Acute loss of weight
- Thread starter Leva
- Start date
Hi @Leva. Yes it certainly is quite common to see weight loss as the person with dementia loses interest in food. My OH is less than 8st and was once 10 and a half stone. His arms are scarily thin when I hold them- I fear that they would easily break. He has no meat on him now but he eats tiny amounts so it's only to be expected as his dementia worsens.
@Leva yes the high calorie shakes that dad had were called 'ensure' and he had them on prescription, he once drank 12 in one day although that was unusual, his average was eight for quite a long time. Also I used to add double cream to his scrambled egg which helped. It's amazing how much cream can be added to one scrambled egg. Dad put on 3 stone with this diet although it probably did not do his cholesterol a lot good.
I added cream to gravy , sauces, casseroles & ragus. Roast dinners always had bread sauce made with cream not milk . I made custard with cream, bread & butter puddings (that mum adored ) with cream . Curries with cream ! I bought bulk supplies if cream from makro!! Even making soups with cream to then use as a base for gravy etc. Added to that I cooked with butter & olive oil! Added to that Mother being cornisg
Mother’s cholesterol was never high!
I think though that it meant when she stopped eating though the weight loss was dramatic & extremely visual.
Even Dad the day he died I managed to get him to have a teaspoon of ice cream with clotted cream , his favourite thing ever!
I suggest calories no matter where they come from , balanced diet goes out of the window at some point . I even used to encouraged Mother to have a glass of Baileys & she enjoyed her Sherry glass of Baileys .
Bless.
so yes calories even empty calories in jelly babies , sweets become important as appetites dwindle .
Hi. My dad was always slim but has lost weight recently. He has VD. I would get a blood test done as well as the protein shakes. Dads blood result came back with a low albumin which contributes to weight loss. Dad has a shake once a day. But he is eating and drinking a lot less as well.
@DesperateofDevon I did all those things too including ice cream with double cream and soup with cream, double cream in his coffee. Dob of butter on everything possible. I could go on but I won't. It certainly worked.
Yes it does mean though that when the person with dementia starts to refuse food & drinks the weight loss is dramatic , but I am so pleased that while Mum could eat she had lovely home cooked meals.
Sounds delish - that's my kind of diet. If you're ever looking for work as a private chef, please get in touch...
You'd have to compete with @DesperateofDevon for the job though! Clotted cream should be available on prescription ?
Totally agree cream , butter , full fat milk & olive oil used in my cooking & I have low cholesterol ?♀️
genetics & always eating pure non processed foods as much as possible might also be a factor !
Ps
Family say that I am tied up contractually but can provide cake & a cuppa ?
Thank you all. I no longer care re nutrition and if he wishes he can have ice cream all day if that is what he wants. I take tomatoes in a vinaigrette every other day and he loves those and Gu cheesecakes and fruit, the odd crisp and the sandwiches I make. He will not eat anything savoury made by the care home except for cheese on toast and his breakfast croissants but I've decided it just does not matter and for me , someone who has always insisted we have a really good Mediterranean diet I feel I've at last taken a sensible step!
Hi. A carer asked me the other how come my dad whois diabetic type 2 that he has sweet things. The trouble is dad never stuck to his diet when he was in control of it. I feel at the age of 88 the damage is already done. As long as it’s not excessive what does it matter?
Unfortunately my Mum has to have a low fat diet - otherwise she can **** through the eye a needle (!) ,following bowel surgery. At the moment she has a reasonable appetite, but I've gone down the high sugar route for her. As @TNJJ says, we're at the point where it really doesn't matter about a balanced, healthy diet.
Mum is slowly losing weight, but I think this is just part of her dementia.
Mum is slowly losing weight, but I think this is just part of her dementia.
