Chapter 420 - Loss of Weight
One day this week a Wild Dog carer exclaimed to her "You've lost a lot of weight since I last saw you!!!" and that had been only several weeks ago. The carer said she would be there to help put her on their seated scales when I collected her from Respite. Wild Dog management must have been informed and everyone at Respite was weighed that day. Perhaps that is a practise that should be done regularly? Anyway, she asked to be taken to the disabled loo so she could use the rails to slide from her wheel chair onto the seat on the scales. The result - 51.2 Kg. Back on 29th March the Wild Dog carer/physio had her stand on our bathroom type scales while grasping the rails we have in the garage, hardly accurate since she held onto the rails but the reading was 58.8 Kgs. So in not quite 2 months she lost at least 8 Kgs!!!
Recently she has not been completing her evening meal. At first it was a matter of not eating vegetables because of chewing and swallowing difficulties. But then she began leaving the meaty flavoursome parts as well.. I suppose many would say I feed her too many frozen dinners but I think such are more nutritious than anything I prepare. She never wants to go to the Club anymore because the food is awful there these days. Lately she is never hungry. Often she has to be harangued to leave whatever she is doing to to even taste a meal. So I took her to the doctor's on Thursday. He suggested this may just be another PD problem. It may well be so; although other Parkies lose weight, she has never done so. Her sense of taste is lacking. I wonder whether her sense of smell has gone as well? Dr I. gave her a script for Panafcortelon, something given for anorexia, and to return in 10 days. She began taking one a day with breakfast on Friday.
On Thursday physio A at the hospital fitted her left leg/foot with a removable made-in-position cast. When finished she did a 3 step walk with their fore-arm walker about 6-7 metres. That cheered us a lot. At home with our fore-arm walker though she tends to stub the toe of the cast, does not move well at all & I'm afraid of her falling. I was asked to cycle the cast on and off at 1, then 2 then 3 hourly intervals. So far that hasn't been possible; very difficult to tighten the cast with velcro strips so there is minimal gap in the cast at the arch of her foot but even impossible in the afternoon when her foot is much less pliable. This morning I had her pedal her machine for half an hour before making a second attempt to fit the cast. And left on for too long makes both legs throb. Yesterday I asked the respite staff to remove the cast at 11AM. Today, after difficulties, the caste was not fitted until nearly 10AM so I may leave it on until mid-afternoon.
She continues to easily distracted by "little" things; labels on items, cash register dockets and often stops an activity to sort out things she sees misplaced. After one of the younger Wild Dog carer's introduced her to that type of sports bra without clips she decided to remove the metal clips from all her old bras and stitch them together, creating a pile of mess in her sewing room without, I think, completing at least one. Over an hour ago I made her a very large mug of Milo, custard and ice cream which she says she likes, although only a 1/4 has been drunk. And it's almost lunch time. She is currently engrossed in threading her sewing machine to possible sew together the pieces of a calico Golly Wog, although I had to advise her her that she needed to fill the arms etc before stitching them closed. She is able to detect that something is wrong with her sewing efforts but is unable to resolve the problems. Some weeks ago she decided to sew up an apron 1/2 an hour before leaving for Respite. Just a "quick job" she said, perhaps years ago when she was able; anyway, that "quick job" took many days of sewing, unpicking, trimming bits with scissors without ever completing it.
This morning following instructions from neuro Dr F. her Duodopa flow rate was increased to 5.2 mL/hour.
Recently she has not been completing her evening meal. At first it was a matter of not eating vegetables because of chewing and swallowing difficulties. But then she began leaving the meaty flavoursome parts as well.. I suppose many would say I feed her too many frozen dinners but I think such are more nutritious than anything I prepare. She never wants to go to the Club anymore because the food is awful there these days. Lately she is never hungry. Often she has to be harangued to leave whatever she is doing to to even taste a meal. So I took her to the doctor's on Thursday. He suggested this may just be another PD problem. It may well be so; although other Parkies lose weight, she has never done so. Her sense of taste is lacking. I wonder whether her sense of smell has gone as well? Dr I. gave her a script for Panafcortelon, something given for anorexia, and to return in 10 days. She began taking one a day with breakfast on Friday.
On Thursday physio A at the hospital fitted her left leg/foot with a removable made-in-position cast. When finished she did a 3 step walk with their fore-arm walker about 6-7 metres. That cheered us a lot. At home with our fore-arm walker though she tends to stub the toe of the cast, does not move well at all & I'm afraid of her falling. I was asked to cycle the cast on and off at 1, then 2 then 3 hourly intervals. So far that hasn't been possible; very difficult to tighten the cast with velcro strips so there is minimal gap in the cast at the arch of her foot but even impossible in the afternoon when her foot is much less pliable. This morning I had her pedal her machine for half an hour before making a second attempt to fit the cast. And left on for too long makes both legs throb. Yesterday I asked the respite staff to remove the cast at 11AM. Today, after difficulties, the caste was not fitted until nearly 10AM so I may leave it on until mid-afternoon.
She continues to easily distracted by "little" things; labels on items, cash register dockets and often stops an activity to sort out things she sees misplaced. After one of the younger Wild Dog carer's introduced her to that type of sports bra without clips she decided to remove the metal clips from all her old bras and stitch them together, creating a pile of mess in her sewing room without, I think, completing at least one. Over an hour ago I made her a very large mug of Milo, custard and ice cream which she says she likes, although only a 1/4 has been drunk. And it's almost lunch time. She is currently engrossed in threading her sewing machine to possible sew together the pieces of a calico Golly Wog, although I had to advise her her that she needed to fill the arms etc before stitching them closed. She is able to detect that something is wrong with her sewing efforts but is unable to resolve the problems. Some weeks ago she decided to sew up an apron 1/2 an hour before leaving for Respite. Just a "quick job" she said, perhaps years ago when she was able; anyway, that "quick job" took many days of sewing, unpicking, trimming bits with scissors without ever completing it.
This morning following instructions from neuro Dr F. her Duodopa flow rate was increased to 5.2 mL/hour.
posted by Kilpike | 11:54 am
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