I have never liked Halloween, now even less so. I think mom has a sugar addiction and I try to keep her candy intake to a minimum. But this morning, at her hair appointment the stylist gave her a mini candy bar, then mom got another one, maybe two. When we first got in the car she wanted to go buy more candy. I told her we couldn't do that. She became quite angry, wanted me to take her to a place where she can take care of herself.
This is not the first time this has happened when she has candy. The problem is she wants more and more and more. She would eat a whole bag without realizing how much she has had. I really think she has a sugar addiction that causes this aggressive behavior. Anybody else ever see this?
Maybe it is the fact that your mom doesn't get any at all? Maybe that is the reason she gets angry. Maybe if you gave her a piece each day she wouldn't feel as though she were being deprived of it. Just a thought.
I think at thier age let them at it its the only pleasure they have my mums life is so boring i let her have a treat when she asks.
a few sweets is no harm! When I get older im going to eat what I want!!
In your situation, I'd have candy or cookies, but buy in small boxes or individual bars, so that your mom can eat "all of it" but it's a small quantity. If she had some every day, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal to her when she gets it. As others have said, our sweet tooth is the last one to go, so I figure I want to give my mom what she enjoys for as long as possible.
I guess (this is only a hypothesis) that by instinct their brains lead they to a "sugar craving " trying get more energy from the candies.
But no matter how much sugar the dementia patients eats, their brain still will be in a "starving mode" once their neurons can not metabolize all that sugar (or glucose) to ATP, and they still will search for more candies, still without succcessmto gets energy from that lots of sugar.
I guess that her agressiviness comes when you try (based in your justified concerns) to stop her to get the sugar that her brain is asking for, making her very frustated and nervous.
Wnen we read about ketones and Alzheimer searching in Google, we can read articles that shows that dementia brains are in energy deprivation.
I suggest you to search for thesite lf dlctor Mary Newport about coconut oil where you can find a detailed explanation .
Look for comments by deefer12 and brianNC
https://www.agingcare.com/questions/elder-will-only-eat-sweet-food-139115.htm
Healthy treats are a good substitute (nuts, especially almonds, are great here), and we try to give them out before a tantrum starts. It also means the person is getting healthy calories, and the energy from that lasts for much longer (which reduces cravings and increases nutritional intake in the long term).
If the person isn't actually hungry, then they forget the tantrum quickly enough. Distraction works well - it's one of the few useful things from no short-term memory.
Sugar is one of the more addictive substances out there. It can take 40 days to 'kick the habit' (i.e. lose the cravings). You'll need to weigh up the cost to decide whether it's worth the effort. Sugar can be a real problem if it ends up as a meal replacement (eating chocolate just before dinner is a common one), which can lead to rapid weight loss and then osteoporosis if let unchecked.
That said, what is going on with your Mom may be very real on a chemical level -- a dose of sugar can cause a spike, then DROP of blood sugar as insulin produced by the body addresses the sugar overload (creating a "pendulum", where every candy bar creates the desire for another candy bar).
You might try a food diversion - even another special treat like ice cream or junk food hamburger. Adding fat and carbs can dampen the insulin drop (not to mention, sometimes it's fun to be "bad").