Mom wanting to eat constantly in the middle of the night! How can I address her night time eating problems considering her Hypoglycemia?

You have previously shared:

"This is the 3rd year I'm caring for her and she's declining as expected. She is the sweetest, most considerate and loving woman I've seen, but it's getting very difficult since I have a back injury as well which needs surgery soon! She doesn't speak english and that makes it harder to find a place for her. I will try to care for her until I can't anymore physically. She is truly an angel. I can't leave an angel in those nursing homes."

and

"...have sciatica, herniated disks and knee issues on top of that and can't hire anyone now(due to the Covid-19)! Its extremely difficult. I used to walk with her to the park but now due to the tear in my knee, I can't!"

Are also having to wake up every 2 hours when she does? Have you been able to hire any help yet?

What is the plan for if (when?) she needs a lot of physical assistance? Will you be able to hire daytime and nighttime caregivers for that? It sounds like with your physical problems that it would be a bad idea for you to take on any of the physical parts of caregiving. When will you have surgery for your back injury?

Since you apparently will not consider placing your mother in a facility ("I can't leave an angel in those nursing homes"), I hope you will also not consider sacrificing your own physical health for her.

My father-in-law was getting up in the night and wandering. A geriatric specialist told us to try keeping him up during the day, all day, with very little napping and even then to never let him sleep for more than 20-30 min at a time, This has made all the difference and it wears him out so that now he sleeps all night long. We have a caregiver who comes during the day (which makes this easier on us!) and she interacts with him using games, toys, small walks, conversations during tv shows, whatever it takes.

For the hypoglycemia issue, you might try giving her cheese or another protein at bedtime, which will last in her system longer through the night.

Do your mother's meals and snacks focus on protein and minimize sugars carbohydrates/sugars. The carbs and sugars aggravate hypoglycemia; protein is more stabilizing and lasts longer.

Many people with hypoglycemia have not been informed by their doctor that the type of snack is as important as the frequency. Complex carbohydrates like pasta and potatoes instead of sugary snacks are VITAL. Proteins are also at the tp of the list. Unless she has allergies or diverticulitis, nuts and nut butters can be life savers. Sugars, except in emergency can exacerbate the problem.

I would talk over her hypoglycemia with her doctor. Are you feeding her 3x a day and a snack before bed? Maybe you'd be better stretching out the meals to 6x a day. This helps to keep sugar levels up without crashing which causes the shakes.

Yes, it seems Mom needs round the clock care. Without a decent nights sleep caregiving is hard enough. Plus with your physical problems.

I'm not seeing any mention of diabetes, which as far as I know would be the only reason for hypoglycemia... is this a real diagnosis or something you feel she has based on her symptoms?

If she is diabetic and is experiencing lows at night as verified by a glucometer this is something you Must address with her doctor, she may need her medication adjusted and and a consult with a dietitian.

My first question would be “how to address the waking up every two hours” … because if you can get her to sleep, you can eliminate the constant eating. Have you discussed a sleep aid with her doctor?

My mom the same. We finally decided she was just forgetting she ate (because of dementia). She would even ask when we were going to feed her breakfast or lunch while she was eating breakfast or lunch.

Most important first step is to have her checked and discuss this with her doctor! If she is diabetic she may need additional testing done and/or adjustment of insulin. If it isn't diabetes related, they need to figure out why she has this issue (note: the constant eating and/or getting up at night may be just because of dementia, but if she's truly hypoglycemic, doc needs to figure it out.)

You may need the help of a dietician as well. There is SO much sugar hidden in foods today (people get overly worked up sometimes about salt, but don't realize how much sugar has been slipped into various foods as well. It's a cheap filler and is addictive - wonder why so many people might be overweight? Read the ingredients of what you buy!!!)

This page is geared for diabetics, but has a nice list of potential foods for a bedtime snack:

https://diabetesendocare.com/which-are-the-best-bedtime-snacks-for-diabetes/

AGAIN, you need to be very aware of food items that sugar has been added to. Like salt, some sugar is okay in certain items, but sugar is cheap and they add it to so many foods (peanut butter can be good, but not if you buy the kind with ANY sugar in it!!!!) READ the ingredients (my mom used to have to do this for salt when my dad had heart surgery - now it's sugar we have to watch out for!) ESPECIALLY suspect are all those "fat free" or "reduced fat" items. Removing the fat makes thing unpalatable, so they ADD SUGAR!

I can't list everything that has added sugar, you need to read the ingredients (watch for anything -ose, such as sucrose, maltose, dextrose, etc.) Even better, buy as little "processed" foods as possible. Start with fresh (or frozen) meat, fruits and veggies and cook them up yourself - no prepackaged stuff. Even those "healthy" promoted granola bars are loaded with sugar and hydrogenated** fats!!! GET RID OF IT ALL! Whenever possible, cook/make food items from scratch.

(**I added this as it is one of the things that led to my cholesterol being too high. Ditched those "healthy" things and all is good!)

Start with an evaluation by her doctor. He/She can evaluate and treat her blood glucose issues.