Mom is not eating. I know we can’t force her to eat, but any other suggestions?

My mother disliked Ensure, but Ensure makes a juice-box like product called Ensure clear which she enjoyed. Hot chocolate was also well tolerated. My dad went through a rough stretch and the only thing he consumed was orange soda pop (for about 3 to 4 weeks. He improved and finally was able to eat again and lived another year and a half. Sometimes other problems can be at play. Your mom should be checked for thrush. With thrush, it can be hard to swallow, and foods don't taste good.

If it started with the meds, I'd talk to doc about getting her off meds - or try another med. My mom had meds that made her not eat - they were memory pills - so was easy to just stop them. then doc put her on something else. Meds can cause many issues - especially with older folks. Anesthesia/pain meds/muscle relaxers can have major dementia type of side effects and with my mom - the side effects lasted for 3 wks after we stopped the meds (only took meds 4 days)….remember stomach shrinks when you don't eat....so going back to eating is a slow process. Also agree with others on something sweet and anything she loves - whether healthy or not. I had heard just sprinkling sugar over food can help. Best of luck!

When a person's body is shutting down, they lose the desire to eat. Hospice said to give my husband whatever he wanted and if he didn't want to eat, not to force him to eat. A dying body doesn't need food. I was told that "not eating" is harder on the people who love him than it is on the person himself. Sometimes we try to keep people alive when their body is trying to let them die. It has taken me a long time to understand this, but now I let my husband eat whatever he wants to eat or to not eat anything when he doesn't feel like eating. Is he losing weight? Yes, but he is happy and I want him to be happy.

I cannot say whether she is at EOL stage since I am not a medical professional. Some suggestions would be blended foods, yogurt, mashed banana, pudding, et al.

You don't say how old your Mom is or if she has any other issues, like dementia, that you are dealing with as well. But,....yes....this could be the "end of life" decision on her part. My MIL, tho she was 89, finally did the same thing, tho she would clench her lips together so that we couldn't put any food in her mouth. So, if Mom is not at that point, I would look elsewhere.

It could be that she just hurts! Or she's just tired of the whole mess. If she's younger than 65, she probably might be suffering depression at this point. These are things that you can look into with her doctor.

If she's not feeling well, Mom won't eat. You don't feel like eating when you don't feel good, do you? I would bet my money on depression for now.

I just went through this and it looks like it is the end of life. My mother just died 3/2/19.

My Mom went through this. She stopped eating. She was on hospice care and only ate a little ice cream every day and drank a little bit. She lasted 5 1/2 weeks. She died on 1/12/19. She was 92 1/2. It is hard for me to day this. I miss her terribly.

It is usually an end of life issue. You can get a product called kefir, She only needs 3 table spoons 2 times a day. It helps with stomach problems due to meds. It might help.
I wish you well

I had/have the same issue with my Father who is 91. What I do is use a baby grinder to grind the foods that I know he loves. I then started with very small portions - maybe just a couple tablespoons at a time, in little pretty bowls. I would distract him while I fed him. I stopped when he wanted and then made sure he had nutritional fluids to sip on during the day. We joked about my feeding him, all the while telling him it was to help grow his stomache. I would tell him how much I love him and need him, and how proud I am when he puts on even one pound. He currently weighs 115 lbs...but was down to 105 Lbs in November. He feeds himself now but I still have to remind him occasionally that it is meal time. I hope this helps!! One word of warning, bullying or pushing them to eat only makes it harder on them. Distraction, love, making it fun goes a LONG ways towards growing their stomache so they desire food again.

It sounds as if she not only can't handle eating, her system is shutting down towards the end. Be kind to her and give her as much love as you can but do not try to force her to do anything - she is too weak physically as well. Make her days peaceful and prepare yourself. Good luck.

People do stop eating at the end of their life. It's hard to say if this is what is happening. I had a person in his 30's dying from cancer. I would make "milkshakes" with protein powder, frozen fruit and heavy cream. This kept his weight up which contributed to quality of life. We are naturally attracted to fat, sugar and salt. Try to find something she will eat--anything. If she will eat candy, then candy it is. M&M's seem particularly irresistible to elders with dementia. The parathyroid glands are responsible for how the body uses calcium. Problems with the glands can cause wide spread but vague misery. I'm shocked that a surgeon couldn't find them??I'll give him a clue. There are four of them located on the back side of the thyroid gland --duh! And yes I have seen them, etc in my work with animals.

Dear golden 23, Yes I know that parathyroid glands can be located higher in the neck or down into the upper chest. An experienced surgeon (defined as having performing at least 50 of this procedure) will find all four of the glands. This is the reason for my criticism. Bottom line: if you are having any surgery, you want a surgeon who has done the procedure many times before she gets to you!

Treats, feed her fun food.. Milkshakes is one of them, I AGREE !!

TAke milkshake and put half of ensure in it whatever she wants.

Whey protein powder, fruit, ice, milk.. What ever sounds good to your mom is the way to go.

How about her favorite shake from her favorite fastfood place? What did you and mom do before all this happened? Reminisce.

Play her favorite music, and hold her hand and dance, dance like nobody is watching or listening. Let her sing if she can and wants to. Make it happy when you see her. And be happy when you give her her favorite shakes and things.

Hot fudge sundaes? Leave off the nuts. Banana splits?

Has she had a swallowing test done? Does it hurt her to swallow? I am probably way off track, usually am, but trying to think outside the box...

You know your mom, maybe you are right, maybe she is just tired, and she doesn't want to go through anymore surgeries, etc. spend quality time with her, and make it as fun as you possibly can.

Is there another type of med she can take, maybe a different dose? Maybe a different pharmacy? Or another combination of one?