My mother eats less and less... anyone know why? Is this typical?

 

  Hello Everyone,

  Mother is 85 and has had dementia or alzheimer's for over

  six years.  The problem is that she eats less and less and

  will only eat certain things.  Is this typical of someone

  with this disease?  She also sleeps  a lot too.  Does this

  go along with it?  Used to get her different high calorie

  vitamin drinks, malts, etc. but that only lasted so long

  until she tired of them.  Now, just get her what we

  know she will eat.  For while now, it has been those

  snack packs of cheese crackers with peanut butter inside.

  And that's about all she will eat, except chocolate.. she still

  loves her chocolate.  (me, too... must have gotten it from

  her   Mom and Dad were married almost 25 years when

  he died during surgery.  At the time, I was 24 and married,

 my brother was 19 and we had a younger sister who was

 nine.  Although mother never married again, she did finally

 meet someone and they went together for about twenty

 years, then he eventually passed away.  Before mother

 became ill, she would tell me if I would stop in around 

 March 6th, that was the day that her and dad had gotten

 married back in 1943.  But now, we show her pictures of

  dad and she has no idea who he is at all.

 Yet, she can remember his mother.  Of course, Dad

 has been gone a long time now... but it's strange to

 my brother and I that she has no memory of him at all.

 We know that this goes along with the disease, yet it is

 still sad.  Mother was always so independent and such

 a hard worker all of her life and very clean with her home

 and herself.  Now, if she hasn't had a bath for two

 weeks, she thinks she had one yesterday.  She has always

  been the kind of person who did not like having someone

 tell them what to do, so she will argue  brother  if he tries

 to push her to eat, etc. But mostly she is in a good mood.

 She really doesn't know what Christmas is or the other

 holidays and if we tell her she will remember, but then

 she forgets pretty quickly.  It seems like she remembers

 her childhood and the people and things that happened

 back then,but can't remember hardly anything about

 being married and raising my brother and sister and I

 and helping out with the grandchildren until they were

 pretty well grown. She hardly has any recollection of it at all.

 Has anyone found any kind of vitamins that help.  She takes

 the one medication that is supposed to help her memory

 and I really believe that it has helped to slow the progression

 down and we are very grateful for that.  I just wondered

 if there might be something else out there that we don't know

 about.

 

 Happy New Year To All,  Wiggyann

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

I agree the food intake is totaly different with this DD
I know my dad was not wanting to eat and he loved his food
Mom ate like a chicken and would tell us" oh ya I ate" ya right she had fed it too the dog

Maybe if you can get the doc to order some Ensure it will at least keep her body in more of a balance with potassium and other vitamins needed

Keep us posted plz

LYN

That is a great idea even if it only worked for awhile Lynnie

Supplements like Ensure would be an idea to pass by your doc IMHO

LYN

WE are with you all the way my friend
If he likes Peanut butter she will get good nutrients from that as well as potassium from bananas

I do hope you find a way about this
My Mom weighed 65 lbs at time of death.........
Really scary it was.........

You can do many things with ensure to see if she will take to it again like milkshakes and such

Luvs
LYN

Hello-
My father just passed in December at 86. He had Vascular Dementia. My Mom is 76, and is happy as a child, with mid-stage Alzheimers. Our unresolved issues just had to be shelved. End of story.
I have several good articles about certain nutrients and blood levels that pertain to optimal health for the elderly with dementias.
I'll paste part of one below.
I'm blogging now. I'll share the sites. I have info on there also, and will continue to post.
www.leangreencafe.blogspot.com
www.ladyofthelake-vernonialake.blogspot.com

Enjoy and feel free to comment.

I like certain multivitamins and natural supplements because they are proven to get into the bloodstream quickly. (Bioavailable.) I like a tiny probiotic that really helps with indigestion and the immune system. Makes life easier.

What is important to us, as we strive to keep our parents alive, may no longer be important to them. It takes some juggling to interest someone in food with cachexia, for instance, as we never know what types of diseases they really have sometimes, and dementias. My father would wait till I left the room and pour his water into my plants. I would have to sit there to make sure he was 'hydrated'. (There is a great drink that hydrates people, with electrolytes and potassium-rich with juice. )If I was to go downstairs, his footsteps would quickly head for the ice cream in the fridge, or the graham crackers, or the strawberry freezer jam (1/2 a pint by spoon) with dollops of powdered sugar set out for waffles.
I made two video tapes of him to share with my siblings when he was gone, to answer some of the questions they could have about his history, and thus, theirs. We briefly laughed about the ice cream in one of the videos. If I left bananas out, he would forget he had one, and sometimes could scarf 3 down. I worried about the opposite sometimes-him gaining such a paunch that I would have a harder time showering him, etc. He loved my cooking. The smells helped his appetite.

