Alzheimer’s caregivers also need to take care of themselves

As a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, you may find yourself with so many responsibilities that you neglect taking good care of yourself. But the best thing you can do for the person you’re caring for is to stay physically and emotionally strong.

As a caregiver, you may find yourself with so many responsibilities that you neglect taking good care of yourself. But the best thing you can do for the person you are caring for is stay physically and emotionally strong. Here’s how:

• See the doctor
• Get moving
• Eat well
• Tips to help you cope

See the doctor

Trying to do everything by yourself will leave you exhausted. Don’t do it alone. Seek support from family, friends, your faith community and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Find your local chapter.

Be sure to visit your physician regularly (at least annually), and listen to what your body is telling you. Any exhaustion, stress, sleeplessness, or changes in appetite or behavior should be taken seriously. Ignoring these symptoms can cause your physical and mental health to decline.

If you are caring for someone in the late-stages of Alzheimer’s, talk to your health care provider about the seasonal flu shot. Being vaccinated protects both you and the person you are caring for.

LEARN MORE:
Caregiver DepressionStress ManagementLate-State Care: Infections

Get moving

No doubt you know that exercise is an important part of staying healthy — it can help relieve stress, prevent disease and make you feel good. But finding the time to exercise is another story.

Use these tips:

• Take friends and family members up on their offers to help.
  You can get in a good workout in a short amount of time — even a 30 minute break. Use our Care Team Calendar to help coordinate a schedule where you have breaks to exercise and take care of your health.
• Start small.
  While it is recommended that you get 30 minutes of physical activity at least five days a week, even 10 minutes a day can help. Fit in what you can, and work toward a goal.

• Exercise at home.
  When the person with dementia naps, pull out a yoga mat and stretch, set up a stationary bike, or try exercise tapes.
• Find something you love.
  If you enjoy the activity, it will be easier to make it a habit.

There also are many ways you can be active with the person with dementia. Here are a few ideas:

• Take a walk together outside to enjoy the fresh air
• Go to the mall and take a stroll indoors
• Do seated exercises at home
• Dance together to favorite music
• Garden or do other routine activities that you both enjoy

Eat well

Heart-healthy eating patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, are good for overall health and may help protect the brain. A Mediterranean diet includes relatively little red meat and emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, olive oil and other healthy fats. Try new recipes and involve the person with dementia.

Need ideas on how to go healthy?
Try these resources:

• Nutrition: Tips for Improving Your Health (American Academy of Family Physicians)
• Eat Right Nutrition Tips (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
• Healthy Breakfast: Quick, Flexible Options to Grab at Home (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

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Five tips to help you cope

Caregiver Stress Check

Alzheimer caregivers frequently report high levels of stress. Take our quiz and get resources to help.

• Manage your level of stress.
  Consider how stress affects your body (stomach aches, high blood pressure) — and your emotions (overeating, irritability). Find ways to relax. Learn more.
• Be realistic.
  The care you give does make a difference, but many behaviors can’t be controlled. Grieve the losses, focus on positive times as they arise, and enjoy good memories.
• Give yourself credit, not guilt.
  It’s normal to lose patience or feel like your care may fall short sometimes. You’re doing the best you can. For support and encouragement, join ALZConnected, our online caregiver community.
• Take a break.
  It’s normal to need a break from caregiving duties. No one can do it all by themselves. Look into respite care to allow time to take care of yourself.
• Accept changes.
  Eventually your loved one will need more intensive kinds of care. Research care options now so you are ready for the changes as they occur.

We Can Help

Caregiving can be overwhelming, but you aren’t alone. The Alzheimer’s Association is here to help.

• Call our 24/7 Helpline: 800.272.3900
• Locate a support group in your community
• Visit our message boards

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Go casual for a cause – Alzheimer’s

Looking for a fun, simple way to raise money to fight Alzheimer’s? Get your company to participate in Casual for a Cause. With Casual for a cause a company encourages employees to dress down or wear jeans for a day (or more) in exchange for a small donation (usually $5) to the Alzheimer’s Association. We can provide you with a sticker (or you can use your own) to be given to each employee that pays the donation to dress down. Contact your local office for details.

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Focus on tau protein may offer a path to Alzheimer’s treatment

In the past decade, several promising drugs that target beta-amyloid, a protein that causes the sticky brain plaques associated with Alzheimer’s, have failed to stop the disease. At this year’s Society for Neuroscience meeting, there are more than 100 papers on tau, which is responsible for the tangles that form in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. The Alzheimer’s Association has funded numerous studies to help researchers better understand what role tau plays in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and how we might target tau abnormalities with treatments and for early detection.

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Volunteer spotlight: Mary Fus – Alzheimer’s

“When my Mom started forgetting things it was very noticeable because she had been in such good health most of her life. My Dad died when I was about to turn 7 years old and left my Mom to raise five children from the ages of 7 to 13 on her own, so she was always strong and independent. With the on-set of Alzheimer’s, it has taken away not only her ability to retain new memories but her independence.”
You can find this story and much more in the fall issue of our magazine.

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Alzheimer’s disease costs could hit $1.5 trillion a year by 2050

As baby boomers age, the annual cost of Alzheimer’s disease treatment in the United States is expected to reach nearly $1.5 trillion by 2050, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health. That figure will rise from what the researchers said is the current cost of $307 billion yearly. The researchers also said that the per-patient cost of treatment is expected to double from its 2010 annual price tag of $71,000.

Treating Alzheimer’s disease is already expensive business – now costing the U.S. $307 billion each year. But as the baby boomer population ages, the annual cost of treatment is expected to nearly quintuple to $1.5 trillion, according to a study from the University of Southern California. 

Published in the Forum for Health Economics & Policy, the study used modeling by the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics that shows the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease soaring from 3.6 million to 9.1 million between the years 2010 and 2050.

At the same time, the per-patient cost of treatment is expected to double during that time from its 2010 annual price tag of $71,000, researchers say.  

One reason why Alzheimer’s carries such a heavy financial burden is that those with it need long-term caregiver assistance. That help comes either from paid providers or family members who often must abandon jobs to do so.  And those in the latter stages of the disease typically require 24-hour care provided by an institution.  Right now, Medicare and Medicaid absorb about 75 percent of the nationwide costs of the disease.

The study calls for more investment in research into ways to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s, noting that  later onset would not only generate improvements in quality of life for patients and their families but also would bring about major financial savings to society.

Specifically, researchers calculated that a five-year delay in Alzheimer’s onset extends the patient’s  by about 2.7 years.  They also found that by 2050, such a delay in onset would  result in a 41 percent lower prevalence of the disease in the population, which would lower the overall costs to society by 40 percent. 

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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