My husband’s taste in food seems to be changing. Things that he used to love, like root beer floats, he doesn’t remember ever having before and he has started smothering everything in BBQ sauce now. Yesterday, I made him a teriyaki chicken and vegetable stir fry with noodles and he took a bite and said it tasted funny and wouldn’t eat it. Just about 6 months ago, he loved the dish. It’s a little difficult from day to day to figure out what he likes to eat. Is this normal? Any suggestions?
Yesterday, my mother was enjoying the "hotel" she was staying at (she lives in a Memory Care Assisted Living) and was planning to get dressed and walk to church today, she told me. She's wheelchair bound and hasn't been to church since 2014.
Just go with the flow of whatever your dh is saying, wanting or doing, if possible. I know how hard all this is, so wishing you the best of luck being flexible
She passed from this world in April and I know the only thing that kept her alive the last 6 months of her life was sugar and lots of it. I miss sitting down with her with a big 'ol piece of chocolate cake! She would still be here if she didn't fall and hit her head so everyone please watch out for those falls. They can kill the elderly. My poor mother...
She was losing weight. She was signed up for Meals on Wheels and then one day she no longer liked the food. So the family took turns getting her meals usually ready made from the grocery store. Foods she had always been a favorite of hers, she complained she never liked. Go figure.
Just go with the flow and keep trying different foods.
Other reasons for lack of taste and smell is having a sinus problem. Have a doc check it out and ask about cutting out unnecessary meds. At 90 we are going for quality of life over saving his cholesterol level!
Not recalling a particular food might just be the process of the dementia.
Now a change in taste might indicate a symptom of COVID and he might not be able to articulate what the changes are specifically so it might be worth getting him tested particularly if he has any other symptoms like:
fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, diarrhea just to name a few.
If all checks out then just keep trying other foods. But keep a few that you know he likes. And there is nothing wrong with giving him the same meal over and over if he is enjoying it and is getting a healthy meal. Make extra, portion it out and freeze it. Thaw a meal for him and make something else for yourself if you don't want to eat the same thing.
In fact to celebrate his birthday after his death, my son and I had a fish dinner in his honor.
I found it easier when I found something he seemed to enjoy eating(like fish)to just make sure that's what was on his plate for supper.
So if your husband is now enjoying food smothered in BBQ sauce, just keep giving him foods smothered in it. There is no law saying that someone must eat something different every day, so just give him what he enjoys, and hopefully in time you too will be able to find the humor in it. Best wishes.
Things my dad used to love he couldn't or wouldn't gag down. It became a daily trial. I see it now in mother. She swears she doesn't eat anything, literally, but she has not lost weight or become unhealthy. She simply forgets. Also, she barely moves during the day and that will cut into her caloric needs.
My sister took her a HUGE burger, fries, shake and apple pie on her birthday. Sis said she ate every scrap. I watched her eat her entire dinner and 2 desserts at my niece's wedding dinner. I think, for her, she's just sick of cooking for herself. I get that! When DH is out of town, I just forage around. After 45 years, I'm sick of cooking.
For mom, there are always protein shakes and she loves those. I wouldn't worry too much about this.
We just make sure mom has a selection of easy to prepare foods in her apt and let her choose.
Have no ideas how to help. Just like with a small child, itschit and miss.