What do you do when parent with Alzheimer's doesn't want to eat?
My dad was always a good eater! For the first three or so years after his diagnosis with Alzheimer's he did okay in that department. But over the past two or three months he has slowly begun to eat less. My mom gives him his supper on a small plate (not the big dinner plates anymore), and he usually leaves something, sometimes up to half of a meal in the evening. He'll say he's not hungry. After he pushes the plate away, or if I'm there at the time and I ask him to eat a few more bites, he'll sometimes eat a little more. More recently he's become very adamant about not eating everything, saying he's not hungry and leave him alone about it! It makes Mom very sad because she's a great cook and he's always loved her cooking. At noon he usually has a sandwich or a small microwave dinner, and he still manages to leave something uneaten. Is there a time where you just give in a say okay, you don't have to eat? If he says he doesn't want any lunch, should we accept that? I know there comes a time when and ALZ patient doesn't want to eat, but my dad is still very healthy (aside from the ALZ difficulties, mentally and physically).
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I agree with vw9729's approach. In addition, here are some things to try. (Nothing works all the time for everyone. It is trial-and-try-some-more.)
1) Give up coaxing or pleading for just a few more bites. Let Dad feel that he is completely in control of what he eats. Don't make a big fuss over his meals.
2) Give your mother lots of reassurance that this is part of the disease and has nothing at all to do with her cooking or her ability to provide for him. Don't try to talk her out of being sad -- the disease is very sad! But reassure her that this is not her fault.
3) Try going back to a big plate, with a very small serving on it. That may make the serving look very small and manageable.
4) If you happen to hit upon something he likes and eats well serve it again and again! For my husband this was scrambled eggs with sausage crumbles, covered with salsa and then nacho cheese from a jar. He would eat this day after day and sometimes more than once a day. Also he loved fruit. Even though it was out of season, expensive, and not particularly at its peak, I bought watermelon for him often.
5) Many people will eat ice cream when they won't eat anything else. A milk shake made with ice cream, a banana, peanut butter, and a squirt of chocolate sauce almost always appealed to my husband, even when he "wasn't hungry."
6. Try offering him less, more often. Instead of sandwich for lunch, try a half a sandwich for a midmorning snack, and the other half later. Some soup served in a coffee cup, not at the table, may be more acceptable than a "meal."
7. Our sense of taste changes as we age. I always put out a bottle of pepper sauce and my husband used it liberally. Some people have success with sprinkling just a little sugar over everything.
8. Do keep trying to provide nutrition in appealing ways, but play it low-key, and do not obsess over what he eats or doesn't eat.
9. Try to provide plenty of fluids, and fluids that offer some nutrition are doubly good. Maybe a juice glass of V-8 with a dash of tobasco would be welcome in the afternoon, sitting on the porch.
More than likely this too will pass.
Of course, if you can spark his interest in favorite foods, that would be ideal (for him and you), but I'd be reluctant to add a prescription drug for someone who has a terminal condition if the purpose of that drug wasn't to relieve discomfort.
For our 86 year old, she wanted control, always a slow eater to begin with, she said she had no appetite and if we forced her she would throw up.
To get her nutrition in without knowing it, we made a weird version of orange Julius,
orange juice, milk, yogurt, strawberries, honey, drops of vanilla 1 egg and she sucked it down like a shake. The egg can not be stored so it has to be made fresh and served. The container used was one of those bullet style blenders.
she lost weight from diarrhea from exelon, and siblings who left her alone so they could go to work, when they took her for a visit etc, she went from 123lb to 95.
When we got her back from assisted living, we gave this every morning sometimes evening as a snack for 3 months, her appetite did come back, combined with (she in years past showed me how to cook the foods she eats) the foods she normally ate, schnitzel, spaetzle, etc, she returned to eating, she now eats well and weighs 112lb. with no commentary. I wish you well.
If your father loses a lot of weight or you notice where he isn't eating much in total for the day, then there is reason to be concerned. Doesn't sound as though that's the case currently. From what you've explained, his eating behavior is age related, not alzheimer's.
some that were like orange julius' ingredient list includes: orange juice, yogurt with the live culture, honey, touch of molasses, egg, strawberries for fiber.
Put it in a blender. Because of the egg, it has to be prepared fresh each time.
it did bring her back to life.
She our 86 year old drank them (every body said boost or some such packaged drink) and nibbled food. She went to 95 lbs. we were frightened that her kidneys and everything would shut down, but this worked.
we her and I started cooking food that she used to eat, she developed her appetite back.
I like the idea of the Mirtazapine...we were looking for something like this too!