3 Questions Every Alzheimer ’s Caregiver Should Ask About Palliative Care

We described palliative care as “aggressive symptom management for maximum quality of life at the present time.”The goal is to treat and remove, or reduce, symptoms that are bothering the person who is deeply forgetful. Symptoms such as pain, or problems like urinary tract infections, are handled in ways that make sense to the person living inAlzheimer ’s World.Learn More -Alzheimer ’s WorldIn the beginning of the journey, when the person is only a little forgetful, diseases and health problems are managed so that the body and mind continue to support each otherFOR MAXIMUM QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE NOW.How to Get Answers To Your Questions About Alzheimer's and DementiaAs the mind deteriorates, some of the bodily functions also start to go downhill. The caregiver may be faced with a clinician wanting to try a medication, change a medication, or run a test or procedure.The clinician does not know your family member like you do; he or she is trying to help, but the help may not result in MAXIMUM QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE NOW.We recommend that the caregiver use the following approach for these recommendations with these 3 questions:“Is this (medication, test, procedure) really necessary?” The simplicity or complexity of the medication, test, or procedure factors into this question. A simple blood test or urine test would be better tolerated than an 8-hour sleep study.“How will it maintain or improve my loved one’s quality of life in the now?” This second question is a...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimers care alzheimers caregiving dementia help for caregivers end of life care family caregiving help alzheimer's help with dementia care memory care facility nursing home palliative care Source Type: blogs