Question about food and urination

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GXTrex

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Lost a loved one
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My dad is loosing his ability to eat further and has been eating baby food. Are these good for adults? He enjoys the taste and it's a good texture for him.

My dad had a permanent catheter in him since last December when he forgot to take his prostate meds for a few days and was hospitalized. Obviously he went back to his meds and even tried stronger ones but it still doesn't help. He now uses a single use catheter every time he goes. Is it possible this is from als? From what I understand, bladder control isn't usually affected and if it was it would be end stage. He can still walk and use the catheter himself but with limited dexterity. Is it possible this is an als issue or unrelated?
 
Baby food is just that, food for babies.
Does your dad have access to a dietitian who can organise help with this?
He could have the meals everyone else is eating blended for him - I blended my husbands food for him.
Bladder control is very often affected I'm afraid, but usually it is that the PALS can't hold their bladder.
If he has trouble starting urination that could be a prostate issue, but really his doctor might need to be checking and talking to you both about this to be sure.
 
The problem with baby food is it's low in calories, while ALS burns more calories than other people with mobility limitations would need. A high power blender can blend lots of good healthy foods for him, up to and including pureed meat, that are higher in good fats and calories, with ingredients like nut butter, eggs, puddings, jelly and more. Items to exclude, as you have probably guessed, are those skin, seeds, uneven texture, and most of what's raw. You can begin with smoothies or a pudding consistency, and if he gets a tube, thinner to fit into that.

Does he plan to get a feeding tube if/when that is the only way to get enough nutrition? That is an issue to discuss before the 11th hour if he's not sure.
 
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Since all voluntary muscles can weaken in ALS, it's possible that the time without the medication made it more difficult to reactivate them, even with stronger drugs. So it could be a combination of his pre-existing problem and the ALS. There may be no way to know how much relates to each.
 
I understand that bladder control could be an issue as you no longer can hold it. He is having the opposite effect and cannot go at all.

@lgelb
He is getting a feeding tube in the next few weeks which should help a lot with him getting calories.
 
It can work both ways (bladder urgency/retention). Kind of like a door being stuck open or shut.
 
@lgelb
Is there anything we can do to help him go? The catheter he uses each time he goes is a hassle. Thanks.
 
What does his urologist say?
 
@Nikki J
Just spoke to the urologist who there isn't much they can do. He can keep the single use catheter for as long has he can do it himself. Once he cant, he will use a permanent catheter which will me emptied regularly by whoever is caring for him. They will replace it monthly to help with infections. If he cannot get to the office, they will be able to send someone to the house to change it which is good.
 
Why a single use catheter?
Can he try an external condom catheter
that can be attached to a tube and then a leg bag. Or the tube can hang free into a collection container
 
@MToole

He is unable to urinate at all on his own so an external catheter won't do him much good.
 
I am a convert to the notion of getting a feeding tube early, not late. It take pressure off of you to eat, which has allowed me to this day almost a year after getting the tube to still take 2/3s of my meals by mouth. And stats back this up. AlS patients that get a tube early survived longer than those that wait and get it later.
 
@rnewton60
I agree. My dad is in the process of scheduling his feeding tube.
 
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