Caregiver Community

  • Caregiver Community
    2313 member(s)

    A place where Caregivers come together to share common experiences, challenges,and resources. 

    Caregivers are truly experts in patient management and can help each other because of their intensive experience in patient care at home. Caregivers can ask questions to others on this forum going through a similar caregiving experiences. They can start topics and discuss things like ways to manage daily tasks, where to find doctors, nurses, and other health services, how they manage stress, and any other topics related to caring for their loved one and for themselves. It is a great place for Caregivers to come and chat about the issues that affect them on a day to day basis and take time to focus on their own needs and health.

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  • Try Tai Chi To Build Immunity And Reduce Stress
    Tai Chi, the ancient martial art from China, may be widely known as a self-defense art, but has abundant health benefits that can help cure ordinary ailments to life threatening diseases, says Tai Chi guru Carlton Hill.  What is Tai Chi? How is it different from other martial arts? Tai Chi Chuan or Taijiquan is a five thousand year old martial art practised in China. Though, in present times, it is mostly practised for its health benefits. Tai Chi Chuan is unique because one can…
  • To tell or not to tell - the caregiver's dilemma
    Breaking bad news to patients can be daunting and difficult, especially for caregivers.  Maya Ramachandran narrates her experience when she and her husband were caught in such a catch-22 situation.   My husband’s close relative was experiencing sudden onset of bleeding after almost 25 years post-menopause, at the age of 75! Fearing that it could be cancer, she had shied away from meeting doctors. After a whole year of having struggled with this almost alone, she …
  • A wish for no one to endure unnecessary pain
    Harmala Gupta traversed the journey from being a cancer survivor to founding CanSupport, a home based Palliative Care service in Delhi and NCR. CanSupport also runs out-patient clinics. Harmala Gupta shares her views with PatientsEngage on Palliative Care. PE: According to the ACHEON study ("The non-interventional, anonymous, non-biased ACHEON survey was the first and largest cross sectional evaluation of physicians’ and patients’ perspectives on cancer and non-cancer pain management…
  • I never wanted my mother to go into a dementia care home
    Carol D’Souza, a consulting psychologist, recounts her mother’s advancing dementia and how she and her family made peace with the agonizing decision to put her in a care home. Putting my mother in a Home was one of the most difficult decisions made by my family and me. Onset of dementia seemed so sudden for her; it started with bizarre behavior of her staying awake all night – worrying about all sorts of things she absolutely did not need to.  Her life had turned into a…
  • Multiple Sclerosis Society of India Chennai Chapter.
    The Multiple Sclerosis Society of India was established in 1985 at Mumbai. Mrs. Rehmat Fazelboy, a social worker and Mr.Tobaccowalla (Chairman, Voltas Ltd, Mumbai) are the founding members. Presently there are 9 chapters with 2 support groups.  The Chennai Chapter was inaugurated on September 1997. Our patron doctor is Prof.Dr.G.Arjundas. Mrs.Ann Gonsalvez is the Chairperson of the Chennai Chapter. We have about 210 patients on our rolls in Chennai.  Our Vision: Create awareness of…
  • The case for Palliative Care
    An awareness film made by Indian Association of Palliative Care based on excerpts from over 200 interviews conducted with working and retired nurses across India  
  • Managing Depression and Anxiety with Parkinson's Disease
    People with Parkinson’s may experience extreme sadness of mood and anxiety. This could be due to the Parkinson’s itself or due to the effects of the medication. It is important to acknowledge these emotions and to get the required help. Depression It is natural for everybody to feel sad at times, or to get upset by things. However, after a while or if they are put in another situation, then they may no longer experience these emotions. Sometimes, people tend to experiences these emotions for an…
  • Palliative care in Kerala - lessons and answers
    With a palliative care policy formulated in 2008, Kerala has become a path-breaker and a model for the rest of the country. Professor Devi Vijay of IIM Calcutta provides some insights into this community-based aspect of health care.  1. What can the rest of the country learn from the success of the Kerala palliative care story?How can other countries and communities leverage this community-based model?  There are several elements of the Kerala palliative care movement worth examining…
  • It is important to talk to people with dementia
    Talk to your loved one with dementia; talk to others in your shoes, says Melissa Chan, founder of Project We Forgot, which supports caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Please share your encounter with Alzheimer’s Disease.  I was about 14 when my dad was diagnosed at age 53. Initially, we were confused because his family had no history of the disease but later the doctors pinned it down to the late-onset of effects caused by a car accident he had…
  • Dementia caregiving challenges and solutions
    Families often find themselves at wit’s end looking after a loved one with dementia. Porrselvi A.P., a cognitive and psychosocial interventions specialist, offers a case study that shows that caregiving challenges can be overcome with the right strategies.  We received a call from a very disturbed Mr. K, who was trying to find a dementia care home for his aged father, Mr. S., aged 73. Mr. K was distressed because he had never thought there would come a day when he would have to seek…
Patient not discharged from ICU despite repeated requests
In the last couple of weeks, I have heard of two different cases in India where the hospital kept a patient in ICU on life support for weeks on end. In one case, even after the family asked for the patient to be transferred to a normal room, the…
Counsellor in Ahmedabad
Query from a caregiver Does anyone know a counsellor in Ahmedabad who can go to a patient's home. Patient has had a couple of strokes and even though there is no paralysis believes he is paralysed and does not use his limbs and keeps falling.…
Walking with quad cane assistance
Here is a question from one of our members: My father is 89. He used to walk regularly twice a day and used a simple walking cane. But now he has had a few falls. Doctor says he must use a cane with 4 legs(quad cane) but he refuses to do that. Now…
A family torn apart by illness
When treatment started failing 66 year old Siew Ching, the family became divided into different camps. Some wanted her to stay in hospital so that she could receive maximal supportive care. Others wanted her to be discharged so she could go…
My 95 year old father
My 95 year old father lives with my sister. She takes very good care of him. Normally he is fine. Can manage most daily activities with some help. But he is sometimes very paranoid about domestic helpers coming into his room and trying to harm him…
Tips for Caregivers
We found a great list of tips (in the link below) to help ease the challenges of being a caregiver and help caregivers with self-care - take a look at this list and share with us if you have ever used any of these and how! The tips include:…
Sleep - A big challenge for Caregivers
A lack of sleep or feeling tired is one of the biggest challenges that Caregivers face. Often times we have to wake up at night to check on our loved one, or we have trouble falling asleep because our mind is preoccupied. What are some of your…
How do you ask for help?
As Caregivers we often take on a lot and can get exhausted. It is important to learn how to ask for help - maybe other family members, friends, or neighbors can help take on some tasks and make life a little easier for the Caregiver. For many of us…
Restlessness in semi mobile senior
My MIL is a little bit over weight @ 94, and is able to walk only with a walker very slowly.She is addicted to watching TV whether she understands anything or not, but cannot sit for a long time. WE give her TV time, once a day for 2 hours. For…
Sharing Caregiving Duties Among Siblings or Family
I recently came across a great article that spoke about the importance of sharing caregiving duties among family or siblings. Often, the caregving duties falls upon one sibling or family member, and  this can cause resentment or…

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