Warning Signs

Re: Article: Sudden Weight Loss: One of the Key Elder Care Warning Signs You Can’t Ignore

Synergy HomeCare — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:00:31 GMT

This is a very nice thread for everyone to read for it brings a lot of value to everyone caring for a loved one. Simple observations of weight loss can give early clues to more serious problems no doubt. One thing that we've done when we see signs of this happening is try to have folks eat together. With this generation a shared meal was very important and occurred regularly if not nightly. But, with today's hustle and bustle and information coming at us from many different directions we are not used to taking the time to sit down and share a meal - all too often eating in our cars. Times have changed us, but our loved ones are recalling their prime and possibly desiring us to spend time with them during a meal.

If you are unable to spend that time with loved ones there are places that will provide assistance to you for this. Caregivers love to spend time talking to folks and sitting around the table talking about the weather and last night's sports, all over a meal. Look for resources in your community for places that will provide this service and communcate back to you how your loved is doing.

Re: Article: Sudden Weight Loss: One of the Key Elder Care Warning Signs You Can’t Ignore

pamjones — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:20:11 GMT

This article really struck a cord with me. I recently lost my mother to cancer that had spread from her bladder to her brain.... My parents were married for over 40 years and now my dad is really struggling to cope. He is on anti-depressants and has not been eating or sleeping. This is even more worrying as he is also a diabetic. At the moment the doctor is simply saying that it is all down to his state of mind. However, we can't help worrying that it is something more sinister, especially after having lost mum to cancer only 6 months ago. It is really worrying to me that these misdiagnoses are happening so regularly in this day and age. The elderly have been brought up in a system that they don't question the information given to them by supposed professionals...maybe this is one instance where they could learn something from the youth of today.

Re: Article: Sudden Weight Loss: One of the Key Elder Care Warning Signs You Can’t Ignore

RainbowPainter — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:36:45 GMT

This article brought me to tears. Weight loss is a big concern for me with my mother and it's a challenge at best. I'm still trying to figure out new ways to encourage her to eat "healthy" and enjoy her small portions that personally, I don't see how she is surviving other than by the Grace of God. I do know that her 'biggest' meal is at lunch time so I try really hard to make it a "hot meal' at that particular time of day, since her nightly ritual for supper is a very small bowl of cold cereal. My doctor did recommend using a powdered breakfast drink and mixing it with ice cream, for the caloric intake value as well as the nutrients, to make a 'special treat' of shake for her since she does enjoy a milk shake often. It's a learning process for me and I'm sure it will be since her tastes change with medicines as they are prescribed which also can deplete the appetite.

Article: Sudden Weight Loss: One of the Key Elder Care Warning Signs You Can’t Ignore

Admin — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:24:18 GMT

Sudden Weight Loss: One of the Key Elder Care Warning Signs You Can’t Ignore

Three years ago when Nicole Wilhelm, a public relations executive in Jacksonville, Florida, was in the throes of wedding planning, she visited her 68-year-old father in Lucerne Valley, California. But something was wrong, says Wilhelm. Her father, a lifelong skier who was normally muscular and fit, now looked frail and weak. “I noticed that he was definitely thinner, but not so much as to cause great concern,” she says. Still something didn’t seem right to Wilhelm, so she asked her father about his weight loss. “He said he had been to his doctor, so I didn’t worry,” she explains. “He was his usual upbeat self.” What Wilhelm didn’t know was that in six months, her father would be fighting for his life. Wilhelm had discovered one of the most important elder care warning signs a caregiver should look out for.

This article continues at Elder Care Warning Signs and Sudden Weight Loss.