Health News
It's common to hear about diseases like Alzheimer's drastically affecting the lives of those who have it, often causing severe struggles and hardships. What you may not hear much about is how caregivers of people with Alzheimer's can also suffer deeply and greatly.
Jim Crabtree was actually relieved to find out that his wife and mother had been shot and killed by his father who then shot and killed himself, Linda Carroll of NBC News reports. (Today show photo: Crabtree with his wife, Rita)
"Crabtree had been struggling" to care for his 62-year old wife, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's six years before, and his elderly parents: a father with dementia and a mother with crippling arthritis.
Crabtree said he felt stretched thin with the responsibility of caring for his family and that by killing them, his father actually got rid of the burdens they caused him all at once, Carroll reports.
"Although rare, there are other murder-suicide cases involving caregivers and their charges. It?s a sign of how stressful the job is," Linda Ercoli, director of geriatric psychology at the Semel Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles said in the story.
The Alzheimer's Association has created a test for caregivers to check their stress levels.
Carroll describes how caregivers' emotions can range from helplessness to anger when they don't understand that certain annoying behaviors by their ill patients could be symptoms of the disease. Because of high emotions that can arise in a home with Alzheimer's patients, Ercoli explains that violence isn't uncommon. Studies have found that 5 percent of caregivers have been violent with their patients and 16 percent of patients have been violent with their caregivers.
Caregivers at first get a certain satisfaction from taking care of others, but as the disease progresses, they tend to suffer from deep depression, anxiety or other disorders, Ercoli explains. Also, Carroll adds, caregivers sometimes face the risk of becoming physically sick themselves.
Experts say that caregivers should reach out more to each other for support. ?People don?t say, ?I survived Alzheimer?s?,? Crabtree said. ?We are the survivors. I survived caregiving.?
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- Free Conference On Alzheimer's In Louisville Sept. 17
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Health News
Caregivers of Alzheimer's patients suffer, sometimes to death
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Jim Crabtree was actually relieved to find out that his wife and mother had been shot and killed by his father who then shot and killed himself, Linda Carroll of NBC News reports. (Today show photo: Crabtree with his wife, Rita)
"Crabtree had been struggling" to care for his 62-year old wife, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's six years before, and his elderly parents: a father with dementia and a mother with crippling arthritis.
Crabtree said he felt stretched thin with the responsibility of caring for his family and that by killing them, his father actually got rid of the burdens they caused him all at once, Carroll reports.
"Although rare, there are other murder-suicide cases involving caregivers and their charges. It?s a sign of how stressful the job is," Linda Ercoli, director of geriatric psychology at the Semel Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles said in the story.
The Alzheimer's Association has created a test for caregivers to check their stress levels.
Carroll describes how caregivers' emotions can range from helplessness to anger when they don't understand that certain annoying behaviors by their ill patients could be symptoms of the disease. Because of high emotions that can arise in a home with Alzheimer's patients, Ercoli explains that violence isn't uncommon. Studies have found that 5 percent of caregivers have been violent with their patients and 16 percent of patients have been violent with their caregivers.
Caregivers at first get a certain satisfaction from taking care of others, but as the disease progresses, they tend to suffer from deep depression, anxiety or other disorders, Ercoli explains. Also, Carroll adds, caregivers sometimes face the risk of becoming physically sick themselves.
Experts say that caregivers should reach out more to each other for support. ?People don?t say, ?I survived Alzheimer?s?,? Crabtree said. ?We are the survivors. I survived caregiving.?
- Doctors Don't Tell Most Patients Or Caregivers About A Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Until The Disease Advances, Advocacy Group Says
Every 67 seconds someone in the U.S. develops Alzheimer?s disease and most don't find out they have it until their disease becomes more advanced, according to a report by the Alzheimer's Association. The organization's 2015 Alzheimer's...
- New Research Argues That Alzheimer's Disease Should Rank As Third Most Common Cause Of Death In The U.s.
Alzheimer's disease may contribute to almost as many deaths in the U.S. as heart disease or cancer, says a recent study published in Neurology. Alzheimer's is listed as the nation's sixth leading cause of death, far behind the leading...
- Study Says Loss Of Smell May Help Sniff Out Alzheimer's Disease
A small pilot study of patients displaying signs of cognitive decline found that peanut butter can help identify those with Alzheimer?s disease, which is often accompanied by a loss of smell. The results indicate that loss in sense of smell may help in...
- Caregivers Of Wounded Soldiers Find Their Lives Are Also Changed; Getting Compensation
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan disproportionately affect rural areas, which provide more than the average number of recruits. The soldiers who make it home alive come back changed, with traumatic brain damage, post-traumatic stress syndrome or other...
- Free Conference On Alzheimer's In Louisville Sept. 17
A Washington-based geriatric researcher will join University of Louisville researchers and clinicians a free conference examining Alzheimer?s disease from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Crowne Plaza Louisville Airport Hotel, 830 Phillips...