For many months, the only method used has been the mid-arm circumference measurement which is questionable since the patient has hanging fat that's not going anywhere.
Are there other areas of the body that could/should be measured? For instance, the belly/torso area seems to be getting smaller but is never looked at or measured?
In sum, hospice needs to document weight and they have not. What else should they be doing?
Thanks in advance!
My dad had liver cancer, and he'd retain huge amounts of water in his abdomen. We'd have it drained, and he'd lose 10 pounds in an hour. A week later, he'd be back up six or seven pounds, we'd have him drained, and he'd lose another 10 pounds. That's how we knew he was losing weight, because his weight never went back up to what it was, but the same amount of fluid would be drained off.
I'm with JoAnn, though -- I'm not sure how important weight loss is when someone is dying.
I found it quite silly, because one nurse would pull the tape measure real tight, while the next one wouldn't. There was no way they ever really got a "true" measurement. I think it was more for show than anything else.
Hospice doesn't have to document an actual weight, just if it appears the patient is losing weight.
My husband retained a lot of fluid during his stint with hospice, and the only time he lost weight, was during his 6 week dying process when he stopped eating. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm sure you have way more important things to worry about. Best wishes.