She's losing strength pretty badly, making it hard to do steps or even walk very far, even with her walker. I guess because the muscle's wasting away, her joints end up hurting a lot too, which makes her not want to move much ... which probably causes even more muscle loss. I know protein is key to keep muscle on, but she doesn't eat all that much... meat is too hard to chew and she's allergic to dairy so milk is out too. The only other way I know to get protein in would be a protein shake, I know there's dairy free protein powders, but I'm not sure if a protein supplement for a 90 year old is a good idea anyway. I found a list of protein powders good for older people and they say older people need more protein apparently than young people, which I guess makes sense, but I still am not totally comfortable with giving a sports supplement like protein powder to an older, semi-bedridden lady, especially when her digestion can be very sensitive. Do any of those protein powders look OK, or is this whole idea a bad idea in general? Thank you so much for your help! :)
As for protein powders, I found most of the non dairy ones were rather unpleasant tasting and for my mom they were constipating.
Make sure she's getting vit d3 and fish oil.
Also ask her dr to order her physical therapy. They will evaluate her and help her get stronger.
Let us know what you try and how she likes it.
Oh yes , You can buy some individual packets to try before investing in a larger quantity.