5 Jul 2009
Dear Readers,
With the support of corporate sponsors like Active Day Center of Annapolis and Morningside House Premier Senior Living, the Department of Aging and Disabilities is able to bring the summer workshop, “Aging: What’s Normal? What’s Not?” to the community. The workshop will be offered at all seven Senior Activity Centers through August. To register, please call 410-222-4464 ext. 3043.
Please join me for this informative and fun workshop. I’m looking forward to seeing you.
Dear Mary,
Is it normal for someone with Alzheimer’s disease to crave sweets? What can be done about it? My husband only wants candy, preferably chocolate, and won’t eat anything else.
Dear Reader,
Is there anything better than chocolate? On the serious side, though, a craving for sweets is a common occurrence in the Alzheimer’s-impaired population. Just like all people who age, taste buds diminish and those that remain are sensitive to salt and sweet. We tend to complain that food has no taste and reach for the salt shaker and prefer dessert over dinner. Due to brain damage, your husband can’t control his urge to satisfy his craving. A “normal” person would remember he just ate a chocolate bar and shouldn’t have another. Your husband, however, doesn’t remember and wants it now.
This craving is not all bad. It can be used to your advantage to get him to eat. There is nothing wrong with telling him there is chocolate ice cream for dessert when he’s done with dinner. Call it a bribe if you like, but it works.
Because brain damage makes thinking and reasoning difficult, it is up to you to put things in context of what he can understand. Take the reward system used when he was a child for example; it’s an old memory that he can relate to. I recommend using this technique for accomplishing other tasks, too, like bathing and changing clothes. Try it and let me know how you make out.
Dear Mary,
I’ve been going around with my family about what is best for our mother. She has MS and is confined to a wheelchair. I’ve noticed that she tries to reach for things, not realizing she can topple out of the chair. I’ve told her over and over again to let me get whatever it is she needs, but she doesn’t listen – or maybe doesn’t remember. I’ve tried using a belt, but she resists it. I live with her and work four hours a day outside the home. I don’t think she should be left alone but the family thinks differently. What are your thoughts on this?
Dear Reader,
MS, or Multiple Sclerosis, is an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) causing physical and cognitive impairments. Your mother does not grasp the danger of falling and if her memory is poor, an emergency response system that enables her to call for help would be useless. In my opinion she should not be left alone. I recommend you get an in- home assessment through the Adult Evaluation and Review Service (AERS) at the Department of Aging and Disabilities. A nurse or social worker will be able to address safety concerns and give you guidance. Call 410-222-4464 to speak to someone in that department. Share the results of the assessment with your siblings to get them on board with her care.
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