Senior Moment© 2005
A Publication of http://www.senior2senior.org
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Vol 1 #7 June 30, 2005
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This is a one hundred percent opt-in newsletter with a two hundred percent anti-spam policy. You or someone using your name and email address signed up to receive this newsletter. We publish twice monthly and welcome all opinions, critiques, and topical articles.
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Content:
1. Publisher’s Comments
2. Articles
1. Publisher’s Comments
Today’s article is from John Boden’s LifeLedger Caregiving Tips June 2005 issue. The link after the article takes you to LifeLedger and it is the same as the one listed on the S2S home page.
The two great links in John’s article take you to pages with not only invaluable information but advertisements too. Please don’t be taken aback by the ads as the info outweighs all the sensory bombardment.
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Check out the resource pages. S2S is up to three.
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I feel compelled to make one more statement about this NL’s content. I attempt to make it as interesting as possible by putting a variety of material on these pages. Some of it you won’t like, some of it will be ho-hum, yawn material and some of it will be ecstatically pleasing. Sorta kinda like your daily newspaper.
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I checked my Device Manager and noticed the Microsoft System Management BIOS Driver was turned off. So far my machine appears to be functioning OK so the question becomes, should I turn on this driver?
Maybe a better question is, what the heck is the Microsoft System Management BIOS Driver?
Any and all help will be more than greatly appreciated.
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Is the weather goofy all over the world or just here in Reno? We have finally almost reached normal temperatures for this time of year. My wife tells me we are in some sort of 20 year cycle and won’t be back to “normal” until next year.
I’ll buy her theory but would love to hear from folks who do not live in the U.S. In this country, global warming has become the only boogey-man for our whacky weather. Maybe someone lives in a country where the media isn’t as government controlled as it is here and has a different theory.
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A newsletter archive page would or would not be of interest? You tell me.
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2. Article
Basics of Medication Management
Know what medications have been prescribed
Make a list of all the medications that includes their name, generic name, dosage, time to be taken, reason prescribed, prescribing physician, and special instructions such as "Take with food" or "No grapefruit". You can also do an interactions check at:
http://www.drugstore.com/pharmacy/drugchecker/
Make taking medications simple
One of the best solutions is to have the medications "Blister Packed" by the pharmacy. If that service is not available, use a medication organizer. When there is more than one person in the household, use a different color box for each and mark them clearly. There are many styles available at low cost in your drugstore. Pick one that best meets your needs.
The organizer is also a big help in recognizing medication errors if they should occur. When pills are still in the box after they should have been taken, or when pills are missing that should still be there, you will have the information you need to keep a record of the time and the date of the errors. This is critically important when the physician is trying to adjust dosages to get the desired results while avoiding side effects.
Keep one pill for identification
Keep the most recent bottle and leave at least one pill in each. You will than be able to identify what is what if a mix-up or spill should occur. The bottle also has the pharmacy name and phone number, prescription number, remaining refills available, etc. You can also find an on-line pill identifier at:
http://www.drugs.com/pill_identification.html
If your elder has memory problems, they should not be taking medications on their own. You will need to do whatever is necessary in this difficult situation. Over thirty percent of hospital admissions of the elderly are related to medication errors or mismanagement. Do not let your elder become a statistic.
Visit LifeLedger at: http://www.senior2senior.org/lifeledger.html
or contact John Boden at:
email: jboden@elderissues.com
Phone: 561-265-0016
web: http://www.elderissues.com
Until next issue,
Tom Koziol
Write to:
Senior Outreach Ministries
P.O. Box 1234
Reno, NV 89504
