As a family caregiver, helping your aging loved one manage their diabetes is a daily effort.  If your aging loved one is stubborn or perhaps experiencing dementia, the effort can become a battle.  During the holidays it is more complicated with the deluge of candy and sweets that seem to surround the house.   All your well-meaning friends and neighbors love to drop off plates of cookies and candies during the holidays as a way of showing they care; exasperating the… Read the rest

Good Foot Care is Critical for Seniors
Good foot care is especially important for seniors who have circulation problems, arthritis, nerve issues or diabetes.  For seniors it can be difficult to maintain good foot care.  As we all have experienced, the older we get the more challenging it is to reach our toes and lift up our feet due to mobility, flexibility and balance issues.  It is always amazing to see babies suck on their toes and flip the tiny… Read the rest

Many older adults become more and more sedentary with age.  According to the American College of Sports Medicine the top 5 reasons are:

Avoiding aches and pains. Movement can become more painful with age.
Convenience. Just think of how many drive up windows there are in your life, banking, dinner, prescriptions.
Sedentary Entertainment. Television, video games, the internet.
Disease. Chronic illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes can limit activity.
Injury. Obvious but rehabilitation may help.

But,… Read the rest

With Halloween and Thanksgiving fast approaching, your house will be filled with all sorts of sweets and goodies. It’s hard enough resisting when you know better, but when caring for someone with dementia they might not remember it’s unhealthy at all.  When that loved one also has Type II diabetes it can be downright dangerous.  As the dementia progresses, your loved one will forget they ever had Diabetes and unabashedly reach into that candy bowl.

The holiday season only intensifies… Read the rest

Self-monitoring and lifestyle changes are key strategies for successful diabetic care.  This includes modifications to a person’s daily diet, physical activity, medications, and personal-care and hygiene.   However, it can be especially difficult for seniors to make lifestyle changes on their own.  This is a real issue because diabetes is most prevalent in seniors, affecting about 25% of people 65 and older.  Surprisingly, studies have shown most people are unaware of the long term complications associated with diabetes and are poorly… Read the rest