Mom has decreased her eating lately and acts like it is hard to breathe when she tries. She says nothing is wrong. What could it be?
I am primary caregiver and went on vacation for two weeks, I was told Mom was eating well but since I've come home she seems to be eating less and less. When she does eat, especially at dinner, she looks like she is having a hard time breathing and eating or possibly in some type of pain, she denies either, but she refuses to tell us when she is ill because she does not want to go to the doctor or hospital. I do not think she is eating much more than 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food total during the day,
She has dementia, is 85 and weighs about 95 pounds. She takes meds for arrhythmia and coumadin for blood thinner.
As an elderly person I know their food intake can go down and if its hot no one may feel like eating much, but the seemingly labored breathing thing has me worried and I wonder if it could actually be her heart or what?
At first I was really bothered by the changes in her eating, but I accept that if she's not hungry or doesn't want to drink much then I don't want to force her. As long as she tells me she's okay and comfortable then I don't worry. During the last year she has begun to lose weight. She's been to the doctor and all of her blood work and tests are fine. There is just this general decline (she's 95).
I also have some animals that are old and they seem to be going through the exact same process. They eat, but get thinner. You'd think that they aren't being fed but apparently is just a process where the body can't metabolize food in the same way.
The only thing the struck me is that you may want to keep an eye on the coumadin since it is greatly affected by food intake.
I have tried to offer her other foods and she either refuses or will accept and then I find that cup of ice cream in the freezer or see the drink tossed down the drain. This is so frustrating!!!
Then her doctor retired and sold his practice to and HMO that she does not belong to however the new doctor will see her with her Medicare, now today when I need her I find out the new doctor is on maternity leave and the doctor on call is not all that great, actually I kind of wonder how he became a doctor. I am feeling the frustration.
Unless she simply wants to slowly decline, a visit to the doctor for other possible causes is certainly in order.
There tends to be a cycle: eat less, move less, eat even less, move even less because she's weak. I'd be inclined to boost her daily intake with whatever it took to increase protein and caloric intake: most favored foods, protein shakes, smoothies, nutrition bars .. small servings, more often. And, watch her output: are her stools healthy? Her urine? Do you take her vitals on a regular basis? We take vitals to establish a trend .. not freak out at the odd ones .. we get 'off days', but when the vitals climb or plummet rapidly and stay there, we try to figure out what's going wrong. Is she in pain? Might she have a UTI? Is there a stool blockage? Hearts, lungs and brains aren't the only organs we need to worry about.
When our seniors can't or won't vocalize their pain levels, we have to count on expressions, a lot. So, we've learned to recognize the various levels, from discomfort and tired to suffering in pain.
Gods .. who knew I'd end up, as a caregiver, being a diagnostician? I've learned more about the human body in the last four years than I ever thought I'd need or want to know.
Let us know how it goes, okay?
Blessings