Part 2 – Managing Diabetes in the Elderly

Managing diabetes in the elderly can pose a challenge to caregivers.  Your elder may also have other health conditions that need to be taken into consideration as you try to control the diabetes such as heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke to name a few.  Untreated diabetes can lead to other problems like loss of eyesight, foot problems, and hearing impairment.

The goal of managing diabetes in the elderly is to keep the diabetes in control and prevent future health issues caused by diabetes.

Diabetes forces people to make huge changes in their lives.  All their lives they have been able to eat whatever sweets whenever they wanted and exercise however they wanted.  Now that a person is diagnosed as diabetic their easy going lifestyle must change, diet changes, how they exercise may change too.  Diet cola! Thirty years ago there wasn’t such a thing a diet soda! Oh and in the South – sweet tea is a staple!!

My Dad was a diabetic.  This brought many challenges to our family.  The biggest problem was that Dad loved sweets – chocolate anything, cakes, candy, pies, and anything with sugar.  My Mom was very clever; she would hide the candy in the dishwasher.  Dad never would look in there!

When Dad got near the end of his life he couldn’t swallow food.  Some of the food that he ate went into his lungs.  The little flap in the throat that opens and closes when you eat to close off the airway didn’t work for him after his last stroke.  Our family chose to put him on a feeding tube in order to keep the food out of his lungs and stop the pneumonia.  At that point we thought that he may gain this ability back, but he never did.  Our issue with the tube feeding is that there are very few nutritional formulas that are made for diabetics and there are none that are concentrated.  Dad’s other issue was that he had congestive heart failure and he could only have a certain amount of liquids a day or it would send him to the hospital.  Our family had a huge time with trying to control his diabetes.

The big question is “So how do I control my elder’s diabetes?”  This is a very difficult question to answer, but I do have some hints for you:

• Work with your elder’s physician closely.  This doctor plays a huge role in the health of your elder.  Your elder may need to see a specialist that deals with diabetics (usually an Endocrinologist) as a normal part of their practice.  It is ok to “step out of the box” and go to another doctor other than the doctor they have been to for 30 years.
• Follow the diet that the doctor has given your elder.
• Get your elder active for 30 minutes a day.  Exercise plays a key role in the overall health and treatment of diabetes.
• Have your elder take the medicine for diabetes (if they are on one) on schedule.
• Check your elder’s blood sugar as the doctor has indicated and keep track of your blood sugar levels.  Remember they may need to help with this task.
• Do a foot check daily for cuts, bruises, sores, swelling, blisters etc.  Untreated infections of the foot can lead to amputation.
• Be sure your elder brushes and flosses their teeth every day.  The mouth is a huge source of bacteria that can harm you elder if not cared for properly.
• Maintain a good blood pressure and keep their cholesterol numbers in the good range.  Make sure they are taking their blood pressure medications.
• Encourage your diabetic elder not to smoke.  Smoking compounds the chances to get more of the complications from diabetes such as vision, hearing, kidney disease, etc.

Managing diabetes in the elderly can be a challenge for caregivers, just remember that you may have to take baby steps to get them on board with the doctor’s plan and just keep plugging along it will help them maintain a healthy life.

Mary Davis was a caregiver for her parents for 4 ½ years after both her Mom and Dad had strokes.  Mary is the owner of 2 elder care websites (http://www.careforyourelderblog.com

http://www.secretsofeldercare.com/)  and author of 9 e-books.

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Understanding Diabetes in the Elderly

The statistics of diabetes in the elderly is staggering. According to the American Diabetes Association there are over 12.2 million people over the age of 60 who have been diagnosed as diabetic. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in 2006 as listed on death certificates. Wow, those are huge numbers of elderly.

Diabetes, officially called diabetes mellitus, occurs when the body does not respond to the insulin (a hormone that is produced by the pancreas that doesn’t allow the body to use the glucose that is in the body) that it is making or the body doesn’t make enough insulin. This causes the body to store up the glucose (sugar). This storage of glucose in the body causes many complications.

There are 3 main types of diabetes:

Type 1 – When the body doesn’t produce enough insulin on its own. These people must take insulin injections daily. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5-10% of those people diagnosed with diabetes.

Type 2 – When the body is not using the insulin that it is producing properly people have Type 2 diabetes. This is the most common form of diabetes.

Gestational – Women who become pregnant and do not normally have diabetes suddenly become diabetic during their pregnancy. Some women remain diabetic after their pregnancy will develop Type 2 diabetes. You don’t see this type of diabetes in the elderly, but you may see that it started as gestational and progressed to Type 2.

The 2 most noticeable symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, increased fluid intake, and more frequent urination. The diagnosis of diabetes is the result of a fasting blood sugar test preformed by your physician.

Diabetes in the elderly is an important disease to be on the look out for. Elderly need to take some extra care with their health. Elderly people have higher chances of encountering diabetes because as age increases the production of various important enzymes in the body decreases. The elderly body’s immune system doesn’t function as well as it used to and the body’s capacity to produce the important enzymes that convert the carbohydrates into useful “food” diminishes. Diabetes in older people can also promote the other organs of the body to not function properly.

