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My husband has alzheimers and just want to know if it is normal for the weight lose

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Many do as the disease progresses. Some of that is from eating problems, but sometimes the disease itself causing a kind of wasting. Check with the doctor if the weight loss is extreme.
Take care,
Carol
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My husband was diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's three years ago and is slow to progress. He has lost 25 lbs since he started memory medications. I read that the medications have an appetite depressant effect. He is on Namenda and the Exelon patch. I have asked his geriatrician about appetite enhancers but she declined to prescribe anything to stimulate his appetite and instead recommended that he drink an Ensure-type drink once or twice a day but he often resists. He only wants to eat tiny portions at meal time. His loss in weight also means loss of muscle mass and I am concerned but have no answers on how to stop the weight loss or prevent it.
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Normal is pretty much a thing of the past for people with dementia. It is common though, for them to lose weight. The meds can contribute, but there are other factors. They forget to eat, or forget to finish their meals. Their sense of smell diminishes a lot, so food doesn't have any smell or taste. They slowly lose their ability to manipulate eating utensils with predictable results. They also start to lose their skill with chewing too. And as they lose weight their dentures no longer fit well, making it even more difficlut. And many get depressed and merely lose interest in eating. Mr father's doctor ordered Magase fo Dad , and it worked great. For awhile. Because eventually Dad lost his ability to swallow. And it doesn't matter how much he wants to eat , it he can't swallow the food.
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To continue with my previous post: We addressed each problem as it presented itself. We fixed more of his favoite foods. We stopped worrying about nutrition and let him eat all the donuts he wanted. (without smell the only tastes they sense are sweet and salty) , cut up his foods for him, and helped him eat , more and more, until he was totally being fed. We changed to softer foods, and had the dentist come in to adjust his dentures. Eventually switched to pureed foods....In the end......well you just get to the end. It's not a battle you can win in the long run.
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Normal is pretty much a thing of the past for people with dementia. It is common though, for them to lose weight. The meds can contribute, but there are other factors. They forget to eat, or forget to finish their meals. Their sense of smell diminishes a lot, so food doesn't have any smell or taste. They slowly lose their ability to manipulate eating utensils with predictable results. They also start to lose their skill with chewing too. And as they lose weight their dentures no longer fit well, making it even more difficlut. And many get depressed and merely lose interest in eating. Mr father's doctor ordered Magase fo Dad , and it worked great. For awhile. Because eventually Dad lost his ability to swallow. And it doesn't matter how much he wants to eat , it he can't swallow the food.
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My husband has both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia though is doing quite well in this moment. He has a diminished appetite and can be a bit defensive when I try to encourage him to eat more and better. I have taken to serving him rather than have him do it...since I noticed he tends to put much less on his plate than I would for him. This indirect approach seems to work better. I am trying hard to be sure he gets enough protein and veggies in addition to ice cream which he's seems to crave. The most challenging thing for me is to be indirect...not my current strength...yet I know it's important not to confront him. That doesn't support our relationship or actually solve the problem. So much learning...he's definitely my teacher?..in a good way.
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My husband has lost about 40 lbs. since the ALZ started. He has had every test and nothing is physically wrong. Doctor says it is due to the dementia. His diet consists mostly of donuts and soda. He hates water and will only drink a small amount to take a pill. Tried ensure and boost but he hates them and refuses to drink them.It has only been three years since this all started but he has just changed completly. He stopped taking the Namenda on his own, doctor said why argue it doesn't help that much anyway. This won't help you much but at least you will know that you are not alone. Good Luck and keep coming back as these people have some good advice and are very caring.
