Anyone have experience with their aged parent not eating?
Mom has a parathyroid issue and as soon as she started taking the meds, she practically stopped eating. I know the meds are part of the problem.
She had surgery to remove the abnormal gland, but they couldn’t find it, so we are back to square one.
She’s in the hospital now and has been given appetite stimulant, but she still only eats probably less than a cup of food all day.
So far the stimulant doesn’t seem to be working and she has been prescribed twice the normal dose.
I am thinking she is at the end of life. They are sending her to a skilled nursing facility today for physical rehab, but if she continues not eating enough, she won’t have the strength.
We give her all soft food and ground up meats with gravies and things like that, and Ensure, but she has no interest in any of it.
I know we can’t force her to eat, but any other suggestions?
Other fruits/veggies/nuts include fresh pineapple, raw squash(yellow, butternut, zucchini), cucumbers, an avocado, apples, strawberries, blueberries, oranges, lemons, broccoli, beets, walnuts, bananas, mango. I use just a 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of different items.
When blender is 3/4 full, add enough water(I fill it half way) until the desired consistency. I, also, add 2 Vit C & multi B vitamin. If your mom has a favorite flavor, such as strawberry, use strawberry jello for flavor. Blend for awhile, so all is frothy and creamy.
After talking to nurses and hospice and reading articles, I've come to realize that they get to a point in their lives that their bodies start to shut down so they do not care to eat anything. We do not force her to eat. WE offer the same things as before and if she wants any of them, we feed her, if not, we don't.
What amazes me is how long someone can survive with so little food. It has been tough for me to see her in this condition. She has lost a lot of weight, is bed bound, but is still mentally alert. Her vitals have been good. My Mother just turned 92 this month. I have heard some folks can last a long time without eating. We shall see. All we can do at this point is keep them comfortable as possible. Good luck to you..
Talk to the Hospital's Social Worker on your Mom. When in a Nursing Facility, a Skilled One, They Make them as Comfortable as Possible and with Much Skill as they are Supposed to have, They will be able to Get her to perhaps Eat PUREED Food to Sustain her for now.
My other thought was mentioned- dysphasia.
I watched my father die of cancer at home and he was on hospice. It took weeks and it was a very slow, horrifying process. At the very end he vomited black liquid and then he died. He must have choked on it I'm not sure. But don't EVER say dying is peaceful or beautiful. It's horrible to die that slowly. Daddy looked like a skeleton and his abdomen was swollen and hospice never drained the fluid even when they said they would. To this day I hate them.
Sometimes a person ends up on a rehab unit as a stepping stone to some other placement. The justification is to "give them a chance" to improve. Once in a while, a person behaves differently than at home. Visit often and hope for the best!
My dad's favorite is Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Fudge.
Excellent nutrition. Far better than anything else that's out there, so a bit more expensive, yet still better, if you can swing it.
In the year leading up to the end, my dad experienced nausea and appetite issues. We had good success putting some weight back on him with 2 chocolate milkshakes daily. He enjoyed them and came to look forward to them until his system could no longer process anything. Our bodies know how to shut themselves down and will do so when it's time, despite the best medical efforts to persuade the body otherwise.
I hope your mom will rally in nursing care but as another post pointed out, Medicare doesn't reimburse the facility if your mom doesn't participate in the treatment protocol. It's time to prepare for the possibility that Hospice care will be the next step.
I know what a difficult time this is for both of you and send my wishes for your continued strength during the challenges ahead. Blessings.
My mum had dementia and ate no more than a bird, the last few months . As long as your mum is drinking its a start as its whens shes stops drinking things get worse. All you can do is encourage your mum to try and get her to eat little bits and drink as much as she can. Unfortuntaley due to my mums dementia and giving up i reckon she stop drinking too. So within a few weeks she had passed away at the grand age of 89 the end of June 18. Good luck i hope you get your mum sorted. I know how worrying it can be x
If you think it is the meds, maybe a different med needs to be considered? What if there is a (MD supervised) drug holiday? If only to see what happens/changes appetite wise.
At one point a couple years ago I was very sick with bronchitis and lost my appetite. Pretty much some tea, grapefruit and not much else left me in terrible shape. I knew I had to eat, but didn't even have the strength to fix anything...it was dreadful. It took a day to get some clothes pulled on but I got to a grocery that has some prepared items, like tuna, chicken salads, potato salads etc. I grabbed some of it all, and told myself even if I ate only a spoonful, it was better than nothing...and very slowly I got back to myself...but it took a long while. I can still remember how good the guacamole at Chipotle tasted the first day I went back to work!
Good luck....
When my mother went to this stage, she did not last very long....I knew her feelings about forced feeding so we never had a feeding tube inserted.
I wish you all all the best at this difficult time. I’m so sorry that she is going through this.