The Better Health While Aging Podcast

Get practical health tips from a geriatrician and other experts! We discuss common health problems that affect people over age 60, the best ways to prevent and manage those problems, and we also often address common concerns and dilemmas that come up with aging parents and other older loved ones.

013 – Interview: Solving Hard Problems in Helping Aging Parents

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 5 Comments

Better Health While Aging

013 – Interview: Solving Hard Problems in Helping Aging Parents

00:00 / 01:03:53

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with Carolyn Rosenblatt, RN JD, an elder law attorney who specializes in helping families concerned about older parents and who is the author of “The Family Guide to Aging Parents.” They discuss:

Why concerns about managing money and safety are so common
What you can do if an older person refuses to come in for evaluation or help
Why it’s important for older adults to talk to their families about their finances and assets, and how adult children can bring up this conversation if their parents aren’t addressing it
Why a durable power of attorney for finances is so important and how to do it inexpensively
Why you shouldn’t rely on estate planning done a long time ago
The pros and cons of springing durable powers of attorney
Tips on preventing abuse of a financial power of attorney and on choosing the right person
Tips on advance planning for healthcare

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012 – Q&A: Answers to Your Questions On Aging & Health

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 2 Comments

Better Health While Aging

012 – Q&A: Answers to Your Questions On Aging & Health

00:00 / 57:22

In This Episode:

Dr. K answers nine audience questions related to the health of older adults:

How many extra opinions to get from different doctors when you have a serious condition?
What causes legs to feel unbalanced and prone to falling?
How to deal with declining abilities, dementia, and physical dependency when you don’t have family to provide care or money to hire someone?
Is there a way to recapture sexual activity after three impotent years?
Why doesn’t Medicare cover hearing aids?
Why is it so difficult for people to admit they are aging and why do we shove aging people aside? What can be done about this, to help us prepare for an aging society?
Is chronic muscle pain an indication of old age and is it bad to ignore it?
What does conservative treatment for severe chronic kidney disease involve and what happens if you decide to not start dialysis?
What is normal aging in the area of memory loss?

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011 – Vitamin D: The “Healthy Aging” Dose & FAQs

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 10 Comments

Better Health While Aging

011 – Vitamin D: The "Healthy Aging" Dose & FAQs

00:00 / 29:08

In this Episode:

Dr. K discusses her approach to vitamin D for healthy aging, including:

What dose of Vitamin D is likely right for most older adults
Why she believes that most older adults should take a vitamin D supplement
What experts such as the US Preventative Services Task Force and the American Geriatrics Society recommend
Dr. K also addresses many common questions people have about vitamin D, including:
- What type of Vitamin D should I take?
- Do I need to have my blood level checked?
- Will Vitamin D really prevent falls or fractures?
- Will Vitamin D really prevent dementia, cancer, or premature death?
- If I’m outside a lot, do I need a vitamin D supplement?
- What should one’s vitamin D level be?
- Is a higher level of vitamin D better for you?

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010 – Interview: Choosing a Wearable Medical Alert System for Older Adults

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH Leave a Comment

Better Health While Aging

010 – Interview: Choosing a Wearable Medical Alert System for Older Adults

00:00 / 51:30

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with Richard Caro, PhD, a co-founder of Tech-Enhanced Life, who recently spent several months testing out wearable medical alert systems. They discuss:

What Richard learned through hands-on testing of several different personal emergency response systems (PERS)
Key PERS features to consider before buying, including who will respond when the alert is triggered and whether the responder can be heard through the pendant versus the base station
The pros and cons of automatic fall-detection
How to see past the marketing and learn more about different PERS features, in order to select the right PERS for you
Whether there are any stylish and attractive wearable alert systems available for sale in the US
Why Richard and his colleagues founded Tech-Enhanced Life

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009 – Q&A: Answers to Your Questions on Helping Older Parents

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 5 Comments

Better Health While Aging

009 – Q&A: Answers to Your Questions on Helping Older Parents

00:00 / 57:22

In This Episode:

Dr. K answers nine audience questions related to helping older parents:

How to find a facility for an older father with dementia who is a “two-person assist”? How to make sense of the jargon on care levels and how are facilities classified?
How to help an older mother with bipolar, especially if she seems to be going into a manic phase?
How to maintain sanity and better respond to an older father with Alzheimer’s disease, who gets agitated and angry in the afternoons and evenings?
Whether to worry about withdrawal symptoms, after an older mother is hospitalized and treated with haloperidol for delirium
How to keep assisting without losing hope, in the context of a mother with Alzheimer’s and an older father with Parkinson’s and sleep problems
What to do when it’s hard to get an older mother to take her medications, and how to get her to understand the importance of recommended procedures such as cataract surgery
What to do if both you and your elderly mother have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, and how to handle caregiving issues
Whether anxiety can cause abdominal pain and shortness of breath in someone with dementia, and how to improve bad breath that has been attributed to acid reflux
What can be done if an older father with mild cognitive impairment has been refusing to leave the house for several months

