Older person - no appetite

I have pbc I can only eat certain things vita coco coconut water is great and biotful yoghurt drinks. My son does me smoothies ensure has a lot of vitamins but I prefer a McDonalds milkshake. There is a company that delivers puree ready meals and ensure packages. Pretty sure it was findus i was a tester years ago I found it good.

Very useful thread for me too with lots of ideas.

Some great ideas on here, thank you everyone.

She is about the same as she was.
Not a stomach virus I dont think. But still think it is a virus. We would know where she caught it from.
Dont think a water infection. But if we do ring a doctor, we will mention that, as she has had them before occasionally.
She does have low BP from time to time. I havent been paying much attention to that.

If she eats more, I think her strength will return better. But I recognise it may not be as simple as that.
She hasnt vomited for a couple of days.

This is not the first time she has been poorly, and then eats and drinks just enough to keep her going. But it is going on for longer this time. Day 8 or something.

Thanks once again.

I see that you said that they are also struggling to keep food down.
If this is a stomach virus, fluid is most important, not eating for only a couple of days during the nausea/vomiting won't matter.
Once vomiting stops, bland diet, lowish fat (a bit of butter on bread won't hurt unless there are preexisting metabolic conditions) non acidic fruit juice then gradually include small regular meals again.
If the patient is still reluctant to eat when fully recovered then is the time to start a fortified high energy diet and if not eating continues it may need a referral to a community dietitian.

Every sympathy .

I've experienced this now into year eight with my father .

I wouldn't rely on Complan or Ensure .

Ring the changes :
Don't repeatedly serve their favourites . They'll get bored with them .When they move onto another favourite they'll get bored with it only you don't know that until you serve it !

Serve food drink in much smaller portions and more frequently.

Menu for today :
Early morning tea with a shortbread biscuit .

Breakfast - a flavoured porridge ( apple ) with extra milk to make it creamy .

Midmorning - a banana and a drink .
If constipated I'd give a peeled mandarin orange .

Lunch - a wholemeal sandwich with something tasty -Coronation Chicken with shredded salad inside .
I cut the crusts off the bread .
Consommé or tea or any preferred drink ie - coffee .

Mid afternoon - a cake ,buttered bun , scone or Danish pastry with tea .

Suppertime - a lamb casserole with plenty of vegetables including spinach and new potatoes in a gravy .

Dessert - some chopped up pears .
He might ask me for an ice cream or a rice pudding as well . He ate a chocolate mousse yesterday after years of telling me that he hates them .

Late evening - cheese and biscuits . I cube different cheeses . Blue is his favourite .
Plus a drink . He'll ask for tea .

Last thing , he'll ask me for some chocolates with his nighttime drink which will probably be hot chocolate .

He might ask me for different drinks during the day and I have a massive selection including alcohol free ones as well as giving him water .

I also give him a vitamin supplement .

I used to get upset and worry about it .

Now I don't as long as I feel that he's hydrated .

You might try this smoothie. It's nutrient rich and fruity sweet:
I use a Magic Bullet to make it. It contains sesame seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, almonds, one apple, frozen berries, oat milk and kefir yogurt. Whizz it all up and enjoy. It's pretty thick the way I make it so I got some stainless steel smoothie straws which are wider than ordinary straws.I

Maybe ice cream? And fresh strawberries? Or banana slices?

I’ve lived this, tiny regular amounts of food. High fat foods and fortifying milk. I added dried milk powder to full fat milk. Don’t wait for hunger pangs they don’t always arrive. Also stomachs do shrink so let them say they don’t want anything more. Age concern has lots of ideas. I ate dried fruits and nothing was off limits. Good luck and tempting an appetite take tiny steps.

Soft boiled egg(s) taken out of shell and into a large glass or glass bowl with slices,(fingers) of fresh wholemeal (or white) B&B. They can dip them in the egg and mop up with them.

A little white fish in parsley/white sauce and some mash and peas.

What about some chips from the chip shop?

A peanut and jam or marmalade sandwich, fresh sliced bread. I'm thinking children food is good.

A fresh jam donut? Scone,butter, jam?

I'm a big fan of soups, either in a mug or bowl depending on the person's physical circumstances.
Instant soup may be acceptable, but it tends to be very salty and may contain MSG.
An alternative is to find some salt-free vegetable stock, make it a little stronger than directed, and throw in some fine noodles. This is digestible and sometimes helps to stimulate the appetite.

Vintagegirl my dear Dad was exactly the same, he enjoyed Tesco trifles more than anything else. He did eat a small bowl of Crunchy Nut with blueberries and strawberries on the top for breakfast. Marks and Spencer’s rice pudding. Some soups too. Very difficult and concerning for the carer/family. Check that the person doesn’t have a urine infection, the GP surgery will check a sample usually.

