Eating problems

Splash

New member
Oct 12, 2021
7
0
My dad also has developed a sweet tooth. When I raised it with his GP the advice was as long as he is eating don’t worry about where the calories are coming from. I think it’s fairly common with dementia.
I had exactly the same response from my GP.My OH has type 2 diabetes and shouldn’t be eating the quantity of sweet food he manages to consume,but strangely it doesn’t seem to effect his glucose levels.
 

InElysium

Registered User
Mar 14, 2011
43
0
My Dad is in his 90s and has similar eating issues which I have put down to Frontotemporal Dementia. It's was as if the list of eating symptoms were written about him they;re that accurate!

(https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-s...s-eating-habits-food-preference#content-start)

Mine overeats worryingly and his portions are more than what me and my mum eats combined. He will have his evening meal and then in an hour put something on stove ready for later. Eat that (a saturated pie) go to sleep. Wake up two hours later, rummage through cupboards and fridge or something he bought and hidden such as a cake, eat that. Sleep. Wake up around 1-2am and have something else!

Every time he gets himself a cup of warm / hot water he will put sugar in it. He would also buy a lot of cakes and hide them. In addition to sweet foods, one of the other eating issues are that he also likes fatty greasy foods and is buying bacon and pies and sausages and burgers or getting takeaway meals. Too many to list!

He can like something one day and hate it the next, and hate something he previously like.

What's also worrying is that he is clinically vulnerable and also non compliant with his meds (especially statins) so I keep telling GP it's a matter of time before he will have a coronary. He's also full on hostess mode

As he has refused all assessments and been verbally rude and evicted geriatric MH team, we're left with no diagnosis but the GPs are aware of his condition. It feels a bit neglectful of them to say to me - look, with his age let him do, eat and go where he wants if it means he doesn't get aggressive.
 

NickP

Registered User
Feb 23, 2021
113
0
So interesting to read all these posts. My dad has developed a very sweet tooth too having never liked sweet things before!! He never ate cakes, biscuits or desserts and now devours them all. He has to be reminded & encouraged to eat at mealtimes sometimes, but will happily eat cakes & biscuits at any time!
 

Dootee

Registered User
Mar 8, 2016
31
0
Hi I care for my husband who has Alzheimers, gradually he is getting more picky with food. He won't have a 'proper 'cooked meal and will only push it around the plate even what were favourite foods. Basically he only wants sweet things, porridge with bananas in, milk puddings etc. He will have soup sometimes and small sandwiches. Is this part of the advancing decline or should I get medical advice. Part of me feels that as he's almost 90 I should stop fretting about it and let him have just what he wants. I would appreciate any advice and tips please.
You've answered your own question i feel. Well done you. Let him have what he wants its all calories. Porridge is wonderful. Be grateful hes eating at all. My mum is the same eats like a sparrow but still eats. All soft foods. Loves McDonald's fish fillet. Fish fingers. Small ham sandwiches cut into tiny squares. Pots of jelly and custard from asda or tesco soft and calorific. Small pots of rice pudding which are microwaveable.I also got from the doctor a juice Ensure which i put into her usual soft drink she doesn't notice but its extra calories. Try not to stress go with his flow .
 

Felixcat1

Registered User
Feb 23, 2021
169
0
The advice my dads GP gave me when I raised concerns about how little he was eating and drinking and how much sweet things he was eating was, don’t worry what he is eating as long as he eats. Calories are calories ?‍♀️
 

Winnie10

Registered User
Feb 25, 2013
37
0
Sweet foods are soft, sometimes gums have become sensitive, or false teeth don't fit any more. Medication can leave a metallic taste in the mouth. sweet foods seem to over come this.

When getting my Mum to eat, I started looking at calories. Have you tried complain, tastes horrid but you mix it in mash potatoes, with a little milk and butter you can't taste it.
Do you eat sweet potatoes? mashing them alone is a little too soft. But one sweet potato mixed with white potato.
Gives your mash a sweet taste and makes it orange. My Mum would eat anything orange on her plate first.
Carrots with a honey glaze?
I often think of the spike Milligan poem
I eat my peas with honey, I have done all my life, It makes the peas taste funny , put it keeps them on the knife.
Mint Jelly, tastes sweet.
Horlicks, have you read the added vitamins.
Full milk, cheese, custard.
Complan hides well in custard too.
Also hides in porridge
Fortsip shakes are good if you like the flavours, we didn't at my house.

My Mum just didn't know what to do with the food in the end she just stared at it. So I fed her , which she was happy for me to do.
 

madrarua

New member
Jan 8, 2022
5
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So many great tips here, thanks to everyone for sharing. I'm definitely going to try cutting up sandwiches etc into bite size pieces. I feel like it could work as a trick of the eye and she'll eat it all without convincing herself from the outset that it's too much.

I've found that if I leave a bag of cashew nuts in the TV room they'll disappear quite quickly. That was a fab discovery since they're so high in cals and fiber. I'm going to buy trail mix next which she might like even more for the sweet raisins.

If all else fails, she never says no to ice cream. Like a lot of you, I figure calories are best no matter where they come from.
 

mickeyplum

Registered User
Feb 22, 2018
237
0
My husband of 93 never had a sweet tooth but now is exactly the opposite. Hot drinks are left to go cold and I have to constantly nag him to drink. I find it works better to put a little sugar in his hot drinks now. I also give him cordial with a straw which he quite likes.
Mushy peas are the easiest but if we have frozen peas I mash them in to potatoes so that he doesn't have to chase them round the plate. I also put a spoon on the table for when he gets tired of using his knofe and fork.
 

Debs42

Registered User
Jan 27, 2013
34
0
This thread is really interesting. My husband has always had a sweet tooth, but recently, as well as cake and puddings, he has been asking for sugar in his coffee and on his cereal, which he has never had before. I buy the healthiest cereal I can find, and the ones with no added sugar, but he adds his own sugar, which rather defeats the object!
His taste buds have definitely changed as he used to love vegetables and salads but is now inclined to leave them on the plate. The tomatoes with his lunchtime sandwich are rarely eaten.
As the hunger messages dont always get from the stomach to the brain, I put meals in front of him at the appropriate time even if he says he's not hungry - and usually they are eaten. I do now have to cut some things up for him. We gave up spaghetti bolognese a few years ago because he couldnt manage the spaghetti. I have substituted other shapes of pasta!
 

mickeyplum

Registered User
Feb 22, 2018
237
0
At first, I worried he wasnt getting enough protien/fruit and veg etc but decided at the age of 92 , did he really need foods to strengthen his bones and teeth ( non-existant now) or prevent vitamin defiiency?
No, the main thing is to give him stuff he enjoys and keeps him a good weight and happy. Nowadays he eats more biscuits, cake and chocolate in one day that he used to eat in a year, but I try not to give them too close to a mealtime