As The Primary Care Giver for an Alzheimer's Patient, How Can I Get a Break?


Taking care of a loved one who has Alzheimer's is a huge responsibility and very time consuming. It can bring a lot of stress, frustration and more. You devote all your time to your loved one and not have time for yourself anymore. You always wonder: when can I take a break from her? It is not an easy decision, but sometimes it has to be made for your own well being.

There are different options to consider. If your loved one is in early/mid stages of Alzheimer's you can consider private duty home care. Many agencies throughout the nation and in your community provide this service. A list of providers can be obtained in the phone book, from the local Alzheimer's Association, Area Agency on Aging, or any case management and referral source. The private duty home care can include services like bathing, sitting, taking to appointments, shopping, meal preparation and other day-to-day essentials. This assistance will definitely help you in getting more free time.

You might also try adult day care. The centers usually operate from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm. It is a good environment for socialization. Your loved one will be able to interact with others, but she knows she will be back home for the night. If you decide to look for an adult day care, you will want to make sure the staff is experienced in caring for Alzheimer's patients.

Another solution is hiring an independent in-home care giver yourself. This person will take care of your loved one while you are away. You may be able to obtain names and information about experienced caregivers from places such as your church, Alzheimer's Association, Area Agency on Aging.

Make sure you check the references. Meet and talk with the prospective caregiver and see how the person interacts with your loved one. Touching is very important. It could be a pat on the back or gently rubbing the hand. You can even ask your loved one for input about the person. People with dementia are often perceptive and intuitive.

And don't forget! You have family members as well that can help you. A loved one who has Alzheimer's affects all family members. So if family members offer to help, take advantage of it.

Remember, help is available. Do not feel guilty because you want to take a break. You deserve it.

About The Author

William G. Hammond, JD is a nationally known elder law attorney and founder of The Alzheimer's Resource Center. He is a frequent guest on radio and television and has developed innovative solutions to guide families who have a loved one suffering from Alzheimer's.