I was advised to give my mother fruit cake when she lost her appetite, which worked well.

I was very nauseous after major surgery and not interested in food. My acupuncturist who is Chinese told me to boil a whole chicken and drink the liquid. It’s full of nutrition. I guess it’s a bit like the Jewish chicken soup idea. Also take plain white bread and apples. It worked!

I wonder if your friend is low in sodium. Try and get her to eat some salty potato crisps. If you can't persuade her to drink more she will need a doctor. Jelly counts as fluid if you can persuade her to have that.

It's worth checking with the GP to see if there's a remediable reason for the lack of appetite. The difficult thing is getting sufficient protein and calories into an elderly person who has lost their appetite. Reverse all of the usual 'healthy eating' advice. Try to adapt their usual favourites by adding cheese, butter, eggs and cream wherever you can eg. in macaroni cheese. Make up a shepherds pie with lots of butter and cheese in the mash. Fruit jelly is good for getting fluids in (as is pasta). You could add some evaporated milk to fruit such as tinned peaches or fruit salad. Tinned fruit is also good for fluids and fibre. Don't forget a bit of salt, unless mum has very high blood pressure. A lot of older people have very LOW BP, and that makes them feel tired, ill and reduces their mood and mental acuity. Good luck!

When my mum was ill and had no appetite she would always eat bananas and drink milkshakes with extra cream . Maybe not the most nutritious but plenty of calories. Jason Manford recently used Macdonald's milkshakes to get Nana Manford out of hospital. Don't overface with the food on the plate little and often is better than nothing at all.

My mother's appetite dropped away in last years of her life but she always managed to eat the single portion trifles from Tesco!

Small portions as Monica suggests and make sure it is something that is easy to eat and that the person usually enjoys.

Loss of appetite can be caused by so many things that it is worth trying to get a doctor's appointment. It is useless for us to speculate on the cause, as the list is very long indeed, of things that can usually be dealt with quite easily.

Few people feel like eating if they are slightly unwell, which is yet another reason for seeing the doctor. Don't just put up with feeling unwell - if it lasts longer than a few days, it is time to go to the doctor and find out, if possible what is wrong. Even being told that there is nothing seriously wrong can improve the appetite again, as few of us eat well when worried.

Sometimes the milky foods associated with a happy childhood work well, or cocoa made with milk instead of tea or coffee can provide a little much needed nutrition.

Pain cuts the appetite too, something as simple as eating in a comfortable chair or sofa instead of at the table might help if the person has a sore back,

Fancy that : If the person you are caring for has been on only one third of their normal fluid intake for 2 or 3 days I would suggest it's time for medical intervention. Dehydration can have serious consequences. Perhaps phone 111 and seek advice?

My friend mixed ensure with double cream, chilled it awhile in the freezer then topped it with grated chocolate, to tempt her invalid sister into consuming some vital calories when she was off her food.

Fortisips are available on prescription. The main thing, at the moment, is to get some calories into the person. Full-fat milk, rice pudding, sponge pudding with custard, apple crumble, that kind of thing (a lot of elderly people have a sweet tooth), cocoa made with milk.

When my husband was like this I found that homemade soup was something he would drink, leek and potato was his favourite, and also homemade milkshakes ( just full fat milk and fresh fruit zapped with the stick blender). He also decided for himself that hot toddies would do him good (fresh lemon juice, honey, whisky and a glug of boiling water).
I'm not sure which of the above worked but something did.

Grannynannywanny

Sorry to hear you’re feeling out of sorts and off your food fancythat. If you are able to speak to your local pharmacist they should have some nutritional drinks in stock to help build you up. If you’re not keen on the fruity sweet flavours the savoury ones might be more palatable. My Mum’s preference was chicken flavoured Complan as it’s like chicken soup.

Don’t stay feeling like this for too long. If you haven’t done so already maybe a check up with your GP or Practice Nurse is due. You might have an underlying problem that’s making you feel this way and can be easily remedied.

I hope you feel better soon 💐

It's not for me. Thank you for your concern though.

The person has been like it for a few days. Fluid consumption down by 2/3. Sporadic eating.
I am pretty sure she has a virus.

My mum liked Complan. It’s still available in our local chemist.

Sorry to hear you’re feeling out of sorts and off your food fancythat. If you are able to speak to your local pharmacist they should have some nutritional drinks in stock to help build you up. If you’re not keen on the fruity sweet flavours the savoury ones might be more palatable. My Mum’s preference was chicken flavoured Complan as it’s like chicken soup.

Don’t stay feeling like this for too long. If you haven’t done so already maybe a check up with your GP or Practice Nurse is due. You might have an underlying problem that’s making you feel this way and can be easily remedied.

I hope you feel better soon 💐