u/abacha1

I am 43 M. My TDEE is 2,009 daily. My weight is 59kg and is my normal weight and has been for years. My BMI is 19.7, which is normal weight.

Over the years I’ve had many checkups and no issues have been flagged. Doctor even said to me once count yourself lucky that you don’t need to cut things out and lose weight like so many at this age.

That said, I’ve been thinking more about mental health and the link to diet and health. I eat around 1,200 calories a day. I’m not deliberately under eating but nor am I forcing myself to eat more. It’s just normal to me. But I realise it’s low calorie and coupled with the fact that I need to start thinking about supplements for certain vitamins and amino acids etc, it concerns me that I can’t increase my calorie intake.

I’ve never had a big appetite so I eat but not huge amounts. I’ll eat to my full but it obviously is still quite small.

I can’t imagine myself just eating double of everything now. I can’t.

Does anyone have ideas on how I can add calories without having to eat massive portions? I’m thinking supplements or powders perhaps? Are there any that are healthy, no sugars and additives etc, just pure nutrients and high calorie?

Thanks

Hi all,

I am not trying to do a diagnosis here but getting a GP appointment (UK) and taking a route to diagnosis looks like it's going to be long winded. We need some respite and clarity in the meantime and I'm hoping this thread can help.

For about 6 years now, life for my parents has been uprooted due to troubles with my father. Around COVID, and more so after the lockdowns, he changed. It was almost overnight. But not in a very visible way. He started doing things in private that were uncharacteristic and completely unexpected. We only found out by chance but wouldn't have suspected it otherwise. In fact, my mother started to sense it and we then looked into it and it devastated us all (extra-marital relationship). We are a minority ethnic community and this sort of thing does happen but when your parents have been married for decades and are are pensioners, it hits differently, both emotionally and even culturally.

We confronted Dad and this made things worse. We saw the worst side in him. Some family members felt he was becoming senile but his behaviour was -- at times -- too 'rational'. He hadn't forgot anything, he still knew us etc, he wasn't finding it hard to do anything. But on some things it was as though he was someone else. He became rude, nasty, aggressive, and very horrible to my mum. He cut off his children and grandchildren, avoided us, always argued, and went around telling people how much of a victim he was. He was someone who had a good standing in the community but these actions quickly changed all of that. He was doing things he would never have done before - started eating out, staying out late, using technology, etc etc.

Fast forward 6 years and the rudeness, nastiness, aggressiveness is there, but especially to my mum. He still cuts off his children and grandchildren, but sometimes might address them. He's fine in front of other people. He's not lost memory, he still is in control of finances, but he's definitely less sharp, more irritable, and he's very illogical and irrational in some of his decisions. His relationships pretty much across the board have broken down. And he's used inappropriate language to women and continues to talk to other women. He has also spent excessively on irrelevant things.

I am asking about whether this sounds like a form of dementia, whether FTD or other, or what? Any of your views or thoughts on this will help us to plan next steps. We're trying to speak to his doctor to bring him in for a dementia diagnosis. But from what I've read, if it is the behaviourial variant, it could be hard to diagnose.

Life has been horrible but since coming to a stronger realisation that this is a mental/psyche issue, it's given us all a renewed sense of trying to figure out a way to deal with it -- more so for my mum, who lives this daily.