Worried about Mum's weight

[Il Gufo]

My Mum has been in a care home since last October. We are very happy with the care she is getting, and the staff are all really lovely.
I am concerned that Mum seems to be sort of fading away. She eats well, and enjoys her biscuits and cakes too. But she is just getting smaller and smaller. Is this another thing that happens to dementia sufferers? She just seems to be so frail.

 

[LYN T]

I see my Husband disappearing before my eyes. He looks so tiny when I see him in his bed. I often think where has my fit man gone. I think he has lost muscle mass-he was always doing sport before the AD took hold so I suppose that's it but, like your Mum, Pete seems very frail

Take care

Lyn T

 

[Noorza]

Appetite does seem to be affected in mum, it is the other way she doesn't stop eating. I am at a loss how to handle it, if she gets pleasure from eating then I'm not going to try to limit it. To be honest I don't think I could if I tried. I see too little eating in the same way it's one of those things that you can try to change but wouldn't expect miracles.

 

[eatwithyoureyes]

My Mum has been in a care home since last October. We are very happy with the care she is getting, and the staff are all really lovely.
I am concerned that Mum seems to be sort of fading away. She eats well, and enjoys her biscuits and cakes too. But she is just getting smaller and smaller. Is this another thing that happens to dementia sufferers? She just seems to be so frail.

I'm glad your Mum is getting good care. Yes dementia sufferers can lose weight for a number of reasons. What exercise does she get? Lack of exercise will lead to loss of muscle and this can lead to a dramatic change in body shape as well as weight loss. Also the less exercise she gets the less her appetite will be stimulated. I don't want to be alarmist either, but the fact that you posted tells me that you are already a bit worried. It may be that she has another medical problem. When was the last time she saw a doctor?
My father had AD but died from prostate cancer. It was a return of a previous cancer and we took the decision for palliative care only. We were alerted by a sudden acceleration in his dementia, some weight and appetite loss and mild lower belly pain. He finally passed away a year from diagnosis and he was kept comfortable all the way through.
Dementia is well known for changes to appetite so don't panic, but it can hide other problems too.
Keep on keeping on.

 

[Il Gufo]

Hi eatwithyoureyes,

Thanks for useful response. Mum sees the GP regularly. The doctor holds a sort of 'mini surgery' at the care home every Thursday, and either myself or mum's carers can always speak with her, or take mum downstairs to see her. We have recently transferred Mum to this GP, as were not happy with the former one she was allocated to when she moved into care last October. The lovely new lady doctor gave Mum a thorough check-up only a few weeks ago when Mum was taken on as a patient. When I visited yesterday Mum was again looking frail. She seems to be so tired all the time - to be honest, I think she is just sort of giving up. She was really confused yesterday, following a few days of being really lucid and quite chatty when my sister and sister in law visited. She asked me over and over if I had seen my dad, (who dies 7 years ago), or her own mum, (who died over 30 years ago). It's all so very upsetting and sad..........

 

[LYN T]

Hi eatwithyoureyes,

Thanks for useful response. Mum sees the GP regularly. The doctor holds a sort of 'mini surgery' at the care home every Thursday, and either myself or mum's carers can always speak with her, or take mum downstairs to see her. We have recently transferred Mum to this GP, as were not happy with the former one she was allocated to when she moved into care last October. The lovely new lady doctor gave Mum a thorough check-up only a few weeks ago when Mum was taken on as a patient. When I visited yesterday Mum was again looking frail. She seems to be so tired all the time - to be honest, I think she is just sort of giving up. She was really confused yesterday, following a few days of being really lucid and quite chatty when my sister and sister in law visited. She asked me over and over if I had seen my dad, (who dies 7 years ago), or her own mum, (who died over 30 years ago). It's all so very upsetting and sad..........

Oh dear you did have a bad day didn't you?

