Mom has alzhiemers and she eats really good. Why is she losing weight?

Yes she needs a complete work up. Also, how much is she losing? Muscle loss can cause weight loss in the elderly.

I found 2 vanilla drink powders that are high calories at Walmart. Forgot what they were called but just look under weight gain. Of course don’t overdo it.

Ensure protein shakes helped my husband.

Ask the doctor or a specialist to check her general digestive health to verify that she is digesting her food properly and that there is no disease condition. If there is a disease you need to weigh the benefits of treatment vs. just letting her be comfortable and not putting her through invasive procedures.

Tarema: She needs to see her primary care physician and possibly a nutritionist.

Perhaps she has another illness like cancer. Has she had a CT scan and/or MRI /X-ray. Have you discussed this possibility with her doctor?

If her weight loss is too concerning, time to stop “healthy eating”. Papa’s Doctor told us all calories are good calories when weight is needed. So as someone else mentioned, a fast food meal is a great choice to bump up the calories. Sweets are craved as we age by a lot of people, go for it! Anything to gain weight.

As RedVanAnnie said, there can be nutrition absorption issues. My MIL had vascular dementia and her digestion system got where she wasn't absorbing any nutrition. She began losing weight fast while she was still eating quite heavily.

With dementia, their appetite does decrease. My mom is down to 103 lbs. Her normal weight is around 135. I blame it on a couple of things. The food at the Medicaid accepting Memory Care is awful. Mom also doesn't really know how to navigate a plate of food anymore. Not sure how to hold a sandwich, can't use cutlery, etc. So they place a plate of crappy food in front of them and if they eat it, great and if they don't...oh well. Secondly, I feel moms appetite is not what it was...but that could be related to what I mentioned above. All I know is if I stop at McDonalds and bring her a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake, she eats every bite with me handing her the food. I know that is not a healthy meal, but it is high in calories which was my goal in giving it to her. Unfortunately, I work full time and live a half hour away, so I can't bring her meals and feed her on a regular basis.

If your mom is up all night, ask her doctor if there is something she can take for the late night anxiety.

Maybe she is not metabolizing her food efficiently. Intestinal problems can cause malabsorbtion and result in weight loss even with what seems to be normal food intake.

Digestive enzymes may also diminish with age and lead to inefficient processing of food. Ask her doctor about testing for enzyme levels. Supplements can be prescribed if there is enzyme deficiency.

The human body is truly amazing.

My MIL has not eaten more than 400 calories per day in 8+ months. She drinks about 32 ounces of fluid--coffee, Boost and Diet Coke.

I think she's lost about 30 lbs, but she had it to lose, so to speak. Her weight is now stable on that diet.

Her Nurse is not concerned at all. A little befuddled, but not concerned.

She has mild dementia and doesn't remember that she ate or didn't. At first, everyone was panicky about that, now that they see she's not starving to death, it's become a non-issue.

I went through almost a year of cancer treatments, felt lousy the entire time and did not lose one pound! I could barely swallow, with the chemo blisters in my mouth--and I know I ate less than 1000 calories a day.

NOT A POUND!

Life is really crazy, sometimes.

Women especially have been conditioned to plan meals that are low calorie, you may need to rethink everything you ever learned about a proper diet plan. I'd start with an in depth analysis of her daily calorie intake, eating tons of low calorie foods plus expending a lot of energy can still result in a calorie deficit.

I am wondering, if there is excellent dietary intake, what might be being missed here. Some cancers can remain occult (hidden) and lead to wasting. Ask the doc for a good physical. The wandering is unlikely in my humble opinion to cause a whole lot of change in weight. This is for the medical system to follow up on. Best of luck. Every medical thing begins as a mystery, so look on yourself as a detective.