, as the disease progresses, more than half of all individuals with Parkinson’s will require dementia care. This particular type of dementia is referred to as Parkinson’s disease dementia. Parkinson’s disease causes devastating changes of the brain. These changes first begin in the area of the brain responsible for movement. Eventually, the effects spread, and begin to affect executive function. Specifically, people with Parkinson’s disease have abnormal deposits called Lewy bodies. Lewy bodies are primarily comprised of a protein called alpha-synuclein. Lewy bodies are also a hallmark of Lewy body dementia, although this type of dementia and the dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease are not necessarily the same. In addition to Lewy bodies, Parkinson’s disease dementia is characterized by the development of plaques and tangles, which are both also present in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Symptoms On average, people with Parkinson’s disease who develop dementia do so in about 10 years after the initial diagnosis. Some of the common signs and symptoms of this type of dementia include: Problems with visual information interpretation Muffled speech Visual hallucinations Irritability and anxiety Depression Problems with concentration, memory, and judgment Sleep disturbances Diagnostic Guidelines There is no single test that can definitively diagnose Parkinson’s disease dementia, nor is there a combination of tests. Primarily, a diagnosis is based on a doctor’s observation of the symptoms, and the timeframe in which those symptoms developed. For example, if dementia symptoms developed within one year of the onset of the movement symptoms of Parkinson’s [...]