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It would reasonable to lock the pantry.

What sort of doctors have you consulted?

You and she urgently need a break.

How long has she lived with you?
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Dear OP,

i hope there is some way for your life to improve: that's extremely tough what you're going through every day.

i want to comment on bulimia: as you know, bulimia is vomiting on purpose. i doubt your sister has bulimia.

your sister might have swallowing problems. alzheimer's can create many physical problems: for example, destroying throat muscles (hard to swallow). destroying bladder muscles (leading to incontinence), etc.

the mother of a friend of mine vomited every time after eating - NOT because she wanted to vomit. her muscles could no longer handle certain rough foods (like crackers, meat, etc.) - anything that involves a lot of chewing. now they changed the diet to softer foods (not totally pureed, but softer). she totally stopped vomiting. she's finally gaining weight: good.

regarding nutrition, you must cut all access to all that bad food. try to get your sister to eat delicious, real, nutritious food. bad food should be an exceptional treat. only bad things will happen to the mind/body from over-eating bad food.

of course we all like sweet things, now and then. but sugar is in many ways addictive and destructive for both the mind & body. in japan, for example, at home they often label the sugar jar "poison", to remind oneself to be careful.

*edit: also, too much sugar = diarrhea, poop everywhere. it's all related. bad nutrition = increases problems.
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Please stop spending your money on your sister’s care. Unless you are wealthy, you will need it for yourself someday. Also, have you looked into a Miller trust for your sister’s excess income so that she can qualify for Medicaid and hopefully a facility? Many states allow this or something similar.

Also, an insight I’ve gleaned from this forum is that most doctors are clueless about caregiving. Your sister’s doctors will be happy to let you continue caregiving and cleaning up feces and vomit 24/7 all the way to an early grave. You have to advocate for yourself — no one else will.
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I'm puzzled if not shocked by any doctor advising to let her eat what she wants, especially sugar, which is certainly not healthy, even if balanced with good nutrition.

I can't speak to the Alzheimer's; I don't have that much experience with it. But I think just in terms of general nutrition, there's so much harm being done to her body that it could heighten her mind and body instability. In fact, I recall reading something last year on a health site about the effect of sugar on dementia.

I'd be searching for another doctor and keep doing so until I find one that wants to treat her seriously.

I give you a lot of credit for persevering in this very challenging situation.
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KNance72 Jul 2022
For some reason dementia patients crave sugar- also doctors will say let them do their OCD behavior it’s not harming anyone ? Guess what it’s harming the caregivers
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Bulimia in the elderly is rare but oh so much more dangerous. Her electrolytes could be all over the place, and even that has killed many a bulimic under 40.

You might seriously need to do the er social admit for real. As in you take her there and say she can’t go home with you, has no one else and can’t care for herself. Because it really sounds like she needs a snf. She won’t have unlimited food to binge on, and staff can always walk in on her in the toilet. That at least would mitigate the bulimia.
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Countrymouse Jun 2022
Elderly? The OP's sister is 62.
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