Fractures are a huge risk factor for older people, and her story is not uncommon. While her poor food intake might make the decline worse, the relationship might be the other way around: she's feeling poorly and therefore has lost her appetite.I'd recommend you have a chat with her and her doctor first, where you bring up your concerns. It's also not uncommon for older people to be reluctant to discuss these kinds of issues with their doctors and family members to avoid "being a bother" or feeling like a burden. The issue is that those little things pile up quickly, and if they aren't taken care of, they become bigger problems. It might be best then of you bring them up, but keep in mind that she might be embarrassed. I am concerned about the dosage of her bisoprolol, as the feeling of her legs suddenly giving out might be a sign that she needs a lower dose or perhaps a different medication all together, but if she hasn't mentioned it to her GP then they wouldn't be aware of it. It might also be time to discuss perhaps getting a carer for a few hours every day, to ensure she's eating and reduce her risk of falling or getting UTIs from avoiding the toilet.It is important to remember that your gran is an adult, and so long as her mind is still all there, she can make her own decisions, even when neither you nor her doctor agree with her. Losing whatever control she has over her life, be that over her food or her medical care, could have a much bigger impact to her wellbeing than what you're perceiving from her intake right now, so all of these conversations need to be approached tactfully and keeping her as the decision maker.
Could lack of nutrition explain my (86F) Grandmother's poor health?I hope this is a relevant place to post this, I'm not sure which sub is best, but any opinions would be extremely welcome. Sorry for the long post.My Grandmother is 86 years old, lives in the UK and in the past 4 years has seen a tremendous downturn in her health and wellbeing. She suffererd a broken ankle 4 years ago abroad, and was put on a plane for a 9 hour flight home despite this so she could be treated for free in the UK. Shortly after she fell in the bathroom and hit her head, and her health has never even close to recovered since. Doctors have done every test they're willing to do on the NHS and they never find anything wrong.Those events certainly marked the start of her decline, but she is now getting much worse. She has no energy, often doesn't get out of bed, and is extremely unsteady on her feet. She describes this as being like a massive head rush where her legs simply give out every time she stands up. She can't cope with any situation outside of the absolute normal, is getting confused all the time but not in a way that reminds me of dementia. It's more that she simply doesn't seem to be able to think clearly or quickly. Her actual memory is generally ok. She is on Bisoprolol for a heart condition, and otherwise just vitamins.I do her shopping for her every week, and it's a constant argument. She wants me to buy enough food for MAYBE 2 days at most every week. I buy her more but it often just gets put in the freezer or goes out of date. She insists she eats plenty, but I simply can't see this being true. She weighs about 6.5 stone and hasn't got an ounce of fat on her body, she is scared to drink because of having to get to the toilet also.I don't live with her so I can't say for sure how much she eats, but it's can't be much at all. A brioche roll in the morning, a cake or something in the afternoon at most, abd no more than half a small ready meal on the evening, but again, I only buy her maybe 3 days worth of meals at most and they're often uneaten.She is beyond frustrated that she is just getting worse and worse, but I can't help but think the answer may be as simple as she is almost always nearly starving. She is a very stubborn person and refuses to even try to just eat more, or even try to sip a nutrient rich shake or something just to see if it helps. She talks like a person with a weight disorder to be perfectly honest.I appreciate that most of this stuff sounds like she's just old, but she's declining so rapidly, I just want to try anything that gets her even a small amount of quality of life back. I hope this is somewhere within the accepted rules of the sub, any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.