For the last few days my father has hardly eaten anything. He is also refusing to drink. He literally takes one sip of water and then refuses.
Should I accept his refusal or keep asking him to drink/ eat a little? He gets very anxious when I tell him that he will start to feel worse because of dehydration.
Any other suggestions?
Stop telling him he'll feel worse. Allow him to focus on what he needs to do for himself.
Support him, but make sure you support yourself. Contact his doc so he can be placed on hospice. They'll support him and you.
I'm sorry.
It is common at End Of Life that a person will stop eating and drinking. The body requires less nutrition, it is using energy to keep the heart and brain functioning.
It is also common if there are other medical problems. Blockage, pain in the mouth, throat, stomach. If there are no medical problems this is a natural course and you should resist the urge to have a feeding tube placed. And in some cases IV's as well can do harm. As the organs shut down the kidneys can no longer function well so urine output is low you do not want excess fluids. Due to the decreased fluids the urine will get darker. The last week of my Husbands life the urine was a dark brownish color.
You might want to contact a Hospice and see if he is eligible if so they will help a lot. Their goal is to keep your dad pain free and provide you with the equipment and supplies and support that you need to keep him safe.
If you have hospice available to you, I would certainly be contacting them today.
it started with an illness that caused Mom to lose her appetite and then she became completely repulsed by al food and drink, including water. She refused everything. She almost became combative. She was growing delirious. The doctors told me she was dying and I should give up and just get her morphine from hospice.
I would not have gotten her to eat again without the help of a wonderful CNA that loved Mom nearly as much as I. Together (with the CNA’s experience and guidance) we tag teamed to get mom to take a bite here and a sip there until her appetite returned.
We would try lots of different tastes and textures, hoping she would get even just a little. We would cheer after every bite, praise her and encourage her. The process seemed excrutiatingly slow and I was scared that I was prolonging her suffering. It took three weeks of one bite at a time and then she regained interest and appetite and eventually she was eating and drinking like before. Her appetite and love for food returned.
For the rest of her life she thanked me for not giving up. I had thought she was too delirious to remember, but she did.
i hope you have the same results. I will be thinking of you.
Is he in otherwise OK health? Take him into the doctor if he's not otherwise heading toward death, because this is a sign that he's shutting down.
Is he on hospice?
The first one is depression. Perhaps you need to talk with him
They other is they just want to die. All of their family and friends are gone, their health is gone, they are isolated. They just want to give up and die. I would respect that decision.
I have seen both a lot. It is hard to accept but we must respect their choice.