Hi All

I care for my 85 year old mum in law who had a massive stroke in May. She was refusing food in hospital and is doing the same now shes back home and has lost a desparate amount of weight.

We get a bit down her at intervals during the day, she is drinking plenty though which is good.

The thing is she had another tiny stroke yesterday and I called out the doctor, he had a look at her medication and couldnt understand why she was on two of them, she takes ten in the morning and ten at night poor darlin.

He also said that 4 of the tablets would be messing with her apetite and one of those also with her thyroid.

I will of course be taking this up with her practice but I wondered if anyone else has found this and if so how did you get round it ? I am so worried about her especially as she is very diabetic.

Any advice would be appreciated

Sorry to hear she's so poorly, I know it can be a worry when they're not eating.

My dad couldn't eat for a while - ulcers and stuff - and the district nurse (don't know what they call them now) recommended a tinned drink that had all the nutrition needed, which was a great help as he couldn't keep anything solid down.

I can only suggest you ask your local chemist for something like this, at least you'll be sure she's getting all the minerals, vitamins, etc she needs.

I hope you manage to get the medication sorted properly, sounds like that might go a long way to solving the problem.

Sorry, I'm being a thick sod today, just realised your ma in law is diabetic - not sure if liquid food would be appropriate, but I'm sure the pharmacist (or doctor) will be able to advise.

Sorry to hear about your Mum in law. Is it just a problem with appetite or does she have difficulties with chewing or swallowing ? If so your GP should arrange an assessment with the Speech and Language Therapist to assess any problems. I hope she picks up soon.

Good point daisy2. Have you tried light soups, kashul? Obviously you need to be careful with some sugars, but would something like a blitzed up spud and cauliflower soup, with a touch of suitable cream help, if it is a swallowing/chewing thing?

Also, if she is having such a liquid diet, and I'm sorry that this is personal, but how are her motions? If she's uncomfortable down below, that might affect how she's feeling overall.

Best wishes to you all.

HI All

Thanks so much for your replies. She has always suffered with constipation but with a genuis plan of using a juicer for fresh veg and fruit we have managed to get her going really well.

Also she has started eating a teeny bit, lots of patience and encouragement and we are beginning to win the war. Her bloods ahve gone from 2's and 3's to 5's over the weekend.

Things are looking up !!!! Thanks goodness xxxx

My grandmother used to take loads of medication. She had a small stroke and the GP took her off most of her medication. It was amazing how much she improved after that. One idea for her is to register her medications with Boots Chemist. They make out a card like a bank card so its easy to get repeat prescriptions but they will also pick up if medication clashes and give advice on taking medication to its best effect. My daughter was registered with them for her asthma medication. It was very helpful.

Mum has improved out of sight since the drug review, she is laughing and joking and getting back to her old self...Its wonderful to see when we truly believed we were losing her !!!

That's tremendously good news!

That's great to hear Kashul- it must be such a relief for your family.