Hi my mom is 87 and has dementia. She does not drink much and does not eat fruits. She has been having serious constipation. Her doctor has recommended giving her milk of magnesia, but this works sometimes and mostly not. Tom
We give my FIL a small bowl of oatmeal every morning with his breakfast (3/4 c oatmeal, 1 egg, 1 slice bread and butter and jelly, applesauce or mandarine orange slices, apple or orange juice and decaf coffee). We tried switching it up with other hot cereals just for variety and he immediately had constipation issues. So, we went back to oatmeal every day.
We leave a glass of water, a small glass of juice, and a cup of decaf coffee on the table next to where he sits during the day. He regularly sips the coffee all day and sometimes sips from the water and juice. He does drink about half a glass of water to get his medications down in the am and pm. It works for now.
Apple sauce is a gentle and natural laxative...also prunes and keep away from bananas as well as too many veges like spinach that are high in iron....also too much potassium will cause constipation which is the reason to stay away from bananas..
I would definitely check with her doctor. My mother was having the same problem and before I started being her sole caregiver, I found out she was abusing laxatives.
The problem my mom has is that she can't understand the correlation between eating and pooping. She eats very little, but still believes she needs to poop every day.
Miralax worked for my mom, but she doesn't take it all the time.
Her doc said she could take it daily and to up her fluid intake. I gave my mom a measured container and a quota per day. It can be water, juice, milk whatever. However, she says she drinks a lot more, but I have no way of knowing for sure.
Chewables can be problematic for older people because if dental issues, so consider that when choosing options
My mom had problems with constipation all the time. However, even though she didn't eat much she thought she had to have a BM every day. If she went 2 days without one, she would take a laxative. Before she stopped driving, I discovered she was taking way too many laxatives- like every week.
I finally got her off the laxatives and started Miralax. Even though the prescribed amount is no more than 7 days, her dr said she could take it every day as long as she was drinking enough fluids.
Because my mom's weight has dropped significantly in the past year (weighs 107 lbs now), she wants to try and gain weight and she thinks drinking a lot of whole milk will do that. This is probably adding to the constipation issue.
Mom, like most elderly, has dental issues that keep her from eating anything that isn't soft.
The Miralax works fine for my Mom - when she takes it. The problem I'm having now is she has stopped taking any of her meds - including the Miralax. I can't figure out if it's through forgetfulness or she chooses not to. I placed a large sign on her fridge that reads "Take Your Medicine". Verbal reminders have not worked as she will fib to me she has taken them.
I add Miralax to Mom's coffee every morning. Occasionally she used to still have a hard time and I would give her one Senna. Now that we do the Miralax every morning, she has not had to have Senna in a long time.
A fresh organic fuji apple a day will do it. Regular apples have a lot of pesticides. And yes, if she would eat a fruit cobbler, like peach, or pie. Oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal for breakfast. Plenty of water.
My husband has PK and it was assumed he would have issues with constipation but never has. I read somewhere that a daily supplement of magnesium helps avoid constipation, has worked for the past 2 years. He also gets fruit with every meal and dry shredded wheat for breakfast and snacks.
prunes and grapes work wonderfully for my grandma. She's on two fiber cons a day too but those prunes and grapes. She has prunes for breakfast, grapes for afternoon snack and right before dinner she always poops. She's on iron pills too which cause constipation and the prunes still work wonders.
There are as many ways to manage constipation as there are people suffering. You just have to find the right treatment for each person. oe thing to be very aware of the tendency to leak liquid stool round a big hard lump of poop. Someone mentioned skid marks on the underwear and this could be the cause.
hi plz add okra, spinach and celery in her meal. Try to make all kind of vegetable's soup ,blender and give her. my mom also has dementia she is 90 I feed her like a 4,5 years old baby.she doesn't speak with me. she is my lovely baby .
The power pudding recipe is very similar to one which I have had great success using. Blend pitted prunes with applesauce in a food processor. Its actually quite tasty, does not look or taste like fruit, rather a sweet dessert like pudding. Its quite effective.
I suggest you go to Walgreen's Pharmacy and buy their brand of stool softener with Dulcosate. One pill after supper with a little bit of water works wonders - problems will be solved. Good luck.
Steamed brown rice or steamed super soft plain vegetables. Or get some low sodium broth from the store, add riced cauliflower or brown rice to make a delicious and high fiber soup. Sliced or cubed seedless cucumber or watermelon chunks. A few pitted prunes for breakfast.
Water. Definitely more water. I've struggled on and off with constipation for years, one thing you want to be very wary of is eating too much of the dry foods that absorb all of your bodily fluids. Some of those dry foods include any kind of chips, dried fruit, bread, cookies, and crackers. Be very wary of eating too much of these kinds of foods and not drinking enough water, it'll cause constipation. You can't just ate a bunch of dried food and not drink any water. It's actually best to drink more than you eat. That way, your body will function better.
I should mention the part about laxatives that someone mentioned here. I found that as we get older we may tend to have seepage from our anal cavity's even though we don't have anymore to expel. I used to wonder why the mother of a friend of mine would have skidmarks in her panties when you saw them in the bathroom, and I think I now understand why. Sometimes when we get done and go to wipe we have globs oozing out of us even when we're done. I found an occasional laxative to clean everything out and you're very beneficial because then I can use less paper, it'll definitely will go much further after a rare round with a laxative. Sometimes it's good to just go ahead and clean out the plumbing because there are multiple benefits including being able to comfortably eat a full meal again without feeling bloated
The post may be 2 years old but the problem is REALLY OLD. I hesitate to advise anyone to resort to laxatives unless the physician recommends it. Or a pharmacist might recommend a certain laxative based on what other medications are taken on a routine basis. Better to use the trial and error based on those high fiber foods that work for HER. It is NEVER good to routinely use a laxative no matter how old.
