FTD - Idea to help with lack of impulse control with eating for your loved one

Seems like that is a generic behavior.

There also is an overeating condition that some PWDs have, called Leptin resistance.

My DH falls in that category. It is not impulse control with leptin resistance, it is the brain telling them they are hungry even when they are stuffed. No sense of satiation or being full, almost like our puppies when I was growing up, that would eat themselves sick if allowed.

The added challenge now is that DH will try to eat ANYthing- not just food, which can be really dangerous obviously. Watch out for when that hyperoral behavior starts.

Hi Sozokero. Frankly I'd let her eat what she wants. She is in the late stages of a terminal disease-i think this is a matter of picking your battles. If you're doing the shopping then you have general control over what's available, but beyond that i wouldn't sweat it too much.

When I was caring for my mother, I was so careful about what she ate, but she still found a way to eat sweets. When she visited my home, I bent over backwards making healthy food from scratch. When she lived independently, I took her grocery shopping and helped prepare her meals. In Assisted Living, I asked that she be guided toward healthy meal choices. She was diabetic and was supposed to be given specific meal items, but their policy was that if a person with dietary restrictions asked for an off-limit food, it was given to them anyway.

In retrospect, if I had to do it over again, I would have eased up on it. Trying to monitor her eating was extremely stressful, and she was finding ways to eat sweets any way she could. When she lived alone and again in AL, she was going through 36 oz bottles of creamer in less than a week. I found the healthy snacks I'd purchased, still in her cupboard weeks later. Later in her disease, Mom developed Pica, and was eating toothpaste and other non-foods. We had to clear her surroundings of everything that might be consumed. I believe she was seeking foods and tastes to satisfy a sensory need. When she moved to an adult foster care and then to memory care, the food was prepared specifically for her individual dietary restrictions and her health improved, but her dementia still progressed. In the end, it didn't matter. I was happy if she ate anything!

Now, with my husband, I do cook healthy meals for him and am careful about what snacks I keep in the house. However, I have stopped saying anything to him if he eats something that is contrary to his dietary needs.

I believe that sweet is one of the last taste sensations they have which contributes to their diet issues. Have tried to provide so many good food choices but it is a losing battle. A friends doctor told her that if her mother with AD will only eat ice cream in the later stages, feed her ice cream. They have so few pleasures left, let her enjoy that. I try to use sweet with other foods to help and sometimes it works. Grilled cheese sandwich with a slice of has but with fig preserves will work many days. Without the preserves, no luck.