Need a little help our Mom 82 isn't eating hardly at all, 3rd week after knee surgery

We will have a physician here this afternoon

Need a little help our Mom 82 isn't eating hardly at all for the past 2 days, 3rd week after knee surgery.

She has had a Boost each day and a few bites of soup or oatmeal the last 2 days, she had a BM 2 days ago, seems to urinate regularly has been drinking Pedialyght and water. BP Temp oxygen content in the blood seems within her norms

but she isn't eating enough, says she is gonna throw up but hasn't, for the past two days. Gave her a little ginger in her prune juice. She did just finish a Boost and ate about 1/3 of a bowl of oatmeal but took a lot of prodding and 2 hours. She was doing so well, says her knee is sore but not too bad. She was attentive and independently mobile with her walker post-surgery, now she isn't moving as surely and direct. She brightens up if we get enough nourishment in her, but it takes so long. After 2 plus hours now she feels better and is brushing her teefies, it's literally night and day.

Hell, we are giggling and joking about all the times she was on the other side, talking about the same struggle when Dad was going through Chemo and didn't want to eat. LOL and how he would get a bit pissed and wasn't afraid to speak his mind. Mom ain't like that. We talked about when she was with our grandmother and she didn't want to eat after her heart surgery and Mom was there virtually every day, till Grandmother was better

She knows, she remembers but at that moment she struggles to get that spoonful in her as well

any tips or ideas would be greatly appreciated, and thanks for listening too

If that was my family in distress I would try low dosage edibles. Tiny dosages of THC help with nausea and aid in sleep.

Hope your mom has a speedy recovery.

Maybe talk to her doctor , or hospital , who performed the surgery? Could be some post-of effect. Is she getting out of the house enough ? I think getting her engaged in things to do outside could help improve her appetite?

Could she be depressed? Is she taking any medication ? Could be some side effect.

If you haven't already, maybe try some Pedialyte(sp?) and work up to soups, then solids.

Edit..sorry, I just noticed you tried that already.

originally posted by: Aliquandro
If that was my family in distress I would try low dosage edibles. Tiny dosages of THC help with nausea and aid in sleep.

Hope your mom has a speedy recovery.

Prayers for speedy recovery

I was going to suggest something similar to the above BUT with caution as her lack of appetite may be due to some medication she has been prescribed, is she taking any pain killers, especially anything opioid based? opioids will diminish appetite and cause nausea and constipation

a reply to: putnam6

If her doctor can find no physical condition to explain her lack of desire for food, I would suspect either depression or possibly a form of "posttraumatic response".


Any major surgery is a traumatic physical experience, which, although might not manifest unexpected physical effects, can play varying degrees of psychological havoc with the mind. This can be especially pronounced in older individuals.

An example her physician might be familiar with is the tendency of heart attack survivors to often feel "guilty" for having survived the ordeal. It seems irrational, but it occurs more often than you think.

Been there, had that.


When the body is seriously injured, either by trauma or surgery, stress hormones are pumped into the system which can have side effects altering mood, and appetite.

a reply to: putnam6

My mom was like that with cancer.

Try plain soups, chicken and rice. Clear broths.
Surprisingly one thing my mom would eat was small bits of seafood plain.

originally posted by: datguy

originally posted by: Aliquandro
If that was my family in distress I would try low dosage edibles. Tiny dosages of THC help with nausea and aid in sleep.

Hope your mom has a speedy recovery.

Prayers for speedy recovery

I was going to suggest something similar to the above BUT with caution as her lack of appetite may be due to some medication she has been prescribed, is she taking any pain killers, especially anything opioid based? opioids will diminish appetite and cause nausea and constipation

This is what we all think is or has occurred, she has been off the prescribed pain meds for over a week and says the Tylenol every 6 hours is fine. She did not handle the Oxycodeine well at all, even with one at night the next day she would be lethargic and improved mentally without them.

We have been in contact with her nurses and she was having a BM problem so we had her on Colace, but NGL her first few BM was so painful it wiped her out and made her feel nauseous, they recommend a nauseous medicine which can lead to more constipation. There are other meds she is on for her heart and other issues too. But we can't stop those. One reason I got the prune juice and we stopped the Colace.

It seems like the surgery upset her routine, she always drank a cup of coffee half decaf half high test, but even that was hard for her to get down these past few days. But she finished that as well today. Feels like progress though very slowly

Thanks for the comments we will know more when the doctor gets here, she seems to feel well enough to do some of her physical therapy exercises they they get here

a reply to: putnam6

I would recommend as many Ensure Plus as she can get down each day.

I sometimes don't feel like eating and then I lose all energy; after forcing myself to take in some nutrition it's amazing how quickly I come back to life! High calory food, like high fat yogurt and ice cream are a must when I'm 'off my feed'.
I can lose 5 pounds in a week and spend the next six months trying to put just one pound back on.

After my knee replacement I began to lose my appetite on day five. Bowels quit working and in three days I ended up with an impaction; I'm glad you're on top of that!

