Possible eating disorder - seeking advice to assist relative

amy19355
amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Am providing housing and assistance for my brother (59 yo) and seeking input to accompany the doctor care he is receiving for a variety of things. My questions come from an imagined scenario that has my brother willing to let me feed him when and what I choose, in an effort to help correct the GI ailments that plague him and elude his doctors.

Sometimes I am able to penetrate and nudge him in the right direction where he needs a nudge.

Background:
He’ll tell anyone who asks that he is allergic to food, and the way he reacts to anything he eats, it’s not a bad description. He’s pretty much in avoidance mode, and eats because he’s faint with hunger. Then he’s in distress for 3 days. And it’s a vicious circle. We just had a round at the ER and 3 days in for observation. Morphine cuts the pain, nothing makes the food go through the way it does for normal people.

He’s got a peptic ulcer that cannot be treated until he finishes another 3 month course of meds for a different ailment. No unreasonably limiting diet restrictions (no nuts, no alcohol, eat balanced) and stop smoking if you can.

Questions on my mind; looking for input:
If I could get him to eat something every hour, what small amount of which macro or combination of macros , would provide the maximum benefits with the least GI-distressful risk?

Along with that, is there any information on a reasonable time for restoring someone’s caloric intake upwards to its minimum? Are there risks to too much too soon?

How does one determine the life span of someone seemingly staying alive on 2500-3000 calories a week?

Meanwhile:
I have the VA as a resource and their mental health services are nearing the top of my ‘better call’ list.
For the next few months, at least maybe I can do something even a little useful with ideas from the nutrition -nerds in the room.

Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I was going to suggest Ensure, if he can handle it. Really anything that he can keep down. But the main thing is that he needs a diagnosis! There may also be a mental disorder but honestly the sort of distress you describe would put anyone off food.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    I have been treating an ulcer and chronic gastritis. Kefir, bananas, hot cereals like oatmeal and bulgar, rice, beans like pinto beans, bread, and small amounts of lean meat all sit well. I have pain after fatty meals of any kind, bacon (turkey or pork - might be the "smoke" not just the fat), and sometimes I can eat spicy food and sometimes I can't. Also, I might have symptoms after a meal and not know what triggered them because I had a few different foods involved. I will tell you that pain from food is a big behavior modifier. I hope your brother gets a good diagnosis and a reasonable treatment plan.
  • peggy_polenta
    peggy_polenta Posts: 325 Member
    its good to think abut the hazards of increasing his intake from near zero to norma. there is something called refeeding syndrome when reintroducing food to someone who has not been eating. google it for more info. can get pretty serious.
  • mortuseon_
    mortuseon_ Posts: 257 Member
    See a doctor. EDs kill
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    mortuseon_ wrote: »
    See a doctor. EDs kill

    If only it were that simple.

    Ever heard the one about the horse, and the water he won’t drink?
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    dancingonstarz wrote: »
    Have his doctors looked at gall stones or other gall bladder dysfunction as a contributing factor?

    I don’t think so! Thanks for offering that idea ; it’s easy enough to ask the primary if it would have been an included blood test from last months round of labs.

    Thanks!
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