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My mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's 9 yrs ago and she started losing wt. immediately at the 1st symptoms of PD. She went from 175 to 130 in several yrs. Every time I would go see her I could tell she had lost more wt. even though she was eating. Just a little over a yr. ago she became confused & hallucinating. We had to put her in an assisted living facility when she wandered off from the house. She continues to eat well and she continues to lose wt. She is down to 96 lbs and looks pitiful. I can feel and see every bone in her body. Her legs are so tiny. I can't believe that just in a few yrs. she went from a fully functioning adult to this dementia with Parkinson's and has lost this much wt. The Drs. she has seen haven't said a thing about her wt. loss until I kept asking questions. 1 Dr. said she could give her appetite stimulate but her body just isn't absorbing what she eats. She's just going to keep losing until she can't go on.
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My Mom's Doctor has stared her on one ensure a day mixed with a scoop of ice cream and a little ice, she loves it. I have one of those little mini blenders you get at Walmart or Target and it works great. She is down 4 pounds from last month so I'm hoping this will help. She just eats such a small amount of food, I have to sit and feed her most of the time to get a decent amount in her,
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My mom continues to lose weight. I warm ensure for her breakfast "coffee" and freeze it for her dessert. She has gone from 155 lbs to 105 when she was weighed at the Dr. last month. She only takes a few bites of food at each meal and I try to get her to eat snacks between meals. She says she is full after a few bites and can't eat anymore. She is on an appetite stimulant 2x daily. However getting her to take meds is becoming a problem. She had an endoscopy done to see if there was an obstruction, but nothing was found. She continues to eat very small amounts and lose weight.
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Sunnygirl my mom did the same thing this past year. Ate well, was wheelchair mobile but unlike your cousin she had dementia issues for 15 years and was 94. She passed away in Aug after steadily loosing weight for several months while still eating well. She went from the 105 she has held steady at for several years to 73 over about 5 months. And yrs they did add protein drinks to her diet.
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My husband has dementia and has 3 strokes nd he has the same problem he eats he takes all kind of vitamins nd he is so skinny that I can see his ribs and I can also see where his pace maker is. I can see the outline of it...He is nothing but skin and bones. He has no control over his bowels anymore He is sooo very skinny and cant keep his balance when he walks...I bring him home on the weekends and it takes myself and my daughter to take care of him.. It is very sad..We have been married for 51 years... I just don't know how much more he can take....Darlene Robinson
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yes, small bites and NO couscous or rice- or anyother tiny stuff like that , that can be inhaled
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It is apparent to me that weight loss is infact part of the progression with Dementia. My mom has lost 30+ lbs in the past year and recently lost 6 in 2 weeks. She has never been a big eater, but we make sure she is eating 3 meals plus snacks, plus boost/ensure and an appetite increase med. and she is still loosing weight. I feel that her general activity is so low that allot of the weight loss has to be loss of muscle mass. However, I can't help but think there must be something I can do help her gain some weight back. So, the question is, How do we put weight on our loved ones.with dementia? From everyone's comments I am gathering there isn't much we can do if in fact this is part of the last stages of the disease, Any suggestions are helpful as I do not know what to expect with the disease this is all new to the family. I have read about dementia however, I still do not know what to is ahead. I heartfelt empathy is with everyone and prey for all of our loved ones as they go through these difficult changes.
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my sister has copd, congestive heart failure, diabetes, has had a stroke and has renal failure. In the nursing home her feet and legs were very swollen. She is now at home in hospice care and the swelling went down, is eating well but not gaining weight. She has real problems having bowl movements. She is on O2 therapy with breathing treatments four times a day. Hospice gave the time frame of 6 months or less. Could this be accurate?
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Dad, 96 with Dementia in Long Term Care in a Nursing Home. Had him in AL, but after he developed Aspiration Pneumonia and was hospitalized, I knew he needed more care than AL could provide. He was on honey texture liquid and pureed foods. Started the severe coughing while drinking last week so he was put on pudding thickness. They're monitoring him for Pneumonia. His diet is pureed and like others have said, he forgets that he ate. When the food comes, he digs right in. He will eat one of the scoops of food. When the area he's been eating is depleted of food, he simply goes through the motions of eating with his fork... Nothing on it. When I'm there, I turn his plate and he does the same with another scoop of food. Normally he eats all of it. He's lost 10 lbs since the beginning of September. His swallowing is worse. I asked him to stick out his tongue after he had a bad coughing fit. The drink was just running out of his mouth. I wanted to see if it had pooled under his tongue. He wasn't able to stick it out. I believe that the necessary muscles are losing the ability to work. He knows me when I go there, can spell his name, but to write it is an effort. I think this is end stage Dementia, and all I want is comfort for him. Am I right? Is it end stage?
E
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My mom ate great! Everything that was put on the plate. When my moms parkinsons became worse, I started feeding her. My moms primary at this point was a doctor for the homebound and after looking at bloodwork one month she said my mom was a little malnourished but not a really big concern. I was shocked! She explained to me that since mom was no longer walking on her own that it was basically use or lose the value of food intake. All we did was add an ensure as the drink to one of her meals. Doc stressed that it was not to be used in place of a meal just to supplement it.
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Lucysmom: I am not a doctor but I think your guess is correct. Enjoy any time you have, there are still memories to make and pictures to take. 💞
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I'm sorry that you are going through this but it's "normal" for the disease. As organs begin to fail, which happens with advanced Alzheimer's, food won't be digested efficiently, so yes weight loss is common. This happens to many who have long illnesses. It is hard to watch - I watched my mother go down to a little over 80 pounds. All that was left was skin and her tiny bones. Heartbreaking. However, it's the same with all of the signs of decline. All we can do is our best.
Try to take care of yourself,
Carol
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