How can I control my mom's night eating habits?
My mom has Alzhiemer's and lives with me. Every night she forgets that she has had dinner. We eat around 7:30. Her appetite is good and cleans up her plate. Around 9-10, I give her fruit but she still wants to stay up till 11. She forgets she ate anything so she asks me for more food! I say it's too late to eat but sometimes I give her a bowl of cereal or a fruit to get her to go to bed. She wakes up 2 hours later and looks for foods in the kitchen. I leave her some cheerios and couple of fruits like a banana and a tangerine on the counter before I go to bed. In the morning I notice all of them are gone! She gets up otherwise and goes into my fridge or each cabinets! If she finds anything she eats them all, like a box of cookies or half of a melon etc. etc.
How can I control these midnight's eatings and her crazy appetite? Am I doing the right thing leaving her snacks during the night? I'm worried she gains too much weight since she's not active as much.
Please advice.
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When i found a GREAT PLASCE for her--- it was because the food was better... and then I found the Memory Care facility was better--
SO do your homework before there is another drop in the decline dept. Good luck. AND yes there is financial help available-- see the Aid and Attendance Program from the VA-- where if you have at least 3 ADLs-- where your loved one needs help daily-- dressing, bathing, eating, anything.. you will qualify for what is now like $1144 per month from Vet Affairs... ( Madison WI) ...
Is she gaining weight? Is she on the verge of obesity? That would be my main concern with this pattern. If her weight is fine, I would keep doing what you are doing. Have you tried cutting back on her portions at dinner? What does she eat between lunch and dinner? It sounds as if she has reverted to infancy when she had to be fed every two hours, night or day! I don't see harm in that if you can keep the portions reasonable.
Pick your battles with the ones that really count - those involving safety.
Best to you and your family.
I'm hypoglycemic and I eat like this , many small meals / snacks throughout the day , lots of cereal , cheese, milk , meat ...lol.
I exercise three times a week and I'm good , nothing major with my weight.
Mama has dementia and often thinks she hasn't had any food at all . We feed her :
Breakfast 9am ( ovaltine , banana , 1/2 toast with butter, half with jam ) 11 am tea ( scrambled or boiled egg / half toast or crackers with peanut butter ) ,
1 pm lunch ( lasagna , chicken and rice etc whatever I cook )
2 pm snack (fruit or some tiny candy or cake )
3pm tea ( bread and cheese or biscuits and cheese if she had bread earlier
5 pm (chamomile and sandwich . ) the calming down time before bed
8 pm final tea ( chamomile or sleepy time and two cookies )
This diet of course varies some days a big breakfast , some days as I have here .
No caffeine ever for mama and the doctors say chamomile is fine in moderation as she also takes blood pressure meds and chamomile can lower your bp.
Mama has a flask in her room at night with hot milk and a resealable container with a peanut butter sandwich , usually gone by the time I wake her .
I had today :
3 am I just crammed peanut butter with a spoon , I live up here alone don't judge me .
5 am peanut butter and jelly sandwich with milk.
6 am milk tea and toast with butter and cheese
8 am scrambled egg , bowl of cereal , tea
11 am banana and a handful of grapes, some cherries and honey roasted nuts . ( if I eat fruit alone it can crash me so maybe add it to Greek yogurt to make it more filling)
1 pm rice and black beans with barbequed chicken , cucumber salad and corn. Slice of cake .
( it's 1 4: 8 now and I feel pretty good , probably won't eat again until 3 )
I'll probably have a sandwich , more cereal and some soda and so on and so forth
I probably eat something every two to three hours or I get sick and it is a horrible feeling , I get confused , shake , feel like throwing up , headache, angry , the works .
Snacks you can leave out :
vegetable sticks ( carrots, celery ) with hummus .
Good , less sugary cereal : plain Kellogg for instance
honey bunches of oats or corn puffs.
Apple slices with peanut butter
fruit , ham and crackers.
Greek yogurt with berries.
small handful of raisins and mixed nuts or cranberry nut trail mix .
peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole-grain bread.
Cheese sandwiches
sliced ham sandwiches
A thermos with cocoa or non caffeinated tea . You can also try sleepy time tea I think it's by Celebrations or chamomile before bed .
That said , there have been times I haven't eaten enough and my body will wake me from a dead sleep to munch.
You can get child locks on the cabinets and fridge, that's simple enough but her hypoglycemia will truly make her feel like she's starving and added with the forgetfulness, well that's a formidable combination .
So good luck to you and sorry for the novel !
L
I have experienced the same thing. My Mother was drinking a bottle of coffee creamer thinking it was milk. She’s diabetic and I’d freak out. Also, she is hungry all the time. I have found giving her small snacks throughout the day works best for ME! I sometimes give her just half of her dinner because I know she forgets she already had her first.
Its a difficult situation and I’m sorry you are going through this. Please know you are not alone.
I found that locks are great. I felt really bad about it at first but realized it was in her best interest. I also remove the stove knobs before I go to bed, just to be safe. Hang in there, you’re going to do great! :)
What does soy cheese taste like? Did you have trouble acclimating to becoming vegan.