In the next blog I will discuss how to manage diabetes in the elderly.

Mary Davis was a caregiver for her parents for 4 ½ years after both her Mom and Dad had strokes.  Mary is the owner of 2 elder care websites (http://www.careforyourelderblog.com & http://www.secretsofeldercare.com), and author of 9 e-books.

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Senior Citizens Discounts

Senior Citizens Discounts have expanded to encourage spending in our tight economy. The usual senior discounts may always be around to some degree but many merchants are offering discounts for senior citizens on goods and services we may rarely consider.

For example, the New York Yankees have a promotion for Senior Citizens allowing them to purchase $375 game tickets for only $5. This promotion is a steal of a deal for baseball fans but equally serves to encourage seniors to get out an enjoy an activity usually reserved for those with plenty of discretionary income.

One of the most enjoyable Senior Citizen Discounts being offered is the America The Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. This is $10 Lifetime admission pass to any federal recreation site and entitles seniors to a host of amenities at reduced rates. This is a great way to get out and enjoy the outdoors and see some of the nation’s  most breathtaking scenery.  Click to search for National Parks offering a senior citizens discount. There is most likely a terrific destination close to  your local area.

The above are just a few examples of interesting ways to enjoy new experiences at deep discounts. But looking for additional discounts on travel, groceries, entertainment and dining will also be well worth the effort involved in discovering them.

In fact, membership in the Senior Citizens Bureau provides access to over 200 company discounts, an SCB Discount Card and resources for seniors which makes taking advantage of special offers a snap. Feel free to search the directories above to find out who is providing senior care services, both nationally, and in your local community.

What is Stroke?
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into the spaces surrounding brain cells. Brain cells die when they no longer receive oxygen and nutrients from the blood or there is sudden bleeding
into or around the brain. The symptoms of a stroke include sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding speech; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble with walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination; or sudden severe headache with no known cause. There are two
forms of stroke: ischemic – blockage of a blood vessel supplying the brain, and hemorrhagic – bleeding into or around the brain.

Is there any treatment?
Generally there are three treatment stages for stroke: prevention, therapy immediately after the stroke, and post-stroke rehabilitation. Therapies to prevent a first or recurrent stroke are based on treating an individual’s underlying risk factors for stroke, such as hypertension, atrial fibrillation,
and diabetes. Acute stroke therapies try to stop a stroke while it is happening by quickly dissolving the blood clot causing an ischemic stroke or by stopping the bleeding of a hemorrhagic stroke. Post-stroke rehabilitation helps individuals overcome disabilities that result from stroke damage. Medication or drug therapy is the most common treatment for stroke. The most popular classes of drugs used to prevent or treat stroke are antithrombotics (antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants) and thrombolytics.

What is the prognosis?
Although stroke is a disease of the brain, it can affect the entire body. A common disability that results from stroke is complete paralysis on one side of the body, called hemiplegia. A related disability that is not as debilitating as paralysis is one-sided weakness or hemiparesis. Stroke may cause problems with thinking, awareness, attention, learning, judgment, and memory. Stroke
survivors often have problems understanding or forming speech. A stroke can lead to emotional problems. Stroke patients may have difficulty controlling their emotions or may express inappropriate emotions. Many stroke patients experience depression. Stroke survivors may also have numbness or strange sensations. The pain is often worse in the hands and feet and is made
worse by movement and temperature changes, especially cold temperatures.
Recurrent stroke is frequent; about 25 percent of people who recover from their first stroke will have another stroke within 5 years.

What research is being done?
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) conducts stroke research and clinical trials at its laboratories and clinics at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and through grants to major medical institutions across the country. Currently, NINDS researchers are studying the mechanisms of stroke risk factors and the process of brain damage that results from stroke. Basic research has also focused on the genetics of stroke and stroke risk factors. Scientists are working to develop new and better ways to help the brain repair itself to restore important functions. New advances in imaging and rehabilitation have shown that the brain can
compensate for function lost as a result of stroke.

Elder Abuse And Neglect

Elder Abuse is on the rise everywhere and just because we may think of paradise when we think of the Virgin Islands, doesn’t mean the elderly population is not at risk. The economic climate has put more seniors at risk for financial exploitation and this is reflected in the rising number of incidents reported.

Whether it is financial abuse or physical neglect, we all know the number of incidents is exponentially greater than what actually gets reported.  Further, not every reported case of elder abuse is passed on from police or fire department to social services making statistical reporting less than ideal.

Fortunately, Human Services Department officials in the Virgin Islands understand the seriousness of the elder abuse and neglect issue and are becoming proactive in elder abuse prevention. In fact, in 2008 legislation was passed regarding elder abuse law and territory agencies educating staff about reporting elder abuse through training and awareness.

Read more about elder abuse in the Virgin Islands and how officials are taking steps to identify, correct and prevent these problems in the elderly population.

If you are a senior citizen or senior services care provider search information related to your local community through the Directory section at the top of this page. Take advantage of the wealth of information and member benefits available for seniors, both locally and nationally, through the Senior Citizens Bureau.