Back from visiting my Husband today. He had been weighed before I got there. Yet again he's lost weight-but he eats really well so I can't understand either. The Manager wasn't there today but I will speak to her tomorrow.Pete is sleeping more and more now but when he is awake he shuffles around still.I don't know if dementia sufferers get frail just because they are suffering from Dementia? He's had plenty of 'physicals' and nothing has been picked up.

Perhaps someone has more knowledge of weight loss when there is no other underlying
illness?

Take care

Lyn T

 

[Grannie G]

My husband was the best eater in his care home and was always ready for home made snacks I took when visiting.

He still lost weight and appeared smaller and smaller.

I wondered if his body wasn`t metabolising his food properly.

 

[Kellie-Ann]

I am in the same boat with my eats well and loves cake etc but still lost a lot of weight the doctor sent her for a belly scan and X-ray to see if she might have cancer but they couldn't find anything. But don't worry to much if your mum is eating


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[Il Gufo]

Thanks for all your replies and advice. I think a lot of the problem is that Mum, (and possibly the loved ones that you all speak of), are not actually using their bodies in the way they are meant to. By this I mean that, as far as my Mum is concerned, she sits or lies around an awful lot more than she did before she had dementia and went into care. Despite the best efforts of the staff and volunteers organising various activities every day - very few actually involve moving around much, if at all. This, I would imagine, leads to muscle wastage, which of course makes walking and moving around even more difficult. I know that since last October when Mum went into the care home she has certainly become totally reliant on her tri-walker, and is unable to walk without it.

 

[Kellie-Ann]

My nan only walks to the bathroom or in and out of ht bedroom in the mornings and evenings


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[Lindy50]

My mum's comfort zone is now, in reality, her riser recliner chair and an area of about twelve feet around it. Anything other than that constitutes exceptional movement or 'going out'. We are lucky that her flat is so small, and she can still reach the bathroom.

When I think about it, it's not surprising she has such a poor appetite.......

 

[Ann Mac]

Its really interesting to read all these posts. Prior to Mil moving in with us, she had been refusing to accept anyone cooking for her, and from what we can make out, had been living on just toast for months. Not surprisingly, at an annual check up, two months after she moved in with us, it was found she had lost over 1 1/2 stones.

We struggled to get her to eat at first, but now she is managing 3 average size meals a day, proper home cooked 'traditional' meat and veg type meals for tea, a breakfast of porridge and toast, and a lunch of perhaps home made soup and bread, or eggs on toast, with fruit to follow. She's also getting a little more exercise, as she no longer just sits in a house in her nightclothes all day, but goes to day care and out with a support worker several times a week.

And yet she too seems to be frailer and smaller by the day - her weight is stable now, which I find hard to believe as she seems to be tinier by the week.

She is having a full health check, next week again, and i intended to mention this to the nurse then.

 

[Kellie-Ann]

My nan won't eat a normal breakfast but she will have cheese toasties for breakfast which I really don't mind as long as she has something to eat but she is still really thin


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[Lindy50]

Sounds like you're doing a great job, Ann ....and yet the 'smallness' continues

I wonder whether osteoporosis (loss of bone density) contributes to this, as well as loss of muscle mass?

It would be interesting to hear what the Nurse has to say, if you get the chance to ask....

 

[Kellie-Ann]

I will do


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[LYN T]

Oh dear you did have a bad day didn't you?

Back from visiting my Husband today. He had been weighed before I got there. Yet again he's lost weight-but he eats really well so I can't understand either. The Manager wasn't there today but I will speak to her tomorrow.Pete is sleeping more and more now but when he is awake he shuffles around still.I don't know if dementia sufferers get frail just because they are suffering from Dementia? He's had plenty of 'physicals' and nothing has been picked up.

Perhaps someone has more knowledge of weight loss when there is no other underlying
illness?

Take care

Lyn T

Well the GP is coming to see Pete next week. He has lost 7ks in six weeks.

Manager thinks it is a progression in AD but wants to rule anything else out