I suppose that I could be a vegetarian easily. I don’t eat meat daily, but I love cheese!
Block her access to kitchen. Lock up cabinets and refrigerator.
Whatever it is, she is relieving stress and finding immediate gratification.
Food numbs out feelings. With Alzheimer's diagnosis, there are more layers involved in the behavior.
Not sure why you are leaving her snacks if she is cleaning out the cabinets - ?
She might need medication to relax her / put her to sleep at night.
Do understand this has little to nothing to do with an 'appetite'.
You may not be able to control her behavior unless you lock up all the food or limit her access to where the food is, i.e., the kitchen.
And coffee - when he could no longer figure out how to make coffee in the coffee pot (and he'd wake me up at 2am to make it) I bought a Keurig. So he makes 3 or 4 cups of coffee to go with all the toast. And he drinks sip.or two, and makes another cup.
I tried leaving him sandwiches or cereal with fruit etc, and he'd eat it while he made toast.
So I gave up. He feels happy that he's doing something and he is eating, although not very nutritional. His PCP said to keep protein shakes on hand and make him drink at least one a day.
The PCP said i shouldn't be so rigid about what he eats, because of the ultimate outcome. Just my 2 cents.
If her weight is high and she has health problems due to her weight, slowly taper what you are leaving as a snack.
If her doctor thinks she is underweight, increase the calories in the snack.
A nutritionist informed me that everyone should have 3 meals and 2 snacks daily for the beat metabolic functioning. A snack should generally have half the calories of a meal with 3 of the following components: fruit, vegetable, protein, dairy and/or fat. The recommended calories per meal vary by age/height/weight.
An elderly person with a healthy appetite is a blessing! My mom stopped eating completely once and we started her eating again, but this was a very scary time. In order to switch on her appetite, we were instructed to encourage higher fat content and more caloric foods.
Another relative struggled through anorexia with a “fear” of food - be so grateful that your mom doesn’t have these terrifying and sometimes fatal health problems.
With Alzheimer’s, she cannot enjoy life as she once did, it is so nice that she is enjoying food.
choice is always nice- good luck!
If using more water and trying lots more veggies, doesn't work, consult her doctor.
She's either eating out of boredom, or she is actually hungry. Try introducing something new and fun to her to occupy her mind (you'll need to get creative) and if/when mom nears the end of her years, my opinion is to let her have whatever she wants to eat, and let her enjoy it. Obviously people live on a budget, and you'll need to find your own personal balance there, but keeping her happy and comfortable would be my 1st priority, even though a doctor may say it's best to control her eating, he/she likely would say the same thing when she's living out her final time..........Best of luck, don't forget to remind her that you love her every day......
Then, make sure she isn't eating because of anxiety or boredom.
If she isn't fat, I wouldn't worry about leaving her good healthy snacks.
Also for her night snack before you go to bed, try a bowl of oatmeal because it'll make her stomach stay fuller longer.
You could also have her drink a cup of sleepy time tea and check with her Dr to see if she can take a 5 mil of over the counter melontonin as a sleep Aide.
Keep leaving her a healthy snacks in her room so she won't go roaming around the kitchen.
If all the above doesn't work, the last alternative is to put locks on your pantry and refrigerator so you can lock everything up at night.
I have a 96 yr old Dad that likes snacks during the night too.
He lives in his own home with 24 hr Care. I buy easy healthy snacks like mini muffins, breakfast drink,, breakfast bar,, yogurt, applesauce for them to give him whenever he wants, even Midnight or 4 AM.
I figure at 96, he deserves to do what he wants .
I would ask her doctor what foods would be best for her.
You may even do better if you call a hospital and ask to speak to the dietitian on staff. They are more knowledgeable about nutrition.
I think you’re doing fine- maybe take the sugary stuff with you when you go to bed but fruit, cereal, all sounds good. If she hasn’t actually gained too much weight so far, I think you’re doing right by her.
You sound like the Angel’s Angel! She’s lucky to have you!
The brain no longer tells the body its full. And like u said, she forgets. All part of the desease. Oh yes, baby lock everything.
Limiting choices also worked with my mother. Do you want to do this or that, never what do you want to do. That created too many choices and we then did nothing. Mom - I going to the store - do you want me to pick up a roasting chicken for dinner on Sunday or a Pork Loin? It was usually chicken as long as I was going to cook it.
You can get a child lock for the refrigerator, or just a light weight chain and a lock. If you have a separate pantry a hook and eye lock should work. Place it very high so it is out of sight. Or a hasp and lock will work well. (I placed one on the bathroom linen closet where I stored medications so my Husband could not get to things.)
Do not give in to giving her food after you have told her no more.
Do not leave food out for her to find.
Start getting her on a schedule and try getting her a bit ore active. A walk before or after dinner. A walk before or after lunch.
Talk to her doctor about her waking up and wandering around at night.
I would be concerned about her wandering around at night. Is there ANY possibility that she could get out of the house and wander away?