[Read more…]

008 – Interview: Helping Families with Memory Loss: The Care to Plan Online Tool

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 4 Comments

Better Health While Aging

008 – Interview: Helping Families with Memory Loss: The Care to Plan Online Tool

00:00 / 00:46:59

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with Professor Joseph Gaugler, PhD, an expert in family caregiving and dementia, who is on the faculty of the University of Minnesota’s Center on Aging. They discuss:

Care to Plan, a new online tool developed by Dr. Gaugler and his colleagues, designed to help family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias
How Care to Plan uses an easy online 20-question assessment to create a personalized plan of support for family caregivers
Why different families may need to prioritize different support strategies
Seven different types of support that are known to help family caregivers: Education, Problem Solving, Support Groups, Change Your Thinking, Brain Health, Take a Break, and High-Powered Combinations
The benefits of attending a local university-led conference about memory loss and dementia, such as the University of Minnesota’s Caring for a Person with Memory Loss Conference

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007 – How a Personal Health Record Helps You Be Proactive

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH Leave a Comment

Better Health While Aging

007 – How a Personal Health Record Helps You Be Proactive

00:00 / 27:15

In This Episode:

Dr. K explains why she always recommends that older adults and families keep their own copies of key health information. She covers:

Why this proactive approach — which is also known as maintaining a personal health record (PHR) helps older adults get better healthcare from doctors
The five common healthcare pitfalls that you can avoid or minimize, by maintaining a PHR
What health information is most useful to request and why
Options for organizing and keeping health information
Why it’s good to bring a paper copy of relevant health information to doctors’ visits, and other tips on bringing medical information to doctors

[Read more…]

006 – Interview: Surviving Cancer & Better Healthcare Through Being an e-Patient

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH Leave a Comment

Better Health While Aging

006 – Interview: Surviving Cancer & Better Healthcare Through Being an e-Patient

00:00 / 39:37

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with “e-Patient Dave” deBronkart, a co-founder of the Society for Participatory Medicine. Dave is a well-known advocate for improving healthcare by encouraging people to become “equipped, enabled, and empowered” when it comes to their own healthcare. They discuss:

How getting information from an online patient community helped Dave survive a usually fatal cancer
What is an “e-patient,” and why being proactive leads to better healthcare
Why public access to health information is creating a sea change in the practice of medicine
How the patients’ rights movement is creating a culture change that some doctors find threatening
Why it’s better for patients and doctors to act as partners and “share the knowledge”
Practical tips on getting more informed regarding your own (or your family member’s) healthcare
What kinds of doctors to avoid, and how to get a second opinion

[Read more…]

005 – Interview: Otago & Proven Exercises for Fall Prevention

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 13 Comments

Better Health While Aging

005 – Interview: Otago & Proven Exercises for Fall Prevention

00:00 / 50:00

In This Episode:

Dr. K interviews Tiffany Shubert, PhD MPT, a practicing physical therapist on faculty at the University of North Carolina, and a leading expert on exercise programs for fall prevention. They discuss:

What types of exercise work best for fall prevention, and why
Why strength and balance exercises are so important for aging adults
Why walking is not enough, when it comes to fall prevention
Easy tests you can do at home, to check an older person’s leg strength and balance
What’s involved in the Otago Exercise Program, an exciting new physical therapy program proven to reduce falls in older adults and endorsed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC)
How to find Otago near you
Why any exercise or physical therapy program for fall prevention should involve exercises done in standing, that are challenging, that get more challenging over time, and that involve at least two hours/week of exercises
Other proven programs to reduce falls in older adults
Tips on doing fall prevention exercises in people with Alzheimers or other dementias

[Read more…]

004 – What to Do If You’re Worried About Falls

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH Leave a Comment

Better Health While Aging

004 – What to Do If You're Worried About Falls

00:00 / 26:27

In This Episode:

Why older adults fall
How to identify underlying health risk factors and fall triggers, so that you can personalize your fall prevention plan
The three step process Dr. Kernisan uses to create a fall prevention plan for an older person
Medications that geriatricians often reduce or stop, to reduce fall risk
How blood pressure medication can increase fall risk, and a simple test to discuss with the doctor

[Read more…]

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