I like certain meal shakes, without any artificial sweeteners, colors or flavorings. There are cocoa and vanilla ones that even my grandkids liked. You can add strawberries to the vanilla, especially frozen ones, and peanut or almond or cashew butter to the cocoa ones. I like certain soy protein drinks, non-GMO, lightly cooked to take out the thyroid harming part, 50% calcium added for bone density and to neutralize the acidity of soy. I have some great smoothie recipes.

Snack plates of fruit, cheeses, cream cheese on soft bagels, graham crackers w/ nut butter, cream cheese, or a treat w/ frosting. Snack or protein bars cut up in cubes for tooth-challenged folks. Hummus w/ crackers, cucumbers and soft pita bread. There are some great recipes for hummus, that use varied foods and spices, etc.

Well, I'm writing another book. I tend to do that. Enjoy this blurb from an article.

Elevated levels of homocysteine is an indication of inadequate folate and
vitamin B-12 in the diet, writes lead author Giovanni Ravaglia, a researcher
with University Hospital S. Orsola-Malpighi in <st1:place><st1:City>Bologna</st1:City>,
<st1:country-region>Italy</st1:country-region></st1:place>. His paper appears
in the March American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.



In their study, researchers tested the blood of 650 elderly Italians -- with no
signs of dementia or Alzheimer's disease -- looking at levels of folate and
vitamin B-12. They also asked about other dietary factors such as coffee, wine,
and liquor consumption and about physical activity.



Researchers found that those with lower scores on tests of thinking ability had
high levels of homocysteine. They found the same association even after taking
into account other risk factors for dementia, including age, socioeconomic
status, and risk factors for heart disease.



Some study participants may have early or very mild cognitive impairment,
especially those whose scores on the tests were low. People with early dementia
often perform within normal limits on cognitive tests, Ravaglia writes.



Though nutritional deficiencies can be the cause, some medications like the
seizure drug Dilantin can elevate homocysteine levels in the blood. Kidney
disease, alcohol use, and too little physical activity can also elevate
homocysteine.



High homocysteine levels can be treated very easily with vitamins, including
folate, niacin, and B-12. Cereals are now fortified with folate, niacin is
found in fresh fruits, and B-12 is in red meat. <o:p></o:p></p>

Personally, I'm a bit picky when it comes to my parents, or family and vitamins. A good BComplex can do wonders. I would never recommend taking a B vitamin in a high dose, by itself, for instance. You can deplete the others. Alfalfa leafies in a tablet or tea can aid arthritis pain for them. Hope this helps.

** I removed your email and blog for security and safety reasons

PPL can get in touch with you thru email at side as long as you have it posted

PPL that are not members can get all info from your posts that is why it is not good to insert emails and personal info in posts

Email me if you have any questions

LYN

Post Edited By Moderator (Howlyncat) : 1/24/2009 4:20:34 PM (GMT-7)

Hey! I have worked in Long Term Care / Skilled Nursing for over 6 years. I am not a nurse, but have and do attend workshops, educational meetings, and so on about Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately with this disease, our loved ones are robbed of their memories and often revert back to their childhood. I have learned that often times a patient suffering with this disease usually "forgets" their children before their spouse because of the regression back into their younger days. We have patients varying in ages from 80 all the way to 102 that still want us to "call" their mother on a daily basis. When dealing with a patient suffering in this way, it is always best to "enter their world" when you are around them. Always approach from the side, never from the front because this causes the patient to feel threatened. You may already know this, but it is amazing that an Alzheimers patient can remember how they "feel" around a certain person, but not specifically who that person is or was to them! As far as the sleeping, eating, and not bathing goes, that is genuinly just the progression of the disease. That is very common. More often than not, Alzheimers patients will need Speech Therapy to help with their swallowing because of the progression of Alzheimers. Speech Therapy is not limited to "Dysphagia" or swallowing, they also help with the loss of cognitive ability that tells a person that they are hungry and also how to put fork to plate and then to mouth with food. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I really have learned so much about this heartbreaking disease and I deal with it everyday.

So great to see you G Padraig
been thinking of you so much
I know that Christmas had to be tough
Ot was hard for me as well...............
On my BD I was kinda expecting to hear dad calling saying "Happy Birhtday my pet" but alas there must not be phones in Heaven
I am really having a mich harder time with his passing then I am with Moms
Though I loved them equally I cannot figure whats going on
Part of me still does not accept she is gone and I will never see or hear her ever again well not till my time comes

Butterfly kisses and God Bless
and thanks for input
You are a very wise man my mentor..........Luvs...........LYN