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Mom was diagnosed with dementia while in a NH for rehab for a shoulder replacement in 7/2015. By 8/3/15 she was labeled with dementia. Since then, she's been hospitalized for dehydration and a UTI [Labor Day weekend]. On Friday [10/9/15] she was back on an IV for fluids. This time, they found a vein and it took about 3 hours to insert the needle and get the machine set up [kept beeping]. She's lost 16 lbs. She was supposed to have been put on the appetite stimulant pill back in 8/3/15 - but that was Nameda and Remeron. Now she;'s on yucky pureed foods that she can't even reach, and won't eat when spoon fed. i bring her Ensure, puddings, yogurt - anything i can think of [and add a bit of whey protein to each item - it's flavorless]. But today they called and want to take her off PT - she can't even get out of bed herself - can't even pull up her covers. Diarrhea has hit so hard, she cries in pain - but they tell her to go in her briefs. Sorry - i really feel the NH is VERY contributory to her present state. It took me 10 days just to get the nursing staff and doc to look better at mom and see what was going on - i could see her lips peeling and she stopped talking. A week prior, she was her normal self - she still teased people and had them laughing. Something is happening there and i don't know what to do. She tried to unbutton her blouse - with both hands {!!!! yay !!!]j but the aid slapped her hands away because "it was taking too long". Aren't aids and PT or nursing more coordinated than that? Oftentimes the aides "slam dunk" her back in bed right on her surgical shoulder. They had mom afraid to say anything - so i rearranged the furniture so that they could only get her in from the other side of the bed, where mom would 'land' on her right shoulder. She's VERY afraid of falling - and the rough treatment is definitely not helping. Can they really discharge her from the PT program when she cannot get out of bed? She is ambulatory --- with her weight loss, yes she's weak, but she eats only what i bring in. The food truly is awful. i even tried dressing the pureed yams up with whipped cream and told her to think of it as pumpkin pie. Oh my --- what can i do? The social worker truly is "worthless" or uninterested in helping "residents" entrusted to them. If she can get out of bed on her own, i am confident i can bring her home --- should i try to find another facility for Rehab -- if so, how do i go about it, FAST? Oh thank you .... everything is happening so very very fast! Blessings.... gotta go now, i just got a call that they want to discharge her -- and yet was on an IV all weekend, and just put on the megase for appetite.... thank you so very much....
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It s funny. My mom is 94 and has at Alzheimer's for several years. She is pretty much sedentary. But boy does she have a great appetite. She has actually out on weight and we have to make sure she certainly eats but monitor what she eats, because of the gain. My husband, who also has alzhiemers ... Has a great apetitie but I notice that his tastes have changed. Things he used to love are now distasful to him. I suppose everyone is different.
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The weight loss is part of the deterioration going on in his brain with dying cells. Try to keep him hydrated and fed as much as you possibly can, and even if he says he is not hungry, put food in front of him.
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Oops, Sorry about the duplicate post above. Hopefully the moderator will remove the second one.
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Cricket...if it was me, let them discharge her and report them to the state regulatory agency and maybe the newspaper, how horrible. For the OP, I have recently been getting this meal replacement powder called cornerstone..a doc or nutritionist has to order it....but it comes in flavors...including unflavored. Has complete nutrition, not just protien powder. Been using it to make milkshakes with some success. There are some pretty good recipies for these (for variety sake) if you google bariatric surgery protein shake recipies. ...I realize its a diff. Issue but the shakes are flavorful..other options for variety are bariatric fusion meal replacement. These are on amazon. A fruit flavor or ice tea flavor /(lots of options) that is whey protein, not meal replacement, is syntax nectar....they sell a sample pack for like 20.00 so its possible to sample different flavors before buying a whole lot of one. Sometimes having a glass of "lemonaide" works over here. Plus, its fluid. Wish you the best
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My sister has had Alzheimers for three years -- she weighed about 140 lbs & now weighs. 90 lbs .I myself think partly the Alzheimers pill & partly my sister would think she ate .She would smoke more the eat which was not good,
I now have her in a nursinghome & she eats properly but has gained no more then 5 lbs. & does not smoke.any longer.
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Dear Crickett,
Im sorry to hear about all that you and your mom are having to suffer through right now. It sounds like such a multilayered situation. And that is exactly the problem...the many problems that you cant just fix all at once. Id like to make a couple of suggestions that may help you get through the next couple of days.
1) Breathe...just sit down in your place and breathe. Get some sleep.
2) This is not your fault. Remind yourself that you cannot change every problem... and it may not all be changable.
3) Make a short concise list of each specific problem to get a clearer perspective on what you are deali g with.
4) Over the next few days, sort and refine your list. Recognize what you can and cannot change. Prioritize by urgency and importance. Decide what YOU can do something about.
5). Take time to breathe and calm yourself. Take your calmness to your mother and just breathe together.
6) Tackle thst list one problem at a time...just keep breathing and resting.
7). Visit your mom as often as you can and tell her that you love her.
8) Share your peacefulness with your mom. When your mom feels the calm..she will also start to do better.
Take care of yourself.
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My father is never hungry if you ask him, but when we eat together, he has a tremendous appetite.
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The answer is yes. But I wish that would be the only symptom. A friend with Alz just had that blank stare.
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Cricket, are they trying to discharge her from the nh or just the pt program?
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