Eating issues(2)
Hello everyone, I have a question and could use some advice from other people who have been there.
My mom has Alzheimer's and my dad is her full time care taker. I help when I can and see them several days a week, but I live a few towns over and work full time, so the majority of her care falls on him.
The last few months we've been having issues with mom and her eating, she's decided she doesn't really like anything anymore. She will eat hamburgers, but that's pretty much all she wants. She won't eat sides, and tears off most of the bun. One day she will say they taste good. And the next time we get one from the same place she won't eat it and says it's nasty.
My poor dad just doesn't know what to do, he's 70 years old this year, my mom is 67. He buys all kinds of food, and cooks different things but she just takes 2 bites and refuses to eat more saying it's nasty. He's at a loss and very frustrated.
Does anybody know any tips or helpful advice to address this kind of issue?
Thank you so much for your time.
Comments
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sjar, any chance she had covid? Just wondering if that could have affected her taste. It's a real problem for a lot of folks.0
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My mother is the same way, I might get flack for this but I simply just got her what she wanted to eat. If my mom wants a burger I just get her a burger. Even when my father was alive I kinda gave up trying to police her diet and let her eat what she wanted. I mean it is not like she is going to get better is what I told my dad.
So my advice is stick to what she likes and see if that works, it worked my for my mom.
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Can you start using nutritional drinks like Ensure or Boost. I've used them with my dad and mom and that kept their weight and nutrition up. I would heat like cocoa and blend in fruits or ice cream for added calories. Once I had those consumed for the day - real food was just extra and a bonus. Certain sweets like pudding worked well too.
All you can do is experiment.
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Unknown, this is what I do as well. My dh has a terminal illness and I try to let him get whatever joy he can *today*. The idea with healthy habits is to give up something today for a better tomorrow, but my dh is not heading for a better tomorrow. Neither he nor I want his body to outlast his "self."1
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Give her what she wants,this is a progressive disease and she won't get better. Nutritional drinks are good if she will drink them. My mother goes thru phases of eating everything in sight to saying yuck on everything. Hope that helps hang in there.1
Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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