I care for my dad who has vascular dementia. He has recently stopped eating, he lives on 1 buttered digestive a day. He is still drinking a small amount. Is this the beginning of the end?
Hi Brenda and welcome to the forum. A brave and direct opening question. I think you need to rule out anything else like infection, constipation or needing a liquid diet but you may find that you, as you say facing the end satage. Is your father “winding down” in any other areas- double incontinence for example, loss of speach/mobility?
It may be time to google - thre is plenty of information available about “end of life” and what to expect. You may well find he picks up a little and then dips again. Has your dad had any referral to the “SALT” team for liquid diets? , worth asking the GP. I think health professionals in general are very reluctant to predict any time lines.
Brenda, there is a lot of useful information on the internet, it’s really difficult to type in “end of life” or “signs of dying” but be brave.
I found it really helpful and it made me understand that people didn’t die because they didn’t eat enough or drink enough. They didn’t want much to eat or drink, because the body knows how much it can cope with when organs are not working very well.
Have you heard of NHS Continuing Healthcare which is designed to support people near the end of their lives.
been on google many times & I know whats coming. dad is still mobile, but slow, can still speak etc. incontinent sometimes. just wanted to know if stopping eating was the first stage of the end
I don’t think there is a normal, especially with vascular dementia as so many different parts of the brain can be affected. My advice would be to trust your gut instinct. It would still be worth speaking to GP , just for peace of mind to know that you have covered everything.