More Resources

What Disorders Can Acupuncture Treat and How Does It Work?
How did acupuncture start?The story was met with widespread disbelief.During a visit to China in 1978, cardiologist Doctor Isadore Rosenfeld witnessed open-heart surgery on a patient, anaesthetised only with acupuncture.
Cure Arthritis? Right!
Arthritis sufferers are daily bombarded with new, better, more exciting treatments. Try Enbrel! Try Humira! Miracle drugs!Get your NSAIDS! Get your DMARDS! Pump more chemicals into your system.
Hypnosis Cures For Nail Biting
One little-thought-of application for hypnosis is to help people stop their nail biting habit. While this may not be on par with splitting the atom, it is a serious problem for people who always seem to find themselves gnawing their nails.
How to Treat Your Liver Right
The liver has many functions, but the one I will concentrate on is its ability to neutralize toxins we eat. The liver is responsible for making sure that nutrients reach your cells and blood is free of toxins and pathogens.
Love, Appreciation, and the Heart
As I started to write this article a few words from a song kept running through my head "all you need is love..
Exercise: Tai Chi for Mind, Body, and Spirit
The practice of Tai Chi combines flowing movement and breathing techniques with mental and spiritual awareness to bring about a workout that benefits the mind, body, and soul. If you are experiencing a lot of stress in your life, then you may benefit from joining a Tai Chi class in your local area, or even getting a book or video from the library and learning the movements on your own at home.
Aloe Vera - No Wonder They Call It The Miracle Plant
Aloe Vera is a member of the Lily family. It is a succulent that looks a lot like a cactus and is known by various names such as the burnt plant, the miracle plant, the natural healer and the medicine plant.
Laughter and Your Health
Alternative medicine: jokes and humor for your healthWhen thinking about alternative medicine, most people picture plants, crystals, needles, maybe some bugs and leeches, but few realize that jokes, humor and comedy are truly medicines, in their own right. It has long been established that optimists live longer than pessimists, but now there is some hard evidence that people with a better sense of humor also have longer and healthier lives.
Guide To Some Common Herbs That Heal
Herbs have long been an acceptable way to fight common ailments and while they should not take the place of medical advice, can be a great supplement to your current medical care. There are many common herbs that have healing properties which you may not even know about.
What is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a non-toxic system of medicine used to treat a wide variety of health concerns.It is based on the Law of Similars and potentization.
Detoxification and Your Health: The Bodies 7 Channels of Elimination!
If you want to be healthy you need to understand the seven systems that the body uses to eliminate waste and toxic matters.When these systems are working effectively the result is good health.
How to Sense Low Levels of Asbestos in Your Daily Environment. (Part II)
Most people find it difficult to believe that a tiny dust material, too small to see, can cause such havoc with the human body. As a construction worker, I may have an advantage in identifying the materials which shed this residue, but this also tends to make me more vulnerable to it's effects.
More Sinus Headaches Home Remedies
One of the best sinus headaches home remedies, is called acupressure. All you got to know is your sinus points and then you can use this acupressure method to treat your self and rid yourself of the pain, and the best thing about the acupressure method is that it has no side effects.
Garlic - My Favorite Healing Herb
Garlic is a wonderful healing herb and, unlike many of the other herbs, it tastes great and can be incorporated into a variety of meals. Garlic has been used for over 5000 years as a healing herb and has strong antibacterial, and antiviral properties.
Gallbladder Disorders And How To Treat Them Using Natural Remedies
The gallbladder is a 3 to 4 inch-long pear-shaped organ located on the right side of the body, directly under the liver. One of the functions of the liver is to remove poisonous substance from blood so that they can be excreted from the body.
Stuttering Child
Children can develop a stutter at an early age and for the parents it can be a very worrying time.It is difficult to know what to do.
Health Benefits of Green Tea
For over 3000 years, the Chinese have been using green tea to treat all sorts of ailments, such as headaches and gastronomic problems. With a growing number of scientific data, there is no doubt that green tea is as essential for maintaining good health.
How to Protect Your Family Against the Coming Pandemic
Most dictionaries define pandemic as "an epidemic that is geographically widespread; occurring throughout a region or even throughout the world."Recently, Klaus Stohr, the coordinator of the global infuenza program at the World Health Organization predicted a bird flu pandemic that would take more lives than the Spanish Flu of 1918 wherein 20-to-40 million perished.
Stopping Colds in Their Tracks
We all know the nasty sensation of coming down with a cold: when you feel like your head is stopped up, when your nose is constantly running, and when nothing tastes right.Most of what we call colds are technically known rhinitis, and are caused by various micro-organisms settling on nasal or throat surfaces, and the body's reacting to them.
Limitations You Should Know About When Using the Subconscious For Pain Relief
As powerful as the subconscious can be in relieving pain, it has a number of limitations that you should be aware of before attempting to use it to ease your pain.The use of the subconscious to ease pain can be not only helpful but in some cases may be the only thing that seems to produce lasting relief.

More Alternative Information:

