Do any of you notice a dementia patient going OCD when performing a task?

You don't keep leftovers? Even for a poor dear who is confused and just wants to save her half sandwich to enjoy later? What harm would there be in putting it in the fridge for her, and throwing it out later if she doesn't eat it?

And what do you mean she had to eat it? Are you controlling the portions she has to eat? Do you mean eat it now or we'll throw it away? Or that she has to eat it now?

I like Jessie's approach. If it isn't harmful, don't make a fuss about it.

Pick your battles.
Non threatening little habits mean something to them AT THE MOMENT. Will be forgotten.
Out of sight, out of mind.
I am learning!!! !!! !!! !!!
:^)
M88

Brains that have dementia are broken, often in ways that are beyond our understanding.

With regard to eating, please understand that elders often eat small portions and do just fine in terms of maintaining their weight. Don't force her to eat a whole sandwich if it doesn't suit her. Jessie is right, if it's not hurting her, don't try not to let it bother you.

I don't know a single person over the age of 80 who doesn't take home a roll or a piece of bread from restaurants, senior centers and buffets. It's a generational thing.

Oh dear, JoAnn, my mom does it too. She saves little morsels for me.
I asked her if she ate the special blueberry muffin I left for her breakfast
and she said no, she was waiting for me to share it with her.
She hides cans of soup in her bedroom.

JoAnn, I think obsessions and compulsions go with dementia for a lot of people. My mother has some really strange obsessions and does the most strange things. She thinks the house is jacked up on stilts and air is coming through the cracks, so she covers her bedroom floor with blankets. I pick them up. She puts them down. I've given up trying to get her to stop.

When she gets something in her mind, it is stuck.

When she eats, she always leaves a couple of bites of food on her plate. When we go to a restaurant she always gets a bread, then wraps it up to bring home to enjoy later. I always throw it in the garbage in a couple of days. The behaviors are always the same, but I can't get her to change them. Most of them are not harmful, though, so I don't worry. The blankets on the floor is the main one that bothers me.

When my mother lived in IL a dining room allowance was included as part of the rent. This place had a very nice dining room that was also a restaurant that was open to the public - the food was very good, wide selection along with daily specials. Anyhow - without fail everytime my mother ate there she ended up bringing half her meal back to her apartment in a to-go container. It wasn't a budget thing - mom never ended up using her full monthly allowance. It was strictly a matter of just not being able to eat that much food. When my dad was alive and he had a full time caregiver she would make lunches and dinners that often consisted of half a sandwich, about 4oz of yougurt and roughly eight grapes - it was all daddy wanted and all he could eat. I was alarmed at first but came to realize that he and my mom just didn't need large quantities at meals anymore. As for this being OCD on behalf of the mom here - I just don't see it. But I do agree that obsessive hand washing and teeth brushing might qualify. But I gotta say, as OCD behaviors in the elderly goes - these seem the lesser of the evils. I wish I could get my mother to brush her teeth more often!

Rainmom, I just stopped to think. I only eat a half sandwich now. I'm 64 and a whole sandwich is too much for me.

With my loved one, the OCD occurred in certain stages. Now that she has severe dementia, she doesn't obsess as much. She isn't as aware of what's going on, so she doesn't concern herself with it. But, previously, she was very OCD. She was obsessed with her cat and could not bare to allow the cat out of her sight. She was terrified the cat would escape from the house through a crack the size of a pea. She would also cut her trash into small pieces and put it into plastic zip lock bags before putting it into the trash. As she progressed, all of that faded away through.

many conditions can cause overeating to be uncomfortable . ive never heard of someone who dosnt keep or reuse leftovers . that is the act that smacks of ocd to me .

My mom can finish kid size meals, adult portions just get taken home only to be tossed out much later