Hi, everyone,

I'm new to the forum. My questions here are: What stage is my mom in with what I'm about to tell you all, and what else can I do to help her, if there is help?

My mother has Alzheimer's, diagnosed in 1997; she's 87 years old now.

The problem I have, which I haven't gotten much support from her doctors, is that she won't eat much at all. This is a new problem we've had with her over the last 5 weeks. She's also a Type 2 diabetic and is on insulin twice a day, so this is a bigger problem than just weight loss. To add to the problem, she suffered a mild stroke while recovering from a hip break in a nursing home, and no one noticed until she came home and we noticed she was dragging the nonbroken side (well, she had broken THAT hip 10 years before, when she was first diagnosed). So we don't know if her speech problems and forming sentences and using improper words are from the AD or from the stroke).

When I brought her to one doctor 3 weeks ago, he had me up her insulin, to which I thought, "What??" He claimed it would up her appetite. For the first 2 days, it seemed to work, but at night for the next couple of days she crashed hard (her glucometer read 42), and it took all I could to get her levels back up. I've gone back to her original insulin dose, which has kept her at a normal level, but still have the appetite problem.

He also had her take a chest x-ray to eliminate any health reason like infection, pneumonia or throat obstruction. She was negative. She is missing her molars and chews with her front teeth only, but no one thinks this is the reasson for her lack of appetite.

Her other doctor, a psychiatrist, agreed this is the AD at work, but she gave no ideas for what to keep her hydrated and fed. In the past, for her psychosis and sundowning, she gave her Depakote, which is a mood stabilizer and causes her to eat like crazy. I've asked this doctor to have her prescribe it again but in a smaller dose (to kill 2 birds with one stone since she does have some bad eps with freaking out), but she hasn't returned my calls.

Foods we give her: Glucerna, pureed vegetables that are made creamy to make her eat them, eggs, applesauce, pastina in chicken broth, bananas and just today I've tried her on meat baby food, which she took mixed with some canned pumpkin, creamy oatmeal and some syrup. HOWEVER, she'll only take a few teaspoons at a time of anything we give her, hardly enough to sustain her. I've also tried Myoplex high-protein drinks, which are fortified, but again this isn't the answer (I think). Should we try baby formula because it has added nutrients?

Her bowels have been very pudding-like for the most part over the last year, and we've tried fiber products and Activia yogurt plus oatmeal to bulk her up (no dice).

Any help would be appreciated. Back to changing her diaper now! See you later!

Dear Gilda,

Welcome, and thank you for using the Alzheimer's Association Online Community.

When a person doesn't eat, it can really cause a problem. For a person with the disease, you are doing the right things in softening the foods making sure that they re soft for her to eat, however there are some tips that may help you.

Serve meals in a quiet environment away from the television and other distractions. Keep the table setting simple only using utensils that she needs for eating what you are giving her to eat. Offer only one food item at a time, too many food choices may be overwhelming. Provide visual cues and or verbal direction in a nice way. A person may mirror this eating behavior. Find those foods that she likes, and serve foods that she would prefer. (Ensure, Boost, milkshakes, "smoothies" or eggnog)

Try these things, and see if there are any changes that may occur. If you have any questions, please call myself or one of the care consultants 24 hours a day/7 days a week at (800) 272-3900. Thank you for using the Alzheimer's Association Online Community.

Sincerely,

Clifton, Care Consultant
Alzheimer's Association

quote:

Originally posted by Clifton:
Serve meals in a quiet environment away from the television and other distractions. Keep the table setting simple only using utensils that she needs for eating what you are giving her to eat. Offer only one food item at a time, too many food choices may be overwhelming. Provide visual cues and or verbal direction in a nice way. A person may mirror this eating behavior. Find those foods that she likes, and serve foods that she would prefer. (Ensure, Boost, milkshakes, "smoothies" or eggnog)

Hi, Clifton,

Thanks so much for your input. When we first experienced this problem, I sought the Internet for answers and came up with the ones you suggested. We tried them, and thought it worked for a short time, we're back to her not wishing to eat. That's when we sought the doctor, who gave no help with suggestions and upped her insulin. We're still trying to contact the doctor while we continue to encourage her to eat.

We also have made the portions smaller and less intimidating and giving them to her at intervals until we get an emphatic "Please don't give me any more!" She gets favorite foods all the time, and she has little trouble chewing a creme-filled lemon cookie, so the teeth truly aren't the problem (I tried that yesterday and smiled over the cookie).

The baby food/pumpkin/oatmeal concoction sort of worked as did pureed green beans with a little milk. Any other advice is most appreciated from any and all!
Thank you!