Difficulty Getting my LO to Eat

Mapcalvert

Hello, Caregiver Community!

This is my first post.  My mom, age 72 is in late-moderate stage 4 or 5.  My dad is primary caregiver and, after switching careers, I have made more time to give my dad some reprieve.  I am writing because my mom is not eating well.  She has already reached the point where favorite foods and familiar items are not familiar anymore.  She doesn't recognize the names or pictures of certain things (sandwiches, chicken, etc) and, therefore, decidedly opts out of eating all together.  I need help.  

Things I have tried:

1. Making something I think she likes and sitting down with her to eat it.

2. Showing her options and letting her pick (restaurant, etc).  I often just pick for her.

If I walk away or finish before her, she most likely stops eating and/or throws the food away.  The precipitating event for this post: I stepped away to use the washroom while we ate lunch together.  I was gone for a minute, I swear.  It's a small house.  I got back to the table and she had already thrown away her food into the garbage.  Gone.  

Can anyone lend me any advice or tips on how to help my mom eat more regularly?

CanyonGal

Eating a meal together, similar to modeling a behavior, sometimes will help. 

When my mother wasn't eating, I would encourage her to take a bite of this and tell me what you think? She ate a lot of soup through this phase. Then one day she started eating again.

She didn't have swallowing issues or sores in the mouth so it wasn't a physical problem.

She was often constipated so I have to consider the uncomfortable feeling that has as a contributor.

Many times, she would just say she wasn't allowed to eat that food, which meant everything on the plate.

I feel your pain. It is very frustrating.

Marta

Bottom line:  is she losing weight?  If not, then she is eating “enough.”

Have you looked at her medications to determine whether any affect appetite or taste?

Has she had Covid with the result of altered taste?

Has she expressed thoughts that may point to a delusion about food:  e.g. it has been poisoned (common) or other delusions which keep her from eating?

Think outside the box as with dementia anything is possible. 

sunnydove

I'd like to add that you should check her teeth or have a dentist check them. I didn't realize how poorly my mom was brushing until I looked in her mouth afterward. I would have her brush daily but she was doing a terrible job. And with the loss of several molars over the last few years she does most of her chewing up front. It's possible your mom either had some painful teeth that make it hurt to eat. It's also possible that some of those foods are just too hard for her to eat anymore. I avoid feeding my mom anything that takes a lot of chewing. So no more meat and I peel the skins off of apples and some veggies or she will just chew them until they become cud. 

There was also a phase we went through where I could get her to eat or at least eat a little more with the promise of ice cream afterward. That was enough to motivate her to finish her meals. 

Iris L.

Also, try smoothies or Ensure, anything she can sip.

Iris