My husband has always had a severe sugar addiction, which I knew down the line could cause serious health issues and here we are. Dementia. Hardly able to walk (he is/was a Triathlete: Escape From Alcatraz swimmer and all that, climbed Kilimanjaro, motorcycles (2), the whole 9 yards), not able to drive, and we gave his son all the power tools, as, being an excellent carpenter, contractor, design/build business of his own, he cannot handle any of that anymore. So he eats. And eats sugar. Toast and jam, 1/2 loaf a day...last night he made a box of jello for dinner as I was alongside him making our nightly meal, salad and seafood with produce from the garden, and this morning I see from the dishes that he ate all 4 bowls that he made last night. And put them in the dishwasher and ran the dishwasher. Do I just stop buying sugar foods? He is reliant on me for everything, he is 77 - and I am 61. I am trying to keep him healthy and he says he would rather eat sugar and live a shorter life. I'm so depressed to see him deteriorate like this, but at this point in his life I just want him to be happy. Dementia is no fun, so sugar is his drug of choice. Please share your thoughts and expertise!! Thank you in advance. I read these emails every day and this group is helping me every day.
So as I said before , no answers just a day when I say no battles and we have a good day or a day when I police him and then I feel like I need an ice cream sundae with a big goblet of wine when he goes up to bed .I also find that even his doctors that have known him for years just don’t get this disease and the battles we fight every day.
Thanks tho for your question since this is a rant I’ve needed to do for months .
even people with non-dementia are addicted to it.
a great many studies have been done of the last 50 years. Brain scans of people eating sugar look exactly like the brain scan of people using heroin.
there is sugar in every prepackaged food you buy, even worse...high fructose. Which is hundreds of times worse. The food manufacturers know all about those studies.....
there is only one way to break an addiction that is triggering the endorphins in the brain...cold turkey. Nothing else works.
i wonder if he or you can withstand the 2 week period to kick this? He doesn’t want to...I am guessing you are not going to force this either.
remember too..he has had 50 or more years to pile damage on damage thru sugar use...you cannot correct it all in a short time. So, is it worth the pain and agony to drag an unwilling man thru withdrawal now?
Part of me wants to suggest that you buy several desserts for him that are "sugar free" and take them out of the packaging so he can't tell and see if he notices. Jello can be purchased sugar free and then you could put some berries in it ...
The other part of me wants to suggest letting him do what he wants. With the dementia he has a very limited life and if this brings him pleasure, so be it. I watched my MIL limit what my FIL ate because she didn't want him to have high cholesterol and I remember thinking...he has dementia and can't do anything..he has zero quality of life. If he wants a steak, for the love of Christ give him a steak!
Is it possible that all these posts we're reading here are food kicks? It seems almost like a toddler who will only eat one thing for weeks at a time.
very good suggestions you made!