Plenty of water to flush out any toxins and aid in BM's.

Bless you for taking such good care of your mom!

originally posted by: Aliquandro
If that was my family in distress I would try low dosage edibles. Tiny dosages of THC help with nausea and aid in sleep.

Hope your mom has a speedy recovery.

Yea, it probably would, I'll check with her Doctor....

originally posted by: Aliquandro
If that was my family in distress I would try low dosage edibles. Tiny dosages of THC help with nausea and aid in sleep.

Hope your mom has a speedy recovery.

I was going to say this as well.......But also might try CBD too ...edibles...gummy...tincture....It can help reduce nausea and vomiting.....also if you get the CBD that has THC might help with appetite too...worked for great grandfathers stomach cancer.

Best of luck

CBD for Nausea: Research and Top Products to Try LINK

Is she on any meds ? Pain meds and/or antibiotics can cause lose of appetite.

originally posted by: ancientlight
Maybe talk to her doctor , or hospital , who performed the surgery? Could be some post-of effect. Is she getting out of the house enough ? I think getting her engaged in things to do outside could help improve her appetite?

Could she be depressed? Is she taking any medication? Could be some side effect.

This is a possibility too,she was walking and exercising her knee fine these past 2 weeks, then the past 2-3 days since she hasn't felt well we backed off. It's kind of too hot to get her outside too much in the day but this evening the fresh air could perk her up a bit, might have to move a fan out there. She does prefer sitting outside or with just the screen door

We have talked with her nurses this whole time they were the ones suggesting the Colace and the nausea meds. LOL between my sister and I, we aren't afraid to call and talk to them, and they have actually been pretty helpful. Just looking for things to try differently.

I'll have to check the side effects, she is on some stuff for her heart twice daily as well as Iron and potassium. But she did enjoy her daily walks and is a creature of habit, Just recovery itself honestly might be depressing her, its been 3 weeks of this

thanks all of this has given me 2-3 ideas if not more already

originally posted by: TarantulaBite

originally posted by: Aliquandro
If that was my family in distress I would try low dosage edibles. Tiny dosages of THC help with nausea and aid in sleep.

Hope your mom has a speedy recovery.

I was going to say this as well.......But also might try CBD too ...edibles...gummy...tincture....It can help reduce nausea and vomiting.....also if you get the CBD that has THC might help with appetite too...worked for great grandfathers stomach cancer.

Best of luck

CBD for Nausea: Research and Top Products to Try LINK

I'll check on that and ask her Doctor forgot all about CBD

originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: putnam6

I would recommend as many Ensure Plus as she can get down each day.

I sometimes don't feel like eating and then I lose all energy; after forcing myself to take in some nutrition it's amazing how quickly I come back to life! High calory food, like high fat yogurt and ice cream are a must when I'm 'off my feed'.
I can lose 5 pounds in a week and spend the next six months trying to put just one pound back on.

After my knee replacement I began to lose my appetite on day five. Bowels quit working and in three days I ended up with an impaction; I'm glad you're on top of that!

Plenty of water to flush out any toxins and aid in BM's.

Bless you for taking such good care of your mom!

Good idea I can get a Boost in her, but Ensure might better for her situation and it is always good to have a variety and not the same ole same ole.

Got yogurt and cottage cheese on the list and a pint of her favorite ice cream. She got a whole bottle of Pedialyght in her for the last 20 hours as well as some water and tea. Cause I agree with flushing the system

originally posted by: DAVID64
Is she on any meds ? Pain meds and/or antibiotics can cause lose of appetite.

Yea, she is off everything except what she has to take now, but we are definitely dealing with the after-effects

originally posted by: Mantiss2021
a reply to: putnam6

If her doctor can find no physical condition to explain her lack of desire for food, I would suspect either depression or possibly a form of "posttraumatic response".


Any major surgery is a traumatic physical experience, which, although might not manifest unexpected physical effects, can play varying degrees of psychological havoc with the mind. This can be especially pronounced in older individuals.

An example her physician might be familiar with is the tendency of heart attack survivors to often feel "guilty" for having survived the ordeal. It seems irrational, but it occurs more often than you think.

Been there, had that.

When the body is seriously injured, either by trauma or surgery, stress hormones are pumped into the system which can have side effects altering mood, and appetite.

Yep that definitely food for thought, Im gonna try and get her outside this evening and perk her up. She is a tough ole bird but Im seeing her wince from some of the physical therapy.

good points

originally posted by: Aliquandro
If that was my family in distress I would try low dosage edibles. Tiny dosages of THC help with nausea and aid in sleep.

Hope your mom has a speedy recovery.

I guarantee this will work. The absolute best thing for nausea.

a reply to: putnam6

Talk to her doctor, he can give her medication that is very effective for treating nausea and will aid in getting some more food in. Zofran, or its generic Ondansetron, could help.

a reply to: putnam6

Is she on any medications? Specifically, any prescribed post knee surgery?