Not eating or drinking much

[trus]

And another one from me, sorry... 😅
MIL seems to have very little appetite these days and it seems to be gradually declining.
Sometimes she needs help feeding but takes such a long time to chew each mouthful. Most of the time she slowly feeds herself. She is resultant to accept help, so only takes it when she feels hungry enough and struggles more than usual on a particular day.

Sometimes she eats something similar to (ex in volume so you can picture it)
- small bowl of cornflakes with milk
- quarter can of b/beans and half a toast
- a few fruit slices, a biscuit. Or small yogurt.
On a bad day she would eat a bowl of cornflakes, which takes her several hours, and a few slices of fruit. That's it.

Often when it's midday she thinks it's bedtime soon and refuses eating before bed not to give herself indigestion. Other days she gets her lunch but it stands there for hours and she says 'I'll have it presently' etc

Recently she started not finishing her teas, which she always enjoyed. We only give her decaff to keep the hydration going, with milk. They are half finished mostly, sometimes she doesn't even touch the tea for hours and I need to remake them.

If I persuade her every 15 min all day long and she accepts, we are lucky to add a small glass of water to this. Usually, it's just half a glass or so.
She used to take quite a few sips or drink half a glass straight away. Gradually it went down to one tiny sip per attempt.

We had her check out with the Dr a few times recently and had blood tests. She has UTIs every now and again, but we don't seem to be able to make her drink more.

(We even had to forget about Laxido and find another laxative as no way she could drink all that volume of liquid in a day)

She is 90 y o and no longer mobile for the last 6 months.

 

[Louise7]

Hello @trus changes in appetite are quite common, particularly as dementia progresses. As your MIL seems to take a long time to chew food it might be helpful to make a referral to the Speech and Language Therapist team (SALT), your GP should be able to advise how to make a referral as this can differ from area to area. Has your MIL's teeth/mouth been checked recently, as gum/dental problems can cause reduced appetite too. My mum was recently assessed by SALT and is on a softer/moist diet to assist with chewing problems and also prevent any choking risks. It is also common for tastes to change too, Mum now prefers sweet food to savoury so likes things such as yoghurt, jelly and mousses as well as porridge, mashed potato and finely minced meat and mashed vegetables. Although she used to enjoy drinking tea she tends to prefer milkshakes, squash or juice now and doesn't like drinking water on it's own. Perhaps try some different types of food and drink with your MIL? I'm sure that others will be along with more suggestions but you may also find the factsheet below useful as it contains information around eating & drinking and some tips too:

Eating and drinking

People with dementia often experience problems with eating and drinking, but there are ways to help manage these.

www.alzheimers.org.uk

 

[canary]

Hello @trus - Is your mum in pretty advanced stage of dementia now?
When dementia is advanced is is normal for the appetite to diminish. It is amazing how long they can go on for with very little. Try upping the calories in what she is managing to eat. Use whole milk, or even cream in her cornflakes, stir extra nutrients into what she does eat, offer chocolate and cake as snacks. Offer things that dont take much chewing.

Perhaps you could get a dietician to assess her.

 

[trus]

Hello @trus changes in appetite are quite common, particularly as dementia progresses. As your MIL seems to take a long time to chew food it might be helpful to make a referral to the Speech and Language Therapist team (SALT), your GP should be able to advise how to make a referral as this can differ from area to area. Has your MIL's teeth/mouth been checked recently, as gum/dental problems can cause reduced appetite too. My mum was recently assessed by SALT and is on a softer/moist diet to assist with chewing problems and also prevent any choking risks. It is also common for tastes to change too, Mum now prefers sweet food to savoury so likes things such as yoghurt, jelly and mousses as well as porridge, mashed potato and finely minced meat and mashed vegetables. Although she used to enjoy drinking tea she tends to prefer milkshakes, squash or juice now and doesn't like drinking water on it's own. Perhaps try some different types of food and drink with your MIL? I'm sure that others will be along with more suggestions but you may also find the factsheet below useful as it contains information around eating & drinking and some

Thanks for this, I will speak to the GP about the SALT assessment. I did mention that sometimes swallowing tablets is a bit of problem and she sometimes coughs after drinking water, but the GP didn't say anything...?
Milkshakes are a great idea. She also loves ice-cream but we have to be careful with sweet stuff as she is diabetic.

 

[trus]

Hello @trus - Is your mum in pretty advanced stage of dementia now?
When dementia is advanced is is normal for the appetite to diminish. It is amazing how long they can go on for with very little. Try upping the calories in what she is managing to eat. Use whole milk, or even cream in her cornflakes, stir extra nutrients into what she does eat, offer chocolate and cake as snacks. Offer things that dont take much chewing.

Perhaps you could get a dietician to assess her.

Hello! Thanks for this.
Yes mum is quite advanced now, we haven't had a day in the last 3 years when she wasn't severely confused. Most of the time she is quite withdrawn and doesn't talk much at all. Only certain phrases that she repeats over and over. Sometimes something happens and she starts talking as her normal self (although still a confused self).
It's tricky to judge her sugar with her diabetes, she would most certainly eat sweets 24/7 but I am conscious of hitting a balance b/ween the diabetic medication, how much she has eaten and the right amount of sugary snacks to keep her sugar from swaying up and down.

 

[canary]

Ah, a pity she is diabetic. With dementia you gradually lose your sense of taste and the last remaining bit is the sense of sweetness. People with dementia preferring to eat sweet things is classic as everything else tastes really, really bland, like eating cardboard, so tempting them to eat/drink by offering sweet things is something that is often recommended. Perhaps artificial sweeter?

 

[trus]

Ah, a pity she is diabetic. With dementia you gradually lose your sense of taste and the last remaining bit is the sense of sweetness. People with dementia preferring to eat sweet things is classic as everything else tastes really, really bland, like eating cardboard, so tempting them to eat/drink by offering sweet things is something that is often recommended. Perhaps artificial sweeter?

That's interesting what you said, I thought I studied so much about dementia but I never came across the taste changes you mention.
It does make sense now as she most definitely would eat pudding first and refuse the main meal if those served together.
Thanks

 

[Aqua Marina]

These are for hydration & ok for diabetics
Just google Jelly Drops as I'm not allowed to give you the link on here

 

[Izzy]

Here’s the information on Jelly Drops -

Jelly Drops: Sweets To Support Hydration | Official Website

Jelly Drops are award-winning sweets to boost hydration. Invented for people with dementia & now enjoyed by anyone wanting to increase water intake.

www.jellydrops.com

@AquaMarina new members can post links after they’ve made 10 posts. 😍