4
COPD Management Tips for Caregivers
If you’re caring for a
loved one with a chronic medical condition like COPD, you might feel drained
much of the time. The medications, the appointments, the sheer logistics of
wrangling the medical equipment involved—it all can seem overwhelming to
manage. Fortunately, a few simple strategies can help reduce the stress a
chronic illness can bring to caregivers and their loved ones.
The Challenges of COPD
Caregiving
According to the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 12 percent of men and women over age
65 in the U.S. have been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), which makes it one of the most common chronic medical conditions within
the aging population.
When a loved one
receives a diagnosis of COPD, you may face a number of changes. More pills may
be added to a possibly already bulging pillbox. Inhalers might appear, each
with a unique dosing schedule. Doctor and respiratory therapy appointments can
proliferate on the calendar. Portable oxygen tanks, tubing and a home
concentrator machine might need to be installed and maintained.
If all of this sounds
daunting to you, well, you’re not alone in feeling that way. Many caregivers
find it difficult to manage their loved one’s chronic disease. Luckily, a
little attention to organization goes a long way with a condition like COPD.
These four tips will help you get organized.
1. “Outsource” Medication
Management
Medication management
represents one of the more confounding aspects of caring for a family member
with COPD, since prescription therapy may extend beyond pills to include
on-demand treatments like a rescue inhaler. One solution? Instead of trying to
figure out a complicated medication schedule on your own, have a professional
do it for you.
SimpleMedsSM by Home Instead® can be a great solution. SimpleMeds has experienced pharmacists
to work with you and your loved one’s doctors to inventory all current
prescriptions and create a dosing schedule. Then they send a monthly supply of
the medication in pre-packaged units to your loved one’s home. Each individual
packet is labeled with the date and time it should be taken. This system
eliminates pill bottles and the confusion associated with which pill to take
and when to take it. The service also can deliver inhalers for conditions like
COPD.
Alternatively, you can
ask a nurse to help you develop a medication schedule. Next time you take your
senior family member to the doctor, ask to talk to the clinic nurse to help you
understand what the new COPD medications are for. The nurse also can create a
dosing schedule to help you manage the medications. You may need to make a
separate appointment for this purpose.
If no nurse is
available at the doctor’s office, ask your loved one’s pharmacist for help.
2. Get Help Coordinating the Logistics
of COPD
Because COPD is a
progressive disease (meaning it only gets worse with time), your loved one will
likely face increasing challenges related to mobility, both at home and away.
In the beginning,
simply figuring out the logistics of taking a trip to the grocery store with
oxygen tanks in tow may feel insurmountable. How many tanks do you need? Where
can you put them? How is this going to work when Mom needs both hands on her
walker? You can reduce the stress of a trial-and-error phase by involving
professionals for help from the start.
Consult a professional
home care provider such as your local Home Instead Senior Care® franchise. Many of their dedicated CAREGiversSM have experience in helping their senior clients with
walkers, oxygen hoses, tanks and more. They will be delighted to advise you
about logistical strategies that can help at home and when getting out and
about. By seeking professional advice, you can reduce the stress of figuring
everything out on your own.
3. Set Up a Transportation
Support System
A diagnosis of COPD
may mean more doctor appointments or trips for respiratory therapy. If you’re
like many family caregivers, you may not be able to take time off work
frequently to take your aging parent to a multitude of medical appointments.
Setting up a support system strictly for transportation can help reduce your
stress in this area.
Recruit family members
and friends to help shuttle your senior family member to appointments. You can
set up a simple online calendar and ask people to sign up for specific
appointment times, or you can ask people to commit to a ‘standing’ week each
month. For instance, one person could agree to be available for transportation
to all appointments during the third week of every month.
If you don’t want to
impose on other people to help get your loved one to appointments, consider
hiring a Home Instead® CAREGiver to provide transportation.
These professionals will not only take your senior relative to any necessary
appointments, but they also will take notes about how the visit went, what
instructions were given and so on.
4. Prioritize Time for
Self-Care
Between helping your loved one take medications on time, changing the oxygen
tubing cannulas on a schedule and providing transportation to appointments
regularly, you might feel COPD has taken over your life. To avoid burning out
from the demands of family caregiving, it’s imperative you prioritize and
schedule time for self-care.
One great way to do
this is to set up one day per week to devote to your own needs. Have a friend
or family member relieve you from your caregiving duties, or get a professional
caregiver to provide respite care. Then use that “time off” to do something you
really enjoy. Self-care doesn’t have to be elaborate; sometimes just soaking in
a bubble bath for an hour can act as the best stress-buster imaginable.
When you implement a
self-care plan, you’ll be able to return to your caregiving life with renewed
energy and spirit.
Helping a senior
family member manage a disease like COPD isn’t always easy, but it can be
managed with the right support. Instead of trying to figure everything out from
scratch, involve the appropriate professionals for advice and organizing
strategies. This will help you feel more in-control and less stressed by the
situation, which in turn will improve everyone’s quality of life.
