Home Care Services Matthews NC
Approximately one million people throughout the United States are currently suffering with Parkinson’s disease. Each year another 60,000 will receive a diagnosis of this disease. If you are a family caregiver for an elderly adult who has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, or your aging parent has been dealing with this condition for some time and their symptoms are progressing, it is important that you understand them so that you are able to give your loved one the level of care that they deserve as they age in place.
While many people immediately think of tremors, difficulty walking, and other physical demands and difficulties when it comes to the symptoms of PD, there are many other symptoms that they might experience. One category of these symptoms is sleep problems. This can make a tremendous difference in your parent’s health, well-being, and quality of life, and present a variety of serious challenges to your role as their family caregiver.
Some of the sleep issues that are common in Parkinson’s disease include:
• Insomnia
• Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, also known as EDS
• Rapid Eye Movement Behavior Disorder, also known as RBD
• Talking or walking in their sleep
• Especially vivid dreams which can cause distress or upset to your elderly loved one
• Restless Leg Syndrome, also known as RLS
• Period Leg Movements Disorder, also known as PLMD
• Sudden, involuntary movements that disrupt sleep
If your elderly loved one has been dealing with challenges with sleeping, it can exacerbate other symptoms and make their care more difficult. Discuss these challenges with their doctor so that they can give you recommendations for how to manage these symptoms and help improve your parent’s quality of life. This might include introducing different medications or changing how your parent takes the medications that they are currently using to help promote better sleep and reduce disruptions.
In your journey caring for an aging adult suffering from Parkinson’s disease, you can use all of the help and support you can get. Starting elderly home care sevices for them might be the ideal way for you to get the support that will help you maintain your health and well-being while also ensuring that your elderly parent gets the care, assistance, encouragement, and support that they need to have the highest quality of life possible as they age in place.
The highly personalized services of an in-home senior care services provider are designed to address your elderly parent’s specific individual needs and challenges while respecting their individuality, personality, and goals to give them the lifestyle that they desire and deserve. As their family caregiver, this can help to give you confidence and peace of mind knowing that even if you are not able to be with your elderly loved one, or you have limitations that make you unable or unwilling to follow through with these tasks, your parent is still getting everything that they need to manage their health and well-being as they progress through the disease.
When it comes to helping them deal with sleep problems, an elderly home care services provider can be with your aging parent during the night to provide support and care, and help limit the chances of serious consequences, such as nighttime falls.
Sources: http://www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkinsons/non-motor-symptoms
