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My husband is starting to ask for specific foods and have a craving for them.. Sometimes he will ask for days until I get it for him. This is very annoying since we are far from stores and he always ate what I gave him before. Now he only wants certain things at certain times.

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My late husband who never liked seafood developed cravings for fish in the last 6 months of his life. And that is all he would tell me that he wanted for supper.
It was kind of comical as I remember many years earlier when we had gone to Red Lobster(as I have always loved seafood)my husband ordered the only chicken dish they had on the menu at that time.
And like your husband once he had something in his mind that is all he would talk about and drive me kind of crazy.
Humor him when you can and don't worry about when you can't. He'll be ok.
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https://www.alzheimers.net/11-3-14-dementia-food-cravings

It's quite common to get food cravings for elders with dementia and Alzheimer's, yes. Above is a link to an article on the subject.
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Better to have cravings and desire some kind of food than refuse to eat pretty much anything, even foods that in the past were favorites.
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graygrammie Feb 17, 2024
Exactly!
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My husband ate many sweet carbs prior to being diagnosed with dementia. A blueberry muffin for breakfast, ice cream twice a day, as well as cookies and Tastyklairs throughout the week. Now, he doesn't like sweets at all, just an occasional half a sticky bun or doughnut. What he craves are the tastes of his childhood (but only his paternal Italian side, not his maternal WV homestyle cooking side). As long as he eats, I'm not going to fuss about it. Better to live in peace as much as possible and not trigger him.
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If he has "mild" dementia make his asking for a particular food part of a "task" he can do.
Get a whiteboard and he can write down the items he wants.
When you go shopping you can ask him what one or two items he would like.
When you get to the store he can try looking for the items.
My Husband would always pick up bananas and put them in the cart. Didn't matter if we had bananas at home so when he wasn't looking I would replace the yellow ones he put in the cart with the greenest ones I cold find.
Since you are far from stores just remind him that shopping is done on Wednesday. You can circle or highlight Wednesday on the calendar so it reminds him.
**If he is beyond writing items on a whiteboard or trying to locate an item in the store there are other ways that you can get him to "wait" for shopping day.
By the way if the food cravings are for odd foods or ones he did not like before you might want to mention it to his doctor SOME cravings are indicators of deficiencies in the diet and they may want to check levels for vitamins and minerals.
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Doesn't everyone get food cravings?
I sure do.
That doesn't mean when I have a taste for Trader Joe Old Fashioned Potato Chips that everyone runs out and gets them.
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We all get food cravings. Someone with dementia is no different. But in the immortal words of Mick “you can’t always get what you want”
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AlvaDeer Feb 12, 2024
Exactly! I think the problem with caregivers is that by nature they feel responsible to fix everything. They can't just say "Dang, Dad has a craving to Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream again, and there's none in the house. They have to feel responsible to run right out and get it. By that time Dad doesn't even remember.
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Just because he wants a particular food, doesn’t mean that you have to provide it or that he will suffer if he doesn’t get it. There are many many dementia ‘cravings’ that don’t have to be provided – like calling the police because the neighbors are tunneling under the house to plant dynamite.
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graygrammie Feb 17, 2024
I disagree. My husband craves pizza. We get several a week. Breakfast lunch and dinner for him. If I don't get him pizza, he will spiral and eventually he will blow. It is for my safety that I buy the pizza. Every once in a while, he'll ask for something else. Here's how it sounds: "I'd love to have my mom's spaghetti sauce, but you are too lazy to make it." (There is always some in the freezer. I've learned.) "When was the last time you made lasagna? I'm sure you think it costs too much money because you are a tightwad like your father." (I make it, he eats one piece, the rest goes in the freezer.)

I do my best to meet his cravings because it is one way I keep the home peaceful. Honestly, I no longer care whether he eats healthfully, I just care that he eats something. And since I am no longer fixing meals to please him, I finally get to make what I want to eat.
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Curious, is he watching alot of commercials, when I see Milky Way add, I can't stop craving it. Maybe adds are putting things in his head.
At a certain stage in someone's life I feel like they should be able to eat whatever they enjoy eating, it's pretty much all they have left.
But please don't feel the need to up out ASAP and get it for him. Just jot it down and before your next shopping trip ask him if he still wants this or that. Then get it for him, because the craving may have passed
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Yes usually Its sugar . My Mom Only ate Mostly Yoghurt. My brother stopped eating for awhile and then got back his appetite .
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