Ensure? Milkshakes?

[Guest guest]

My dad lately has been refusing to eat at times. Sometimes he'll eat

breakfast, but refuse to eat lunch, which leads to him being VERY

fouled up by dinnertime. I know that some people have posted that

they do this toward the end, but in my dad's case, I think it's

largely because he's overweight and wants to lose some pounds. Also,

there's a six year old in him who thinks they will get attention if

they refuse to eat. Rather like holding their breath until they get

what they want. But after not eating for eight hours, he's right out

to lunch.

While at supper with him last night, his wife, frustrated, said

something that slighted him in some way. He had his dinner piled on

his plate, but after the imagined insult, he said maybe the dog

would eat it because he was no longer hungry. Fortunately I

convinced him to eat some, and it changed him very quickly, after

his being fouled up all day.

I think this disease, at least in my dad's case, removes the

judgement that says, " I'm an adult and can't get attention this

way. "

Today, I thought that maybe Ensure could be a solution for his not

eating, especially if we were to blend some frozen strawberries in

it. Later I thought maybe Carnation Instant Breakfast could work as

well, could be tastier and just as nutritious. So his wife is going

to try that, with some berries blended in to make it tastier. She

often kept cakes and pies around for that purpose, so he'd eat

SOMETHING, but this would certainly be better for him. She's going

to tell him it's diet drinks, to make him more likely to drink them.

Anybody else having problems making them eat? Do they appear

extrememly altered when they go without food? My dad really goes off

when he hasn't eaten, and if he thinks he's been slighted or

insulted, it takes one hell of a lot of begging on my part to make

him eat anything.

KD

[Guest guest]

Hi KD, Sometimes mum has missed a meal but generally she looks

forward to them and her appetite is still pretty good, although she

is eating smaller portions.

However, on the occasions where she has missed a meal (and

consequently her meds get messed up as they must be taken with food)

she has been altered. It seems to set off a chain reaction of bad

times, she is out of sorts, her voices are worse, she is upset beyond

all reason and you cannot get through to her. Sometimes the affect

will last for a couple of days, because she is not sleeping properly

either as a result of the voices, which get worse when she doesn't

eat. It is a viscious cycle that only seems to abate after she has a

meal and then crashes from exhaustion and then is refreshed and we

start again.

Anything you can do to get nutrition to your dad will do him good. If

he likes yogourt, you can lace that with honey, fruit, even granola

and that will add calories and nutrition. Funny as it sounds, mum is

trying foods she would never have tried before, as if it is a great

discovery. Maybe a change from his regular diet may spur his

appetite. Anything is worth a try.

Best of luck,

.

[Guest guest]

kdorsey920 wrote:

> Anybody else having problems making them eat? Do they appear

> extrememly altered when they go without food? My dad really goes off

> when he hasn't eaten, and if he thinks he's been slighted or

> insulted, it takes one hell of a lot of begging on my part to make

> him eat anything.

>

> KD

We haven't had problems making my dad eat, but if left on his own, he

forgets to eat. And then, yes, he gets extremely confused and out of

it. He would also then forget to take his meds. Both combined made him

dangerous to himself (falling increased a lot then). We got some Ensure

for him, but he would only drink it if reminded. Forgetting to eat was

a MAJOR change for my dad. He wasn't overweight before, but he had a

major sweet tooth and was always nibbling on stuff.

He is now in an asst living residence and the regular meals and meds

have made a world of difference.

[Guest guest]

At 05:18 PM 10/20/2004, you wrote:

>My dad lately has been refusing to eat at times. Sometimes he'll eat

>breakfast, but refuse to eat lunch, which leads to him being VERY

>fouled up by dinnertime. I know that some people have posted that

>they do this toward the end, but in my dad's case, I think it's

>largely because he's overweight and wants to lose some pounds. Also,

>there's a six year old in him who thinks they will get attention if

>they refuse to eat. Rather like holding their breath until they get

>what they want. But after not eating for eight hours, he's right out

>to lunch.

My mother unfortunately not only refuses to eat for reasons which

I can't really explain, but she also suffers from one of the Exelon side

effects of appetite loss. That's the major reason why I have to regulate

her pills because she cannot go without food. She's a diabetic, and has to

have regular meals because of her insulin.

I try to kid her into it, I lie to her, I feed her, I tell her

just one more bite, and then distract her until she forgets she's already

taken the bite, and is willing to take another. I've had to dig napkins

filled with chewed up food out of her pocket, I've had food spit at me,

I've had to get tough with her, and occasionally I've gotten angry enough

to push the food into her mouth and hold it shut until she chews and

swallows. I've even had to let her go without insulin because I can't

ensure that she won't have a reaction based on what little she's eaten.

Fortunately she does love Glucerna (Ensure for diabetics) and I

can give her that for nutrition at least, but that doesn't seem to make a

difference with the blood glucose, and it sure doesn't help the nausea that

can occur when you take Exelon and haven't eaten enough.

Glucerna offers a weightloss shake. If you feel your father is

trying to lose weight, why not give him one of these and tell him they're

for weightloss? At least you know he'll get his nutrition. And then, I'd

suggest that you pretend to read to him from the side of the box that it

has to be supplemented with certain other foods for optimal safe

weightloss. You might even pretend to have gone to the Glucerna

weightloss website and printed out some dietary instructions about what

should be eaten to properly supplement the Glucerna, etc. Maybe if he felt

involved in the program he might try to eat more?

dargie