So many questions!

Droopy

Registered User
Feb 23, 2015
8
0
Devon
Hi, this is the first time I have posted on here so bear with me. I care for my dad who has Vascular Dementia and I have a million questions. Dads dementia seems to go downhill in stages/steps, the latest one seems to be he is forgetting that he has eaten and will frequently eat whatever is to hand even though he has just had breakfast/lunch/dinner, is this normal? I know its better than not eating at all but it just seems to be another bit of him disappearing from me :(
 

Tin

Registered User
May 18, 2014
4,820
0
UK
Afraid it probably is, my mum was diagnosed with Moderate vascular dementia April last year and at times I have found she cannot stop eating. There was a time not so long ago when she could not wait for the food to be taken out of the pan and she was always searching the fridge for something nice to eat. At the moment her appetite is small and she sometimes refuses a meal, but she can still tell me when she feels hungry.
 

RedLou

Registered User
Jul 30, 2014
1,161
0
3 huge meals a day for my dad in hospital and he still bothers the nurses for sandwiches and eats biscuits and cakes brought in for him. Stepped progression is quite normal for vasc. dementia I believe.
 

angd

Registered User
Feb 25, 2015
7
0
hi my mum has gone through stages with both eating & drinking , at first she had no appetite & we was struggling to get her to eat anything all of a sudden she had decided the foods that she loved she no longer did & had never done !! we tried explaining that she needed to eat for the amount of medication she was on. sometimes it worked . the next stage was forgetting to eat we had to keep reminding her to eat & that it was her food in front of her. sometimes still do now or even put the food on the fork for her were now going into a stage where shes hungry all the time to the point shes waking my dad at silly o clock through the night saying shes hungry & that she wants ice cream or a biscuit . of course hes got up to get her a biscuit otherwise she wont settle . but ive found that it is stages of things they may go through & dont last long. aslong as your dads healthy & happy id see how he goes . is he on any medication that increases appetite ? just a thought :) keep your chin up i know thats easier said than done at times !! x
 

Droopy

Registered User
Feb 23, 2015
8
0
Devon
Thankyou all for your replies, at least I know its not me going mad, which seems to be the way I feel quite alot at times. I really think dad is forgetting he has eaten as he will say to me 'I fancy something to eat, what have we got?' only minutes after eating a huge lunch. I have started keeping a list of things he has eaten as I don't think anyone would believe me if I told them. Don't think his brain is telling him he is full up :/
I don't get on here often as I am up dads nearly all the time looking after him and when I get home I am often just too tired to turn computer on but I do appreciate any comments, they are very gratefully received :)
 

Droopy

Registered User
Feb 23, 2015
8
0
Devon
hi my mum has gone through stages with both eating & drinking , at first she had no appetite & we was struggling to get her to eat anything all of a sudden she had decided the foods that she loved she no longer did & had never done !! we tried explaining that she needed to eat for the amount of medication she was on. sometimes it worked . the next stage was forgetting to eat we had to keep reminding her to eat & that it was her food in front of her. sometimes still do now or even put the food on the fork for her were now going into a stage where shes hungry all the time to the point shes waking my dad at silly o clock through the night saying shes hungry & that she wants ice cream or a biscuit . of course hes got up to get her a biscuit otherwise she wont settle . but ive found that it is stages of things they may go through & dont last long. aslong as your dads healthy & happy id see how he goes . is he on any medication that increases appetite ? just a thought :) keep your chin up i know thats easier said than done at times !! x

Thanks for the reply, all dads meds are the same as they have been for a long time so don't think its anything to do with them but he is diabetic, controlled by diet (haha) and tablets, trouble is he craves sweet things like your mum, biscuits, cake etc, ate a whole tray out of a box of biscuits in one sitting (I wasn't there at the time obviously) that was 33 biscuits!!!! I am now having to hide and ration his food as I don't want to deprive him of the odd treat either. It's so difficult isn't it, thanks for the support, chin being held up with both hands at the minute hehe x
 

BR_ANA

Registered User
Jun 27, 2012
1,080
0
Brazil
When my mom was on "eating everything" stage, I was told that her brain was confuse about feeling hungry/ full.
 

Droopy

Registered User
Feb 23, 2015
8
0
Devon
When my mom was on "eating everything" stage, I was told that her brain was confuse about feeling hungry/ full.

Dad is out of control with his eating at the minute, feel awful having to hide food but he'll just eat it all if I leave it out, very worrying really, was this a phase or did it carry on throughout? Sorry to be nosey :/ xx
 

irishmanc

Registered User
Jan 14, 2015
64
0
Manchester
Dad is out of control with his eating at the minute, feel awful having to hide food but he'll just eat it all if I leave it out, very worrying really, was this a phase or did it carry on throughout? Sorry to be nosey :/ xx

Hi Droopy, I'm not sure if it's a phase but my Dad has been doing this for about a year. He now lives in a CH where they are very good at controlling the food he has access to. He can and will eat anything (sometimes things that are not even food). I have had to tell family not to leave boxes of chocolates or sweets with him as he will eat until he is sick. It seems to be common with Az and all part of the sad decline.
 

Droopy

Registered User
Feb 23, 2015
8
0
Devon
Hi Droopy, I'm not sure if it's a phase but my Dad has been doing this for about a year. He now lives in a CH where they are very good at controlling the food he has access to. He can and will eat anything (sometimes things that are not even food). I have had to tell family not to leave boxes of chocolates or sweets with him as he will eat until he is sick. It seems to be common with Az and all part of the sad decline.

thanks for your comment, in a strange way it's good to know it's not just dad that is doing this, luckily he had his blood sugar level checked today and its ok but he still wants to eat everything in sight :/ Saw a friend today whose father sadly passed away a few weeks ago due to Az and he said he went through the same phase and never really came out of it, although I know everyone with this cruel disease has different symptoms at different levels. How my dad isn't sick sometimes I don't know, feel awful having to hide and ration his food but surely got to be better for him in long run? Another thing to feel guilty about eh? x
 

irishmanc

Registered User
Jan 14, 2015
64
0
Manchester
thanks for your comment, in a strange way it's good to know it's not just dad that is doing this, luckily he had his blood sugar level checked today and its ok but he still wants to eat everything in sight :/ Saw a friend today whose father sadly passed away a few weeks ago due to Az and he said he went through the same phase and never really came out of it, although I know everyone with this cruel disease has different symptoms at different levels. How my dad isn't sick sometimes I don't know, feel awful having to hide and ration his food but surely got to be better for him in long run? Another thing to feel guilty about eh? x

I know it's easy to say but do try not to feel guilty. We should only feel guilt for things that we cause and we sure don't cause this. Try to take some pressure off yourself. x
 

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