Alzheimers is a f*^%ed up disease

My family and I have been dealing with my grandmother’s slow progress thru the hellish disease known as Alzheimer’s. I was the first to notice. I was always up under here and I noticed 3 or so years ago that she would repeat her questions to me. I knew something was wrong. I told my mom and well sorry to say but nothing was really done.

Its slowly progressed and although she has a specialist and is on medication, she lives alone 2 hours away and we cannot convince her to move into a home (nursing or assisted). She wants her independence and doesn’t want to admit there is a problem. Yesterday we went to visit her and she lost the medicine we took up to her week before last. She also has over paid Macy’s to the tune of 489 dollars. YES that’s right, she has a NEGATIVE balance of FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY NINE DOLLARS!! She keeps thinking she owes them and goes and gives them money. I don’t understand why they keep taking it.

The worst part is that she is otherwise completely healthy. Hence why she refuses to listen. Her doctor told her that she can’t live alone. WHY? Is it because of her memory? Partially. Its mostly because she has literally lost her entire sense of smell. Yes, Alzheimer’s can actually make you lose your sense of smell.

As a health professional, she is everything that you HOPE to NEVER see. Yesterday she asked when my birthday was. Mind you this is the same woman that for about 21 years mailed me birthday cards a week before my birthday to ensure I got it on time. My birthday is also only 12 days after hers and we’re exactly 50 years apart in age.

My heart breaks every time I think of how she once was and now shes an angry lady with no sense of smell that hoards food and refuses to believe that she is no longer a size 14 and is a size 8.

No amount of healthcare training or book learning can prepare you for this. None.

assuredlies:

worst cereal.

makes sense.

(via youaintshitok)

cranquis:

jayparkinsonmd:

We’re looking for an intern to help build Sherpaa. 

Here’s what you’d get:

• The inside scoop on how we’re making healthcare markedly better
• An opportunity to work with a phenomenal team (they’re all the finest you can imagine)
• Compensated, of course

Here’s what you are:

• A New Yorker
• Super proactive
• a great communicator
• Tech savvy
• Authentic. We are a mission-driven company making healthcare markedly better
• Unique and creative
• Fast and responsive. Emails, deadlines— you make things happen
• A builder. You like getting your hands dirty
• A disruptor. You think something’s broken and there’s a better way to do something
• a lover of health and interested in healthcare
• a multi-tasker
• witty

If you’re interested, grab our attention at jobs@sherpaa.com.

You’ve probably never heard of Sherpaa. After all, it’s only one of the most cutting-edge creative solutions to US healthcare needs in the 21st Century. :)

How Much Do You Tell An Employer?

I recently was hired by Johns Hopkins University. They have a pre-employment process that requires you to go to Occupational Health, get a TB test, eye test, and normal screenings. 

On the form they ask for your medical history. I filled it out honestly. Noted my family history of medical issues, noted my medication and mental disorder, as well as my knee problems. Little did I know that being honest would make starting work (ie getting paid) difficult.

My original start date was set for September 4th. As you can see it is now September 18th and I have yet to have a real start date or get paid for the work I have been doing the past two weeks.

Why? Because I was honest. Apparently, when you have certain medical issues, you have to get doctor’s notes. Well I had to get one from my psychiatrist and a orthopedist. Well I had to set up appointments. My psychiatrist wasn’t cooperating because she has a shitty staff so she wasn’t even aware that she had forms to fill out. My orthopedist did everything right. Then apparently because I can’t lift more than 30lbs, there was a restriction put on my being cleared. My boss then had to send an email to say that because I’m just a researcher, I won’t need to lift that much. Then I had to go to the Hopkins counciling center and meet with someone. They interviewed me and got an idea of my mental health history. THEN I was told they needed to talk DIRECTLY with my psychiatrist. Well that didn’t happen til this past Friday after I had to call personally to her office.

In this entire process, my boss has been pissed and so has HR who has been working hard to try to get me to work. So how honest should applicants be? I have worked two weeks basically for free despite the fact I have bills. I have now maxed out my credit card (luckily its only a $500 limit) in order to make it. 

