Acute/Chronic Illness
¨Remember, most chronic conditions occur with the same frequency as in the general population, however, the management may be more challenging ¨Epilepsy/seizure disorder occurs with more frequency in this population ¨Use of psychotropic meds are more common-avoid long term use
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Addition of medications or painful procedures (finger poke for blood sugar testing) may increase the challenge of managing.  The NP may have to get more creative, for example the use of pictures to show appropriate foods to prepare and shop for, or the use of measuring cups/scale depending on the patients ability.
Management of epilepsy is challenging,especially if the client is on many medications.
Refer to Karen Anderson’s guidelines and references for more thorough explanations
Consider CNS effects, again refer to Karen Anderson’s guidelines.