My husband has also lost a lot of weight. He weighed 180 about 6 months ago, and now weighs 165. He does't eat much at dinner and says he can't eat any more. Is this part of another stage?

Ron went from a bouncing 230 to about 125 when he died.
I do think it is a part of the end stages. Everything shuts down.
I think they do not feel hunger. In the last few months he would only eat soft foods, pudding, yogurt, cottage cheese. That created a lot of bowel problems and he was constantly going between constipation (to the point of blockage) to a runny mess.

Ron also went thru a short lived stage ( thank God) where he ate everything.. including non-food items. That was awful.

Same here....my Rob is down to 165 Normally around 185 he looks very thin also , but all muscle tone is gone! face looks gaunt..its like It seems we are all watching them disappear in more way than one! it is so-o sad and nothing we can do.

My hubby probably weighs about 145 pounds. He is only 5'5" and doesn't look really unhealthy. I think his top weight at one time was 165 pounds and he really felt uncomfortable at that weight. The last time he was actually weighed (being in a wheelchair there is only one place that weighs him with the wheelchair and then gets him on the exam table and weighs the wheelchair) he weighed 152. He really needs the weight on since his butt is so fragile due to the previous decubitus ulcer he had.

He still has a good appetite which usually includes a milkshake at night with 4 or 5 dips of ice cream. Being in a wheelchair you would think the weight would just pile on him. But no.........I make him a thick milkshake at night and just pile on the pounds looking at it....lol. Jeanmarie

Morning ,
Ken started really loosing weight the last couple of months 8 to 10 lbs. a month. The last month he would not eat anything except ice-cream. We did try the ensure but he would not have anything to do with it. After tasting one I can see why.
I know we have had conversations on not forcing them to eat but it was hard.
I was still feeding him sherbet up until the last week.
Hospice and the doctor told us that they do not feel any hunger.

I'm not sure how they know that.

My mom is losing weight also.
She is at ,probably mid stage dementia...declining rapidly.

I read once in the National ALH book
They don't die because they have stopped eating
They stop eating because they are dieing.

My husband is not eating very well either. If I ask him if he would like dinner, he will say, "no, I am not hungry", so I don't fix any. He had gone from about 190 to 160. His face is looking very gaunt. I looked at him in his sport coat the other evening and it hung on him.

I. guess that I am fortunate. Even though my wife is in mid-stage 7, she still has has her normal appetite (and her demeanor is great). Her weight has been very stable at 141 # At 5-5 height.
I asked the Hospice nurse about Ensure. She said that their pharmacist looked at the nutritional value of Ensure compared to Carnation Instant Breakfast and there was very little difference. While she does not need a soft or liquid diet yet, I decided to try some C I B to check out it's taste. I found that by addiding a splash of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup that It was very palitable. So, I guess that I will try it some when she gets to the stage of needing a liquid diet -- at a considerable savings over Ensure which does not taste very good.
That's about all that I can contribute.
Bally5

If you are considering a liquid supplement.. don't overlook SlimFast.
My daughter's Dr. suggested it when she had terrible morning sickness. He said it is full of vitamins, tastes good and is an inexpensive option.

....we tried that AXONA!!! Made him constipated and expensive on top of it. After 30 day we we stopped it!

Ensure is another good liquid supplement. They use it for alot of people who can't eat solids or are recouping!

Our problem isn't that he doesn't eat , because he does, he just keeps losing weight anyway!!?? But for those of you who lack of eating is the issue the liquid supplements will at least give them nutrition and Ensure has a good amount of calories too.

You guys are much nicer than I am, because I am not going to give Ken ensure, Instant Breakfast or anything else if her chooses not to eat.

Our Dr. felt that when they are losing weight even though they are eating... the brain is not telling the other organs how to process the nutrients. It is just a part of the disease.

Sharon, that is exactly how I approached Ron's eating. I offered him healthy meals but would not hand feed him. I felt it was nature's way and I was not interfering in order to prolong his life even one more day.

Judy , that makes sense. I figured it had to be something like that. My husband is also REALLY starting to lose his balance!!!! That Thanksginging episode was just the beginning. he hasn't fallen again but is very unsteady on his feet and now I will have to stop the treadmill which was his only activity! Pitiful!

Deb......this is normal. My Dad began his journey at at least 225 lbs. He died at 132, and it wasn't even the Alzheimer's that took him. He lost 20 lbs in the last month of his life. A behavioral therapy clinic did him in with their horrible antipsychotic meds....too high doses, etc. Long story.....he was eating fairly well for awhile, then he slacked off and was eating very small portions, then he seemed to pick up again and was eating normally, and snacking a lot on sweets, which he never wanted before. But he was steadily losing weight. Sometimes I wonder if we had done an autopsy if we might have found something we didn't know about. It's very hard to know. But, needless to say, you have to clue the doctor in and get his opinion.

Becky

Ron looks anorexic, pitiful really when I undress him to shower him. His appetite is ok usually and he usually eats all right, sometimes he is a bit off. I don't push it. Occasionally I'll make a smoothie in the blender...very easy and you can throw in fruit, protein powder, whatever..

I too am going for letting nature take it;s course. After I got out of the hospital I had a DNR signed because I figured if I was ever truly incapacitated no one else would do this, so, no special anything, just minimize suffering and provide as much comfort as possible...

even I like smoothes, especially with very ripe bananas which make them creamy...I use up left-over fruit this way a lot.had some fresh pineapple from Christmas AM and threw that in with banana and milk, very yummy....