I feel as if this process will push people NOT to disclose their true medical history. Isn’t there an easier way? My dad said “If I’d known all this, I would’ve told you not to put all that information down.” But at the end of the day who exactly am I really hurting?

So, how much are you really supposed to tell your employer/HR/Occupational Health?

Out of Control

I was just thinking about why I started this blog and how I have completely underutilized it. I knew I would though if you read one of my older posts. I HAD plans, which never fully went through. But I digress!

I have gotten out of control. As a health major and eventual health educator, I am a horrible example of what healthy is. I have lost touch with just how much weight I have put on and just how much of an impact its had on my life.

Clothes don’t fit the same. My sleeping is off. I get tired easier. I have more heart palpitations (due to exercise & anxiety). I sweat…A LOT. My knees are ANGRY. I don’t feel sexy.

This is the largest I’ve ever been. I’ve past the 200lb mark and now wear a size 18 pant. I was not built to be this size. With my knee problems (since birth) and flat feet, there is too much wear and tear.

I saw a nutritionist to help. I was making progress and seeing SLIGHT changes. I had more energy. I was in a better mood. But I’ve fallen off the ship and fallen back into my old rhthym. I’m back to the fast food, sweets, and most of all BREAD. I write down my food intact (mostly just WHAT I eat, not necessarily how much I eat) and I can see the decrease in nutrition.

I need to be more accountable for myself and my health. I refuse to continue to be this size. Its not because fat isn’t sexy. Having curves is fine. But I am UNHEALTHY. I have too many medical problems in my family to continue this way. I refuse to end up on high blood pressure and high cholesterol meds. I REFUSE. So I’m making the changes….AGAIN.

I may have fallen off the horse this time, but I will get my fat ass right back up on it.

Belated Congratulations to Neomycin (antibiotic commonly found in Neosporin ointment) -- voted 2010 Allergen of the Year!

cranquis:

Approximately 30% of people who use Neosporin (aka “Triple Antibiotic Ointment”) get a contact dermatitis allergic reaction to it. To be safe, you can use Polysporin (same contents as Neosporin, MINUS the neomycin) instead.

Click-through for the Allergen of the Year list on Wikipedia (as compiled by the American Contact Dermatitis Society), which makes for interesting reading.

(Source: contactderm.org)

"Fake Bus Stops for Alzheimer's Patients in Germany"

cranquis:

aspiringdoctors:

IACP article

“German nursing homes started a trend that has taken hold of European nursing homes throughout the country: fake bus stops for Alzheimer’s patients.

The idea was first tried at Benrath Senior Center in Düsseldorf, Germany, who joined forces with a local care association and the public transportation department to construct an exact replica of a standard bus stop outside, with one small difference: buses do not use it.

Before this unique system was created the center frequently had been forced to rely on police to retrieve the Alzheimer’s patients who often wanted to go to homes and families that did not exist. After some careful observation, the staff at the center noticed a trend that escaped Alzheimer’s patients often headed directly to their only exit: public transportation. The theory of why this type of deception works is that in Alzheimer’s patients their short-term memory hardly works at all, but the long-term memory is still active. They know the green and yellow bus sign and remember that waiting there means they will go home.

How the system works is that the bus stop diffuses the sense of panic. For instance, if a delusional patient decided that she needed to go home immediately because her children were all alone and waiting for her, the attendant didn’t need to restrain her or talk her out of it, she simply said, “Oh, well, there’s the bus stop.” Thus, the patient would go sit and wait. Knowing that she was on her way home, she would relax and, given her diminished cognition, she would eventually forget why she was there. Staff can then approach the patients and tell them that the bus is delayed and invite them in for refreshments while they wait. Five minutes later they have completely forgotten they wanted to leave.

This system has become so successful that many nursing homes throughout Germany and Europe have built these “fake bus stops”.”

This is a very neat idea! And I think it’s actually very respectful to these patients, giving them a proactive-yet-safe way of expressing their vague feelings of fear and dissatisfaction with their condition.

On a related note, I need to create a fake Urgent Care waiting room to put in front of my real one.

Well: Paid Sick Leave May Reduce Work Injuries

A new study suggests that offering paid sick leave could reduce the rate of nonfatal injury among workers and improve the bottom line at the same time.