Wife lost sense of taste & smell can it effect her bowels?

Posted by DanL @tunared, Jan 31, 2021

My wife lost her sense of smell & taste over a year ago after being diagnosed back in 2014. Can this affect her bowels too?

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@tunared

I meant bowels đŸ™‚

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@tunared, I corrected the typo in the title. đŸ™‚
I'm not sure I understand your question. You're asking if losing the sense of taste and smell can cause irregular bowel movements in someone with dementia? What changes has your wife experienced: constipation or loose stools? Do you think that the loss of taste and smell may have led to different eating habits that could upset the regularity of bowel movements?

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@colleenyoung

@tunared, I corrected the typo in the title. đŸ™‚
I'm not sure I understand your question. You're asking if losing the sense of taste and smell can cause irregular bowel movements in someone with dementia? What changes has your wife experienced: constipation or loose stools? Do you think that the loss of taste and smell may have led to different eating habits that could upset the regularity of bowel movements?

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Hi Colleen, 1st off, thank you for correcting the typo. 2nd; If MCI can cause a loss of taste & smell, could it also effect other body parts (i.e. cause constipation, no movement of the bowels)? It's been going on for weeks. Wife has gone to her PCP & had an xray. no blockage but there is a back up and her eating habits have not changed.

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Hello Dan. My husband was recently diagnosed with MCI and he too has been having trouble with constipation. He also has lost his sense of smell to some degree. I do believe there is a link between MCI and constipation. He's been having problems for about 3-4 weeks. If anyone has knowledge regarding this issue I would really appreciate more info. Thanks!!

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@emlovela

Hello Dan. My husband was recently diagnosed with MCI and he too has been having trouble with constipation. He also has lost his sense of smell to some degree. I do believe there is a link between MCI and constipation. He's been having problems for about 3-4 weeks. If anyone has knowledge regarding this issue I would really appreciate more info. Thanks!!

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My wife who has Alzheimer's disease had a problem with constipation while in a memory care facility. The situation was resolved when she was properly hydrated. For about a year before she has needed frequent cueing to drink. When we noticed that the staff would just set a drink in front of her, we told them they needed to hold it up to her to suggest she take a drink. That did the trick.

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Thanks everyone. After 6 weeks, my wife is back to normal. I've taken a more active role in her hydration and it has helped. It's nice to have a place to bounce ideas / concerns off others going through the same thing.

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