Alzheimer's Disease Management…preparing for the future.Although a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease may seem devastating, it does not have to be. Of course the disease will bring about changes to the patients overall lifestyle, but understanding some simple disease management techniques can help a patient better cope with those changes and continue to have the best quality of life. The first step in Alzheimer's disease management is working to maintain a positive attitude of wellness. Just because a person gets a diagnosis for Alzheimer's disease does not mean they should stop working towards positive physical, mental, and emotional health. A diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease should be all the more reason to take heed in these following things - proper nutrition, plenty of rest and physical activity are all crucially important to an Alzheimer's patient's health. Keeping regular doctor's appointments, as well as managing medications are equally as important. It is not uncommon for those first diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease to go through a grieving process, of sorts, and experience a wide variety of displeasing emotions. There are actions these patients can take to help control their emotions such as:
It is very important for Alzheimer's patients to remain close to family and loved ones to help ward off feelings of loneliness and isolation. Some patients find support groups helpful, so they can talk to other people who are experiencing the same or similar challenges in their lives. As Alzheimer's disease progresses, a patient may find once easy tasks more difficult to complete. Here are some examples:
When this happens, don’t berate yourself for not being able to do these simple tasks but learn to look at it differently - break the task down into a number of small manageable and easy steps. If the smaller steps become to difficult, do not be afraid to ask someone else for help. While asking for assistance can be a difficult enough task in itself - it is often necessary. Finally, it can also help to accommodate your needs by creating an environment that constantly gives you clues to help deal with memory changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. Making labels for everything is a really good way to accomplish this. Also, writing daily schedules and reminders to yourself will help too. And if you have family members close by who are available, have them call regularly to help with organizing your home and to give you a phone call about your reminders. There will probably come a time when the disease may progress to the stage where you can no longer handle making important decisions for yourself in relation to health care, finances and other legal matters. At this time it is really important to take the final step in managing your Alzheimer’s disease by being totally prepared for the future. Discuss with your family your health care options, get your finances in order and sort out any legal issues such as wills and who will have control over your healthcare decisions with your attorney. Alzheimer disease patients can improve the quality of life in the future by being well prepared at the early onset stage. |
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