Why won't she eat? What do we do now?

Few changes frighten families more than a loved one with dementia who stops eating. Some causes can be found and treated, like a sore mouth, constipation, or a medication side effect. Others are part of the disease itself. This guide helps you tell the difference and care for your loved one with confidence and dignity. It's written by a hospice nurse practitioner who began her career helping nursing home residents eat.

Inside this book:

• Why eating changes at each stage of dementia.
• What to do when your loved one says they are not hungry or forgets how to eat.
• Safer chewing and swallowing, and the signs of choking and aspiration.
• Practical ways to make mealtimes calmer and easier.
• Help with refusing food, drinking too little, and weight loss.
• Medications and medical conditions that affect appetite.
• What research shows about feeding tubes in advanced dementia.
• How families can work through disagreements about feeding.

Every chapter ends with "What I Want You to Remember" and "When to Call the Healthcare Provider." The Family Toolkit includes:

• a daily food and fluid sheet
• a swallowing warning-sign checklist
• a mealtime assistance guide
• questions about feeding tubes
• a weight tracking sheet
• a goals-of-care worksheet
• an In My Own Words page

Book Three of the Dementia Made Simple for Families series.