Well, you just shot down my first idea of prune juice, watermelon and pears! She does not drink much or eat fruits!! Milk of Magnesia is just plain horrible tasting, to me, anyway. My suggestion is to go online and print off a list of those foods that are highest in fiber, then through trial and error, see which of those foods she WILL eat. Also, print off a list of those foods that are obviously constipating, such as cheese, and eliminate those foods from tbe house. Who does the grocery shopping?
From my experience the best remedy is MORE fluids, whether it is juice, milk, soda or water. Without adequate fluids, normal BMs are difficult and fiber makes constipation worse if there are not plenty of fluids.
Squash also helps. I think because they contain a lot of water.
We're dealing with this now with my aunt in her nineties. Her doctor recommends more fiber in her diet, Miralax every day, and Milk of Magnesia or Magnesium (?) as needed. We were using Ex Lax but it is too harsh for her. Started the Miralax today so we'll see how that goes.
If she's not hydrated enough I don't think there's much you can do. Particularly if she's taking medications like opioids that slow down bodily functions. Oats and honey cereals with plenty of milk work for me.
In any case, call her dietitian / nutritionist for tips. Good luck my friend.
At 80 years old I eat 3 prunes soaked in prune juice every morning with breakfast. I also drinkthe juice after eating the prunes. Works great. Have your Mom 'sit' for a longer period while trying to have a BM. Tell her to coax her bowl muscles to start in motion by giving slight pushes about every 20 seconds. This will start a natural BM in her system. It will take about 3-5 coaxing pushes but, it takes a bit longer but, time will help. We are just a bit slower as we age so, coaxing is the way to go. I get a lot of crossword puzzles done at those times. Ag
As we are all individual and because the others don't work as well for Mum I thought I would throw in my 2 pen north. I find Mums meds had a lot to do with her constipation and now they are sorted out we have less trouble. If it does start to loom though I find cauliflower and sprouts are great for sorting her digestion out.
We leave a glass of water, a small glass of juice, and a cup of decaf coffee on the table next to where he sits during the day. He regularly sips the coffee all day and sometimes sips from the water and juice. He does drink about half a glass of water to get his medications down in the am and pm. It works for now.
The problem my mom has is that she can't understand the correlation between eating and pooping. She eats very little, but still believes she needs to poop every day.
Miralax worked for my mom, but she doesn't take it all the time.
Her doc said she could take it daily and to up her fluid intake. I gave my mom a measured container and a quota per day. It can be water, juice, milk whatever. However, she says she drinks a lot more, but I have no way of knowing for sure.
Chewables can be problematic for older people because if dental issues, so consider that when choosing options
I finally got her off the laxatives and started Miralax. Even though the prescribed amount is no more than 7 days, her dr said she could take it every day as long as she was drinking enough fluids.
Because my mom's weight has dropped significantly in the past year (weighs 107 lbs now), she wants to try and gain weight and she thinks drinking a lot of whole milk will do that. This is probably adding to the constipation issue.
Mom, like most elderly, has dental issues that keep her from eating anything that isn't soft.
The Miralax works fine for my Mom - when she takes it. The problem I'm having now is she has stopped taking any of her meds - including the Miralax. I can't figure out if it's through forgetfulness or she chooses not to. I placed a large sign on her fridge that reads "Take Your Medicine". Verbal reminders have not worked as she will fib to me she has taken them.
oe thing to be very aware of the tendency to leak liquid stool round a big hard lump of poop. Someone mentioned skid marks on the underwear and this could be the cause.
plz add okra, spinach
and celery in her meal. Try to make all kind of vegetable's soup ,blender and give her. my mom also has dementia she is 90 I feed her like a 4,5 years old baby.she doesn't speak with me. she is my lovely baby .
I should mention the part about laxatives that someone mentioned here. I found that as we get older we may tend to have seepage from our anal cavity's even though we don't have anymore to expel. I used to wonder why the mother of a friend of mine would have skidmarks in her panties when you saw them in the bathroom, and I think I now understand why. Sometimes when we get done and go to wipe we have globs oozing out of us even when we're done. I found an occasional laxative to clean everything out and you're very beneficial because then I can use less paper, it'll definitely will go much further after a rare round with a laxative. Sometimes it's good to just go ahead and clean out the plumbing because there are multiple benefits including being able to comfortably eat a full meal again without feeling bloated
I hesitate to advise anyone to resort to laxatives unless the physician recommends it. Or a pharmacist might recommend a certain laxative based on what other medications are taken on a routine basis. Better to use the trial and error based on those high fiber foods that work for HER.
It is NEVER good to routinely use a laxative no matter how old.
Milk of Magnesia is just plain horrible tasting, to me, anyway. My suggestion is to go online and print off a list of those foods that are highest in fiber, then through trial and error, see which of those foods she WILL eat.
Also, print off a list of those foods that are obviously constipating, such as cheese, and eliminate those foods from tbe house.
Who does the grocery shopping?
Squash also helps. I think because they contain a lot of water.
In any case, call her dietitian / nutritionist for tips. Good luck my friend.