Late Stage Dementia best Diet

[s2lowner]

My father is 89 and has had vascular dementia since a stroke at 72. He has been in the current care home since 2009

His weight is now about 8st 8lb. He is in the later stages of dementia and is starting to be difficult to feed solid food but he still likes sweet stuff and puddings.

When his weight dropped down to this level previously the doctor prescribed fresubin but when he got to over 9st 2 it was no longer available on prescription so I bought fresubin and Nutrijuice as suppliments for the home

He does seem to be having problems with the chewing swallowing action at times and the doctor has prescribed something to increase his saliva

I would like them to continue giving him the food supplements so that he is getting enough calories in however there seems to be some confusion over whether taking them is causing him to lose his appetite and hence he is refusing food
rather than the other way round

Is there any advice on the correct diet plan and also meal timings for someone who is in this transitional position


Occasionally if you put a sandwich or a biscuit in his hand we will eat it but mostly he has to be fed now
It takes about an hour to get him to eat his lunch or tea and if he refuses then I am concerned that overall he isn't getting enough calories down him.


Many Thanks

 

[Wolfsgirl]

Please see my recent experience it is entitled 'Help Please' regarding my Mum not eating.

She is now skeletal and has had no real enjoyment from life for a long time, has not been able to walk for 6 months, doubly incontinent etc. etc. why do I want her to eat? I don't know but I wish she wanted to but really, she has no desire, she is not going to get better, never walk again or regain any of her faculties. Not needing to eat appears to be a normal part of the dying process but it is not a cause. See what Piedwarbler wrote to me earlier today about this.

I now think it is probably a bit cruel to prolong the dying process....

Best wishes x

My father is 89 and has had vascular dementia since a stroke at 72. He has been in the current care home since 2009

His weight is now about 8st 8lb. He is in the later stages of dementia and is starting to be difficult to feed solid food but he still likes sweet stuff and puddings.

When his weight dropped down to this level previously the doctor prescribed fresubin but when he got to over 9st 2 it was no longer available on prescription so I bought fresubin and Nutrijuice as suppliments for the home

He does seem to be having problems with the chewing swallowing action at times and the doctor has prescribed something to increase his saliva

I would like them to continue giving him the food supplements so that he is getting enough calories in however there seems to be some confusion over whether taking them is causing him to lose his appetite and hence he is refusing food
rather than the other way round

Is there any advice on the correct diet plan and also meal timings for someone who is in this transitional position


Occasionally if you put a sandwich or a biscuit in his hand we will eat it but mostly he has to be fed now
It takes about an hour to get him to eat his lunch or tea and if he refuses then I am concerned that overall he isn't getting enough calories down him.


Many Thanks

 

[cragmaid]

Hello, to me the best diet at this stage is the one a patient will eat....never mind the calorie, protein, carbohydrate counts. If all they want is a yoghurt or a choolate pud, then that is what they should have. Usually by the time a patient is only eating a small amount and has trouble chewng or swallowing, a Salt ( swallowing etc) consultation should have been recommended.
By this stage, a patient probably has few pleasures in life left and if a chocolate mousse brings a smile.......

 

[FifiMo]

As Maureen said, in the late stages of dementia eating difficulties occur in lots of people. This isn't the time to be counting calories and balancing diets. This is the time to give the person what they desire and what they can cope with. If that means ice cream for every meal then so be it. In the latter stages of the disease forcing the food issue isn't considered to change the outcome nor prolong life. On this basis, it is letting the person decide. That in itself is a very powerful thing to do for the person. In a disease that sucks all the various parts of a person away over time, we can at least honour the decisions that they are still able to make. Let them choose the food they want but equally respect their wishes if they refuse the food too.

Fiona

 

[nita]

My Mum who is 90, in late stage Alzheimer's, eats a normal diet but only small amounts. She sometimes is sleeping so skips dinner and then isn't hungry later. I recently had a visit from a tissue viability nurse to give advice on Mum's pressure sores (she is bedbound) and she is going to arrange for a visit from a dietician. Could you have this for your father?

It is not the same situation as my Mum's BMI is about normal (she calculated this by measuring her upper arm) and is not yet having any fortified foods. But I will let you know how it goes.

 

[s2lowner]

Thanks for the replies
Further to this

My mum died in March and so I have taken over the responsibility of visiting dad in the care home during the week so I am not sure how to tread with this without upsetting the staff

Dad still has an appetite and enjoys sweet food soft food and drinks if they are sweet he will drink his fresubin as its a sweet flavoured drink

When I have fed him he has eventually eaten most things but its a slow process but he does want to eat. He refuses somethings by clamping his teeth and pulling his head back its usually sandwiches or hard food he does but 5 minutes later if offered again he will eat it. Often if you ask him if he wants something he will say yes so he hasn't given up on food

Last week he had some days in bed as he was ill with cold/flu like symptoms he had vomited and had diarrhea after which they weighed him and he was down in weight so I put some of his weight loss down to dehydration.

I agree he should only eat what he wants he likes chocolate and I took him kinder bars and he ate three one after the other he would have probably eaten them all day but then the staff said that might have caused the diarrhea

Yesterday he was out of bed and looked better and I fed him his tea which took about an hour. They fed all the other residents by the time I had fed my dad. He ate his pudding first because he refused the sandwiches, then afterwards the sandwiches and his milk but he ate everything

I am thinking that the weight loss was down to him being ill and off his food more than anything and also that if he refuses staff haven't got the time to be sitting with him for an hour for each meal.

I have the doctors telephone number so will ring him and check out if a dietician is necessary and also if a nurse is needed re bed sores as he has to have occasional days in bed but I think that they have that aspect of his care covered


Thank you again for your helpful replies
s2lowner