Welcome to my first blogging experience! As a registered dietitian who works in long-term care, I see the difficulties that patients and their families who are suffering from dementia face.
Having an elderly loved one suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia can be difficult in many ways. Watching your loved-one deteriorate both physically and mentally is part of the pain of advancing dementia. When a patient begins becoming confused or disoriented (often refered to as cognitive decline), s(he) may become too confused to focus on eating, refuse to eat, or forget to eat. Physical decline such as swallowing problems or being unable to bring an eating utensil to the mouth can also affect food intake. Among the agonizing decisions family members must make is whether or not to tube feed a dementia patient who is not eating.
I am looking for your stories, and will share mine, in an attempt to ignite a conversation about the difficult issues related to eating issues and end-of-life decisions related to artifical nutrition and hydration. Please add your comments, and I will check back now and again to see where the conversation goes.
Monday, September 1, 2008
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