Related Articles

Know More about Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) Therapy
If you are the parent or teacher of a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, it can be quite challenging to teach them certain behaviours or tasks.
Ethical Guidelines For Hypnotherapy
The study of ethics concerns moral choices, generally in the areas of relationships, agreements between parties, intentions, and possible outcomes. In practice this starts as the observation of the moral choices people make and the reasons given for these choices.
Water Therapy: Therapeutic and Esoteric Properties for Your Home Spa Smart Bathing
Something New Interesting About Water Therapy."The more I find out, the moreI find out I need to know"Water therapy, or hydrotherapy, or balneology is a powerful natural tool you can use at your home spa.
How To Rid Your Home Of The Nations #1 Health Menace
With today's new building procedures, our homes are more dangerous than ever before!Scientific evidence now shows that the air inside our homes is 2-5 times more polluted than the air outside. And because we spend about 90 percent of our time inside, indoor air quality has become one of the top environmental health threats in the country.
Organic Juices for Constipation
Organic fresh made juices have cleansing and laxative action, which will help you eliminate constipation. Taken regularly they will help you have daily bowel movements.
What is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a non-toxic system of medicine used to treat a wide variety of health concerns.It is based on the Law of Similars and potentization.
Flax Seeds, Seeds, and Nuts For Constipation Relief
Here are a variety of home remedies for constipation using flax seeds with other seeds and nuts. They provide the fiber and oils that you need to relieve constipation.
Living with Aromatherapy
Places Suitable for Use of Aromatherapy Products: living room, bedroom, study room, kitchen, bathroom, office, conference room, KTV, hospital, car and other enclosed spaces.Aromatherapy· When someone at home is down with influenza, light an aromatherapy diffuser to prevent mutual contagion.
What Is A Home Remedy?
Home Remedies - Facts or Quacks?Myths and legends often have their basis in a grain of truth. So I wondered if home remedies, alternative treatments, and folklore cures might also be based on truth.
Reiki Energy Balance
Here's a simple exercise that anyone can do, even if they haven't been 'attuned' to Reiki. It requires a basic knowledge of channeling Reiki energy, the positions of the 7 primary chakras and a willingness to spend some time making someone else feel good.
Natural Pain Management
Life in today's hectic society is going more and more in the direction of fast food restaurants, sugar in foods you would never think should be there, trans fatty acids, preservatives and pesticides which we consume in large amounts every year. We even go so far as to invent foods, such as artificial sugars, which your body (in my opinion) does not recognize as actual food.
Use Fresh Herbs In Your Cooking
Many common herbs that you might use in cooking are well known for there healing properties. Using them in cooking is a great way to incorporate the healing attributes of natural herbs with your meals.
Why Detoxify?
Have you been hearing about detoxification more often?That's because we are now recognizing and appreciatingthat our bodies are not just separate parts, but a connected system which must be in "balance" if we are tofeel and be well.So what is detoxifying?Well, it is an internal cleansing of toxins, from our bodies.
Some Alternative Health Strategies
CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) therapies are generally classified into 5 seperate categories or domains. Some of these domains have sub-domains but we will broadly go into them here.
Maintaining Healthy Vision Naturally
The training of our eye doctors in this country is very comprehensive there have been major advances in treatment of eye disease and even laser surgery to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism is available today. But it doesn't really correct the underlying problem of why it is there to begin with.
Paintings That Heal? & Children's Healing Art? ? Right !
If you asked me a year ago if a Painting could physically heal you, I would have said Right?! I even remember when my grandmother at age 100, reminded me of the time when tomatoes were considered to be poisonous. (Don't think the Ketchsup companies would like that!) So open your mental filters a little, and let me tell you about my journey discovering Paintings That Heal?.
Illness - What Can We do About it?
Illness concerns everyone. How can we approach it? And what is the reason behind illness? Whether you need to stay well or get well, lifestyle changes are essential to help you win the fight against illness.
Cleansing Your Elimination Organs to Achieve Good Health
Benefits of Cleansing Your Elimination OrgansColon cleansing, kidney cleansing, and liver cleansing routines are key elements to an overall body cleansing and detoxification plan. Proper cleansing of toxins from these important elimination organs frees up your body's resources to more effectively fight disease.
Dopamine Relieves Pain - Try Encouraging Your Subconscious To Supply It
Dopamine has long been known to be linked to positive experiences such as eating and sex. But it's now known to be released when you're in pain, so you may want to try increasing your supply of it--naturally.
Improving Your Body Immune System
The immune system in your body is an amazing functionality that produces antibodies to fight against any infections whether it is bacterial, fungal, or cancers. Any micro organism that invades our body is kept under check and it is destroyed by the immune system in our body.