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Each day mom is taken to her choice of restaurant for lunch. Prevoiusly she would eat 5 nuggets and a few fries. Yesterday the caregiver said mom was still hungry. She actually ate 10 nuggets, a broccoli and cheese baked potatoe and a small fry. She ate it ALL. In the last week she has been starving. After eating at 7 am cereal, which has satisfied her previously, she is starved at 10 asking to go to Wendy's. When I arrive at 5 with dinner, it is all I can to do to keep mom from yanking things to eat. I purchased fiber bars and yogurt and requested that mom be given a snack at 10 and 3. When the caregiver arrived this morning, mom was at the table and had eaten 2 of the bars. Keep in mind she had just had cereal.

I googled this and found that this is a symptom of frontal lobe dementia.

Has anyone experience this and do you have a solution?

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The solution is meds to control it. Ask the MD. In medicine, polyphagia (sometimes known as hyperphagia) is a medical sign meaning excessive hunger and abnormally large intake of solids by mouth. It can be caused by disorders such as diabetes, Kleine–Levin syndrome (a malfunction in the hypothalamus), and the genetic disorders Prader–Willi syndrome and Bardet–Biedl syndrome
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Interesting thread. I wonder if this is why my 101 year old mother with dementia and a 20 year history of anorexia is, the last two weeks - eating, and hungry. Something has changed and it is not because the NH serves gourmet irresistible food. (Mom wouldn't even eat at our homes when we cooked her favorite means.)
She has never been hungry, and historically has freaked out every single time she is served food, commenting she can never eat all that, pushes it around her plate, eats two bites and hid the rest in her purse. She was down to 80 pounds and is now eating. Too strange not to have a physiological reason.
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Is she on a new medication? Some can make you feel hungry - antidepressants . Acid reflux can give one the sense of hunger as well. Maybe an acid reducer would help.
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My mom was like that for a long time. We managed it by keeping a steady supply & mix of healthy & not-so-healthy snacks. When we were with her, in addition to 3 meals a day she had something small to eat every 2 hours. We kept them out of her sight and reach. If she was "starving" at other times, we just distracted her or gave her a small glass of milk to tide her over. For night times when she was alone, we left out a small supply for her grazing hours.
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Jack, have you considered taking her to restaurants that aren't fast food and don't offer junk food like the nuggets and fries? She's really not getting much nutrition, and fries certainly aren't healthy.

That's a suggestion, not a criticism.

Surprisingly enough, salads with spinach, a blend of veggies and perhaps some meat can be filling and provide energy. (Don't worry about getting Popeye muscles, though.)
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