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Great suggestions from everyone!
Carol
My mother is 96 and a dementia patient. When she's stopped up, I brew a strong cup of chamomile tea with honey and get her to drink while it's hot. Works every time for her. I learned this from a nurse's aide who said even hot water can do the trick. Another suggestion from nurses and aides is to heat up prune juice.
Have you thought about getting hospice involved at this point? They can be a big help and the stage of his dementia may allow him to qualify.
Blessings to you both on this challenging journey.
Something else that may help him move things along is daily MiraLax in his juice. MiraLax is a gentle laxative recommended by doctors. It helps many people stay regular enough.
Even in people who are quite old w advanced dementia, it's generally good to aim for a comfy BM every 1-2 days, to prevent belly pain and agitation. Agree w Gigi11 above: there are many different things that contribute to constipation and fiber may not be the best solution.
Fiber tends to be great for young and middle-aged adults, but if you don't drink enough water and if your bowels have slowed for other reasons (older age and medications both cause this), the fiber can just sit in the intestine and practically turn into concrete.
Prunes work in part because they contain sugars that draw more water into the intestine. This makes the stool softer and easier to pass, and this is how Miralax works too.
Then there are bowel stimulants, like senna and bisacodyl. You can get these over-the-counter.
I find that many of my older patients do well with a little daily senna, +/- prunes or generic miralax. You have to do a little trial and error and find out what works for your father; if a little more dairy does the trick, then that's fine too. It's possible that more fiber is what he needs but since many older people tend to not drink a lot, I would be careful about ramping up the fiber unless you are using prunes or miralax as well.
Good luck!
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