Eating is a major issue with my husband, who has frontotemporal dementia. Anyone experiencing this?

Lilla9: He isn't safe in a home environment. He should be in a facility. I cannot fathom what those non food items have done to his mouth, his teeth, his gastrointestinal tract and the rest of his organs since they are not meant for human consumption. Perhaps he should be seen by his primary care physician as well as his specialists.

I disagree with Worriedspouse. My mother lived in a Memory Care AL for nearly 3 years and had NO access to food at ALL, unless it was meal time and food was being served in the dining room. No food was allowed inside of a resident's room, and if I brought snacks for mom, they were locked in a kitchen cabinet with her name on them, and doled out by the caregivers. If mom wanted to go outside, she was let out by a caregiver IF the weather was nice, monitored while outside, and then had to come in within a certain time frame. There was no 'dirt' to eat in the courtyard area, and if there was, a CG would take mom inside BEFORE she got into trouble. If a loved one is placed in a Memory Care AL without supervision and structure, it's obviously a poorly run AL whereby the loved one needs to be removed and relocated!!!

FT Dementia is one type that's VERY difficult to handle at home, even if you were to hire in-home caregivers. Why? Because your home is not specifically designed FOR elders suffering from dementia and your DH is food obsessed, as many are, so you're now in a position to be locking up EVERYTHING. This includes bathroom items, kitchen items, cleaning items, personal hygiene items, everything you own must be under lock & key lest it go into his mouth. You need to consider placement for your husband as the only safe alternative for him. If money is an issue, you can apply for Medicaid but you may need to spend down your assets first; check with a Certified Elder Care Attorney about the guidelines and for advice in general.

We had a poster here for a long time named OldSailor who's wife Luz had FTD; he cared for her at home until she died in 2019 and had a heck of a time of things, too. He'd write about it a lot, so you may want to check out his posts for clarity on what you'll be facing with your DH:

https://www.agingcare.com/members/oldsailor

Even doctors/neurologists know little about FTD, unfortunately, as it presents in MANY different ways. I don't know that medication will help your DH with the food issues. I do know, however, that there is something called Chewlery that is 'chew jewelry' specifically made for folks who like to chew and tend to get into things they should NOT be chewing. Here is a link:

https://www.arktherapeutic.com/chewelry-for-adults-variety-pack/

You can order this Chewelry in 'toughness' levels, too, if DH is an aggressive chewer, which is very helpful! He can chew on this stuff all day long & maybe stay OUT of the kitchen a bit more!

Wishing you the best of luck with a very difficult situation.

Have you discussed this with his doctor?

The effect of some types of brain damage (not just Alzheimers) is insatiable appetite, sometimes for non-edible items. There is no satisfaction of the appetite and nothing you can do short of putting a lock on the refrigerator, kitchen cabinets or just keeping hazardous substances out of reach.
Don't feel you are being cruel to do this. It's an exasperating problem and it's not his fault!
Could be, if you can keep air popped unsalted popcorn out or raw veggies, he will eat those. No guarantees.

Imy husband is trying to do that as well! Once it is in his mouth he doesn't want to spit it out. The worst was a sponge and I thought he had swallowed a lot of it. He had the pumper hand sanitizer up to his mouth and has tried to bite wooden coasters and was trying to chew up a foil candy wrapper. And, he will eat at any time... His diagnosis is Dementia. I feel like I have a toddler in so many areas.

Hi,

My husband had FTD and I lead a support group for caregivers of those with FTD. This is a common experience. My husband could not walk through the kitchen without trying to eat a family size box of cookies. I suggest not leaving anything out on the counter. Keep everything in locked cabinets. Get child locks on everything. You're clearly at the stage where he has to be watched constantly. Consider room monitors so you can see what he is doing since it sounds like he could get into trouble when out of sight. Find a good aide for him if you can, to support both of you.
Good luck and I recommend you join an AFTD support group if you haven't already.

Been there/done that

What did your hubby’s neurologist say about this behavior? Any meds to tame it?

Memory care or nursing home would not solve this problem. He will have even less supervision and will eat anything without anyone noticing it. When my hubby was in MC for two months, one of the residents there had this problem. He’d go outside and eat dirt. There was no one-on-one caregiver to stop him.

Keep him at home and hire a caregiver for him. Cheaper and safer.

Kiddie locks on freezer, fridge and cabinets work great.

I feel for you. There is a guy at my Mom's MC unit that suffers from the same issue. He once even attempted to search my purse to find food. I believe that is the reason why his family put him in the MC unit.

Join the Assn. for Frontal Temporal Dementia. They have a very good forum where everything is discussed and you will probably get very good support. My sympathies to you.

I hope you are making your house safer so that he can not eat these things that you have listed like hand sanitizer. Put child locks on the cabinets and the fridge/freezer. You just can't leave anything out that would be dangerous for him to eat since he is not able to determine what is appropriate to eat.

I don't know if there are any meds that can slow this type of behavior down??

This would be too much for me to deal with at home. How can you watch him 24/7? Either you need full time help or you may need to consider placing him somewhere.

Good luck.

Well, that's what fronto-temporal dementia looks like. You have to place your husband in an facility that offers control and security. You can't do that at home. Right now he is like a toddler who puts everything in his mouth.