My father, who is a diabetic, is craving sweets. We actually have to hide everything that has sugar in it. He has gone as far as to eat jelly out of the jar and drink syrup out of the bottle. We live with him and try to make him eat good food but if it’s not sweet he doesn’t want it. Help!
A good friend of mine had her mom in a NH in Hospice Care. All she wanted to eat was those Lindt chocolates. My friend fought her on this, but her mom had MANY suppliers of these, and finally, she realized that her mom had no joys left in life and these were the one thing she really enjoyed.
It didn't hasten her death and she died with the taste of her beloved chocolate on her lips. IF she had her chocolate stash, she was far more willing to eat 'real food' instead of bingeing on chocolates all day.
I'm sure it mean a lot more insulin shots, but, hey, she had so little joy left in her life by the end.
A lady in my caregiver support group's mom who lived to be 103. lived on chocolate, ice-cream and cashews, the last 5 years of her life.
That's the kind of diet that I want to be on in my final years. I'm just saying.
And nobody better try and stop me either.
My father always had a sweet tooth but his vascular dementia did seem to enhance it in his last years. Although he did not have diabetes, I did try to limit the amount of pure sugar he consumed without diminishing his pleasure in enjoying sweets. Fortunately he was usually satisfied with smaller amounts as long as he had a sweet with every meal. I am in the camp of allowing an elder to eat an unbalanced diet (if that's what they want) instead of a "good" diet after some disease like vascular dementia strikes as long as it doesn't negatively impact daily life quality. The goal is to enjoy the days that are left; not have more days of questionable quality.
If the only thing he wants now are cherry pie and doughnuts, my recommendation is to feed him just that and not worry about the diabetes.
Till the day he died he ate sweets, as many as he liked to. He didn't die from the diabetes, he died from small cell lung cancer.
As we age we have very little pleasures left in life, I would let him eat whatever he likes, as long as he is eating.
Honestly....This and this hurts....
Your dad is going to die.
Your dad has a lot of health problems. None of those will ever get better.
If your dad wants sweets I would allow it.
If you can provide a meal that he typically would have enjoyed and, just as you might try to "bribe" a child, tell him if he eats he can have dessert.
You are not going to get him to "understand" that if he eats cookies and ice cream it will adversely effect his health.
I would suggest that if you do not have Hospice yet that you make a call and see if he is eligible. Get the help that you need and the supplies that you need.
(By the way if dad is a Veteran he and your mom may qualify for benefits. Contact your local Veterans Assistance Commission)
(Ventingisback)
Sounds difficult.
How about hiding the sugary foods in locked cupboard, or simply don't buy it, don't take your dad shopping. I suppose it's similar to preventing kids eating it, put it out of reach.
Then I suppose you can give your dad a treat once in a while and maybe he'll get use to the routine? just throwing out an ideas.
I suppose it's like most things people are have cravings for, eventually they'll find a way of getting it, if he still remembers where things are kept, but not keeping it in the house at all might be a good start and then take your dad to eat out once in a while to get a sweet treat.
Sorry to hear your dad has vascular dementia. this must be tough to cope with too.
Take care.
I guess I dont know the answer this, probably others do: If eating sweets just shortens his life expectancy then who cares?
If sweets make him sick thats different.
My dad loved whipped cream cake so I whipped the cream with splenda and used unsweetened coconut with some added splenda on a simple white cake. Daddy like the whipped cream frosting more than the cake so I made single layer cake with the frosting layer thicker than the cake.
If we try we can usually find something an elder will like that does not impact their daily quality of life. I do not believe allowing an elder to eat an entire bag of tootsie roll midgets in one sitting because a cognitive disease has reduced their good sense and just allowing the intestinal distress, possible kidney and confusion issues is helpful.
I would ask the MD to order a nutrition consult. This person can work in your elder's medical system to access records on the severity of the diabetic condition and the results of added sugars. This person also may suggest some testing for the MD to see if there is some imbalance causing this desperate drive for sweets.
I agree with so many others on this thread, that if eating added sweets doesn't cause a severe diabetic crisis in someone who is insulin-dependent (that is to say the added sweets are not in and of themselves deadly) I would opt to a shorter life in terms of quantity in order to have a better quality of life. I am 81. I would hope someone caring for me would make that decision for me.