Current Situation / Eating Habits

RunningWorried76

Current situation- Mom diagnosed 2 years ago with dementia mainly due to mini-stroke damage/but potentially also has ALZ or other contributing factors. She was living alone past 2 years, but under the mostly constant care of her sister, who has decided it is now too much for her. So I moved mom here with me (and my wife and kids) back in October. Initially under the guise of "come for a visit", and then intent was to not let her go back. But while she was here, she decided on her own she wants to sell her house and live with us. I had the basement refinished so she has her own bathroom/bedroom, etc. The contractor did an excellent job. It's nicer than the upstairs in some ways! I think mom liked it so much, she thought it would be a good place for her. But I wonder if deep down inside she knows she can't live alone.

I was shocked, but what a blessing! We have hired an in-home care assistant to help out with mom, and she is amazing. And more importantly, mom loves her, which is odd since mom thinks nothing is wrong with herself.

So, anyway, mom's biggest issue lately seems to be lack of impulse control. She belches and passes gas with reckless abandon, which usually is just comical. More concerning is she wants to buy stuff we already have (we must have 200 hot dogs in our freezer now ). Trying to control her shopping is a challenge! Thankfully, though, she's not doing anything to break her bank account.

But what's really scary, is that she wants to eat everything in sight. If there is food on the counter (kids' snacks, etc.) she goes for it, even if she just ate a full dinner. I often have to intercept her or hide it all. And here's the really bad part. Sometimes, when she eats, she will keep shoving food in her mouth before she's chewed up and swallowed what she's been working on. This occasionally causes her to choke and it is scary. Thankfully haven't had to perform any Heimlich maneuvers yet, but I feel like it's just a matter of time. I try to tell her to eat slowly, chew her food, etc. But sometime it's like I'm talking to a wall.

The other night I looked over at her and she had so much food in her mouth, her cheeks were ballooned up like a puffer fish. I couldn't help but start laughing. I mean, you gotta laugh at this stuff sometimes or you'll go crazy.

Also, if she gets her hands on a lot of snacks, she'll just eat and eat and then vomit. Happened the other day with pistachios. I know, we have to control what she has access to, but, after the daytime caregiver leaves, we just have our hands so busy with the kids and what not and maybe don't realize how much of a certain snack she has eaten.

So anyway, I'm typing all this to mostly vent a little (feel a little better already), but also I was wondering if anyone had similar stories to share and advice to offer?

King Boo

This is most likely a manifestation of the obsessive compulsive component that can come with dementia.  If she had an pre existing tendencies before, these are now on steroids!!!

Access to food via locked pantries, refridgerator lock, etc is done in MC for this reasons.  My LO binged on ice cream and the freezer in the main kitchen had to have a padlock on it.

Good idea to do it too.  If she balloons in weight, you will face a more difficult caregiving journey with a very overweight PWD.  2 person transfers, hoyer lifts, etc.

So frustrating.

RunningWorried76

OMG, King Boo. So true. I've read about how dementia can exacerbate pre-existing behaviors. Mom used to be a rather messy person when she was completely healthy. Now it is so much worse. My teenage son is cleaner than her, and that is saying a lot! Lol.

It's to the point where she will be chewing on something, decide she doesn't like it, and then take it out of her mouth and leave it on the counter or on the recliner. Gross!

One time I went down to her bedroom to check on her and the lights were out and she was laying down. I turned on the light and she had managed to get a bag of pistachios (we usually don't let her eat in her room) and eat most of them. The shells were all over the place, what seemed like 100 of them. On the floor, on her, on the bed. Frustrating (and I know it will only get worse).

Marta

Certain medications used for dementia patients can exacerbate this gorging behavior:  I am thinking of mirtazapine or any of the atypical antipsychotics.

If she is taking an SSRI (sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, paroxetine), as switch to fluoxetine (Prozac) may be indicated;  it is used for binge-eating disorder.

French

My partner has periods of bulimia when he is bored. I left a leftover chop on the counter, it disappears. Sausages with lentils, same thing. The children have no more Nutella, no more cake, no more cereal.... all disappears. I even find him eating white sugar with a spoon. He ate 1 kg of cereal in one morning. One evening he also threw up a lot. I understood why afterwards. He had eaten 250g of pastry chocolate.  We hide all the sweets and the day we don't, it disappears. He doesn't get fat. The only problem is that he doesn't leave anything for the kids and I can't spend time shopping every day especially with a curfew at 6 pm now.

The only solution is to occupy him. It is what I try to do with the caregiver and the daycare, but if he is let alone one our only, what happens quite often, he will search things to eat.

It is quite puzzling