Increased appetite?

Cat K

Recently DH has had an increase in his appetite. He will get up during the night and eat. I find the evidence of this when I wake up. I don't always wake up during the night when he gets up because I have a cochlear implant which has to be removed at bedtime, and that leaves me completely deaf. So when I do wake up, I find that he has been snacking. Is this a common thing with Alzheimer's/vascular dementia? Has anyone else experienced this?

Cindy9519

My DH’s appetite has varied over time. Sometimes he won’t hardly eat and sometimes he wakes up in the night and is hungry. I never have any idea why but it does happen.

midge333

My DW's appetite increased when she was started on seroquel.

SDianeL

yes it’s common. Many crave sweets. Try hiding them in upper cabinets with a child proof lock. Leave a few healthy snacks out. There are bed alarms you can get that will alert you when he gets up. Do you have safety locks on the doors so he can’t leave?

Cat K

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/253408#Comment_253408

I do have locks now so he can't get outside, which happened several times and scared me half to death. There's nothing consistent about this disease. One day he seems fine and the next he wants to go home or he asks where did everybody go or he's incoherent when he talks. This disease is brutal.

howhale

This thread title triggered a thought for me. My dear wife, not since departed a month ago, went through several changes in diet which were very surprising. Sweet is certainly one key. The last taste sensation they often have dictates the diet. She would only eat, and I mean only, waffles with syrup, blueberry preserves on toast or waffles and nothing else for a while. Of course, the doctor's reaction was to just let her eat whatever she will to get calories. About the time I had bought all the blueberry preserves in the store or all the waffles and syrup, she changed. Overnight she became hungry, would eat anything, even things she never ate before the disease. The amount of food she would consume at a meal put me to shame and I am 6'3 and 220 lbs. That voracious appetite lasted for several months and then subsided again. The her diet was less varied, back to more sweets, and much less volume. That only declined over the coming months as it became obvious that she was getting worse and faster. Just be aware that like everything else in this disease process, diet can take surprising and amazing twists and turns also. If anyone needs blueberry preserves and cannot find them on the local shelf, call me :)

Chance Rider

My husband is in the sweets phase. We shop at Costco weekly and each week he buys an 8 pack of 2 different types of muffins, apple strudel, and often a box of bakery cookies. On the way home from Costco he has me stop at a neighorhood donut shop. All just for him to eat. Then washes it down with diet soda. What he eats isn’t a battle I choose to engage in.

He no longer likes previous fav foods, and has done a 180. In restaurants he only wanted Pepsi. Now only Coke.

Thanks howhale for the reminder that this too shall change.

Cat K

It's very interesting to read everyone's experiences. We all have so much in common. I used to think I could handle anything as long as he knew who I am, but that was naive. Appetite is the least of my worries.