Rita Jablonski, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, FGSA is a nurse practitioner, researcher, tenured professor, and former family caregiver. Her research and practice involve all aspects of dementia management; she is best known for non-drug strategies to address dementia-related behaviors.
In last week’s blog, I described three common types of delusions that you may encounter when caring for a person living with dementia: persecutory delusions, jealousy delusions, and scarcity delusions. There are other types of delusions, but these are the ones that tend to show up most often in people […]
Delusions are defined as false beliefs. These delusions can occur anytime in the dementia journey and they usually run their course then fade away. For this blog, I’m going to write about the three of the most common types of delusions that are encountered when caring for a person living with dementia: persecutory, jealousy, and scarcity. I’m also going to write about where these false beliefs may be coming from.
Wondering if you can safely leave your loved one with dementia alone? And for how long? Here are 3 things to help you decide.
I want family caregivers to know that placement does not mean you failed. It does not mean you are a rotten son, daughter, partner, spouse, sibling or friend. It means that you are continuing to care for the person with dementia. You are looking for the best option for ALL concerned.
Taking away the car keys from a person living with dementia is difficult, because driving is important for independence. Before I dive into the “how to” part of this blog, I want to talk about emotions and beliefs around driving. Knowing this information can help you strategize.
Do you find yourself thinking the following thoughts? “Am I doing this right?” “Did I do everything I could to make her feel safe and happy? And did I do enough?” “I want some time for myself, but I feel guilty leaving him alone.”
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a type of neurodegenerative disease that includes ongoing and worsening problems with memory. CTE has been depicted in movies and television episodes–but not accurately.
Over 5 million young people aged 8-18 provide care to a disabled family member…and a good chunk of these youths are caring for a parent with dementia–which is much more difficult than helping to care for a grandparent with dementia.
Antidepressant medication makes sense when you think about what is going on in the brain of a person living with dementia. In fact, some of the studies I referenced found that antidepressants alone, and antidepressants combined with meds like donepezil, were more effective than antipsychotics in controlling difficult behaviors like agitation. On the other hand, antipsychotic medications were developed to address behaviors (like hallucinations and delusions) in people diagnosed with schizophrenia. These medications are not to be used lightly. This is why I promote non-drug approaches to behavior as much as possible.
, I am going to describe why and how common two medications are commonly prescribed for people living with dementia: acetylcholine esterase inhibitors (pronounced a-SEE-tol-CO-leen ES-ter-ace) and memantine (prounounced meh-MAN-teen).