My mum is getting very frail and doesn’t seem to eat, doesn’t eat has no energy , am I mad to think that some kind of energy gel would be beneficial or is that bonkers

My uneducated reply is that you want slow release energy from nutrition rich sources.

That aint energy gels. God knows what a few weeks of those would do to you!

You can get calorie-/nutrient-dense puddings and drinks for people who don’t have much of an appetite

Try this..

Home

Many of the care services use it.

Complan

My late mum and step-dad were exactly the same, very difficult to find anything that interested them, porridge pots worked ok, tins of soup, etc.

Its quite common. Get her GP to refer her ( or see if you can get a direct referral) to a dietician. Plenty of high calorie / added nutrient stuff out there. fortisip, fortipuds, fresubin, fortijuice if you don’t like milkshakes etc etc. Some even are really nice frozen. Available on prescription if the dietician agrees

One woman in my care has gone from 31 kilo to 39 kilo on a diet of fortisip and rice krispies .

My friend was prescribed ensure shakes by his doctor for this. And we was told you could get build until soups from the supermarket but never found them.

What’s your mum’s situation? Does she cook for herself? Is she eating “normal” meals? Is the weight loss fairly sudden, or very gradual? Has she been checked out by her GP recently?

Sorry for all the questions, but it will help us to make the right suggestions.

fortisips have a fair amount of maltodextrin in them. Similar to sports products… not so nice

A diet of gels would not be great.

I’d imagine a dietitian would recommend energy dense foods to help her gain weight. That’s fat. Get good helpings of butter, cream, cheese into what food she will eat.

And desserts, often people will manage sweet stuff which usually has crazy amounts of calories in it.

No gels wouldn’t be good idea.

How about suggesting you take her out for a meal? Or have a meal together, you cook? It’s the approach. You could even cook together. Make it fun. Food she likes.

She needs no more than a balanced diet and some contact. Time is the most valuable thing you can give. I’ve recently helped my dad to change his diet this way and he no longer needs vit D because he never ate any greens! He’d been on tablets for years. Now tablet free but takes the supplement Sep-Mar. I live three hours away by car but I spend regular time with them. We need to change the culture of caring for our relations.

Blimey, that’s a bit harsh, Pawsy! We don’t know anything about the old lady, or why she doesn’t appear to be eating. I hope Pigface isn’t upset by your comments. The way I read it, he sounds like a very caring son.

What does her GP say ?

She needs no more than a balanced diet

this may well be bollox. Old folk often lose appetite and weight – nothing to do with mood or a balanced diet. Even with the best food available it happens

fortisips have a fair amount of maltodextrin in them. Similar to sports products… not so nice

What’s bad for us healthy people trying to lose lbs isn’t necessarily bad for people who need to gain weight.

Yup – we feed the old folk I look after on full fat everything and even have maltodextrin powder to sprinkle on ordinary food. Its often just a question of getting enough calories into them

Lots of the people I look after have BMIs well below 20. the most extreme I have seen was a woman who was still able to walk around weighing 26 kilos

he no longer needs vit D because he never ate any greens!

thats amazing not least because leafy green veg are not a source of vitamin D – you need sunlight irrespective of diet in the main.

The way I read it, he sounds like a very caring son.

this

Sometimes we need to switch the argument mode off

would you like a meal of gel? I wouldn’t and I’m in my 60th year. Maybe not as old as his mum.

NHS advice – balanced diet. A good sound source of information. Id suggest talking to her and with the doctors who are experts not the bike forum.

What I suggested was go around and spend sometime eating / cooking with her. See what’s happening change the outcome.

I work with the frail elderly. Its not known why this happens but its common. Appetite goes and supplements are the only way to get enough nutrients into people.

Of course I cannot know that is what has happened here but this is a real thing – and the NHS uses supplements all the time to ensure frail elderly are not malnourished. so for once someone on STW has some knowledge

Oi! I resemble that remark!

My mother only eats packaged processed food which is bland and tasteless, but microwavable and needs no preparation. When i visit i cook up meals and she eats more than me, so i reckon its the hassle of buying, preparing and washing up.

Doctor prescribed complan, although i know nothing about it.

Plenty of knowledge, advice and experience on this thread . . . but as Pawsy Bear hinted at, it’s important to find out what’s going on with this particular lady.

A few years ago, my own mum was so weak that she needed a wheelchair to attend hospital appointments. A few months later (after major surgery) she was climbing hills in the Lake District.

So it could be this general “decline” that TJ describes, or it could be a specific health problem (either physical or mental).

Either way, it’s extremely worrying to watch this happening to a parent. So I hope Pigface is able to get appropriate help for his mum very soon.

energy gel would be beneficial or is that bonkers

Bonkers clearly in fact I can’t believe you even thought it could be a solution.

What’s her social situation like, have you tried to understand the underlying cause, has she seen her GP.

Having said all that giving her a gel is the easiest answer for you right ?

@molgrips: excellent point, and one reason i’m against sugar tax, and super annoyed by lucozade (semi) recently halving their sugar (and hence calorie) content. For people with severely reduced appetite for whatever reason, stuff that is usually deemed unhealthy can be the only thing keeping them going.

Have used the maltodextrin powder @tj mentioned, and also a giant bottle of liquid fat to stir into stuff. A dietitian will be able to help out with other tricks like ‘super’ milk (full fat milk with instant milk powder mixed in).