In addition to dementia, my wife suffers from diarrhea. Are there foods to avoid so as to minimize this problem?

My father began suffering from the same thing. The doctor informed me that he did not have diarrhea. Instead, he had loose stools. According to his doctor, loose stools occurs once or twice a day. Diarrhea occurs multiple times over a short period. He basically said give him an Imodium when it happens. My father’s issue is he does not understand the physical clues indicating that he needs to have a bowel movement. Second he moves terribly slow partially because he has arthritis, partially because his dementia, and partially because he is just stubborn. By the time he made it to the toilet, he would have already soiled himself and he usually dripped on the floor sitting on the toilet and then would step in it (I’ve had to do things I never imagined I could or would). I began giving him one Imodium every morning and that solved the problem. He still has regular bowel movements, they are just no longer loose.

I recommend you talk to her doctor, maybe get a referral to a specialist to perform stool test to check for the cause of her problem.

For some people, their systems have a harder time digesting too much vegetables, especially raw leafy ones. Perhaps you can keep a log of her food and her bowel movements for a week and see if certain food triggers diarrhea.

I, myself, used to suffer from loose stool for years until I heard about the benefits of celery juice. After drinking about a cup a day for two months, my system healed almost completely. I continue drinking diluted celery juice mixed with some other juice for flavor. I haven't had anymore diarrhea. Before this, my doctor dx me as having IPS (Insufficient Pancreatic Syndrome), and prescribed digestive enzymes supplements. The supplements do help but have side effects. Now, I don't need to take them anymore.

Basketbandit
Your wife is lucky to have such a caring husband and you are wise to start with diet and nutrition.
Look up FODMOP diet which can help you identify which foods might trigger your wife’s response. Does she also have bloating and pain? Consider all her symptoms.
Also Kimchi fermented foods are good to check out. Read about the microbiome.
A teaspoon or so of Benefiber in any beverage can help.
A food diary, along with elimination diary might help you look for patterns. Sometimes we can become lactose intolerant. As an example does your wife suffer after eating ice cream?
Sometimes the digestive system can be inflamed and need a rest from certain foods to recover. Sort of a reset. Consider everything, including meds. Some things take time to cause irritation and can be tolerated for a long time before showing symptoms.
If it is a long term problem vs a more recent issue can be informative.

What does her doctor say? Can she just take otc meds like Pepto bismol or immodium? She needs a physician’s diagnosis and advice.

Hi. I have a little experience in this department. My husband has the same issue. First I recommend starting a food journal. This will help you figure out what exactly are “bad” foods and what are “safe” ones. Next I suggest starting with the B.R.A.T. diet. Banana, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. Fair warning some of these could still cause diarrhea but it’s the best way to start or so says our doctor. Then add in a single new food at a time. My husband still had some problems with the apple sauce but it seemed to help. He also did well with mashed and baked potatoes. Start with bland foods like oatmeal and cream of wheat and just slowly add from there. I’d recommend staying away from dairy as that’s really hard to digest. I wish you the best of luck.

My mom had lifelong severe diarrhea. Her doctor suggested that I add a probiotic to her daily med regime. What a shock when it worked! Check with her doc, Walgreens Super Probiotic worked very well for my mom!

Basketbandit, welcome to the forum. Dairy products can cause stomach issues as we get older.

My elderly Dad was having the same problem as your wife. So I convinced my Mom not to give him anything dairy. Mom was from the "a little bit won't hurt" school of thought. I got him Lactose-free milk, and Lactaid ice cream. Problem solved.

If that doesn't work, next try to eliminate wheat, as gluten can also cause digestion problems.

Medicine can also cause issues due to the fillers used to make the pill large enough to handle.... the blinders that help keep the pill together.... and the coatings that make it easier to swallow the pill. Each pharmaceutical company has their own recipe, so one could ask the Pharmacist to try a different company [if accepted by one's insurance].

Here's one that people often forget: sugar substitutes that are often used in low-cal or sugar free products. Those can make a person runny as well.

Is this a new symptom? If so, did she start a new med recently? Has her diet changed?

Even eating something she used to eat without issue in the past, could now be causing her issues. My mom would have episodes of what we called "tummy trouble" sending her to the bathroom for a few hours every now and again. It was hard to figure out but we finally found the culprit - ice cream! Now it's non-dairy frozen treats without issues.

I agree she should be taking a probiotic.

Could also do an elimination diet to try to find the culprit. Since you're online I think you can google how to do it. Basically, you remove all foods that are likely suspects for causing issues then slowly add one back at a time so you can see if she has any reaction.

Best of luck.

Does you wife like yogurt? I was told by a doctor that this would help. And it has helped me. Get the ones with active cultures in them. I eat Yoplait yogurt all the time.

Prayers.