Caring For A Persaon With Severe Alzheimer's Disease

When caring for a person with severe Alzheimer’s disease, these steps can help with eating problems and other end-of-life concerns:

Treat conditions that cause appetite loss, such as constipation, depression, or infection.

Feed by hand. Ask the doctor about the best kinds of foods to offer and the best ways to feed
by hand.

Stop Unneeded Medicines. Some Drugs can make eating problems worse, including:

• antipsychotics such as quetiapine (Seroquel and generic)

• anti-anxiety drugs such as lorazepam (Ativan and generic)

• sleeping pills such as zolpidem (Ambien and generic)

• bladder-control drugs such as oxybutynin (Ditropan and generic)

• alendronate (Fosamax and generic) for osteoporosis

• donepezil (Aricept and generic) for Alzheimer’s disease

Schedule dental care. Badly fitting dentures, sore gums, and toothaches can make eating hard or painful.

Consider hospice care. Many people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease qualify for hospice care if they have difficulty drinking and eating enough to keep their weight up. Hospice eases suffering and pain in the last six months of life. Hospice can be given in the patient’s home.

Plan ahead. Every adult should have an advance directive. It lets you say what kind of care you want and who can make decisions for you if you cannot speak for yourself.

For more information, visit Healthinaging.org and PalliativeDoctors.org.

(Source: The American Geriatrics Society , and American Academy of Hospice & Palliative Medicine)