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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Diabetic, On Dialysis, Loss Of Appetite, Feels Weak, Sleeps A Lot. Treatment?

Hi. My Dad is 94 y.o. He has been diabetic for at least 40 years. He has been on dialysis for the last four years, three times a week. He hasn t had a good appetite for a very long time, but he used to force himself to eat. Now he hardly eats anything; probably the only thing that is keeping him alive are the canned protein drinks. So he is getting progressively weaker and he sleeps a lot - sometimes he sleeps 16 hours or even a whole 24 hour period, then he has one better day and does get up to go to dialysis, and then the day afterward he sleeps again. My Mom has asked me to find out why he is sleeping so much and if there is anything we can do to keep him awake more (in the hopes that he will eat more and do physical therapy if he is not so sleepy). Can you please offer us any advice? Thank you!
Mon, 13 May 2013
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Pathologist and Microbiologist,  's  Response
Hello,

Your dad is a very elderly person and is having diabetes for pretty long time.
He is also suffering from Diabetic nephropathy for which he is undergoing dialysis.
Now he has loss of appetite and he sleeps extensively.
His elderly age, diabetic stage and his renal function all contributes to his problem.
Because he is not taking enough energy into his system he is tired and sleepy.
Frequent small easily digestible meal is advised.
Keep a watch on his fluid intake.

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Diabetic, On Dialysis, Loss Of Appetite, Feels Weak, Sleeps A Lot. Treatment?

Hello, Your dad is a very elderly person and is having diabetes for pretty long time. He is also suffering from Diabetic nephropathy for which he is undergoing dialysis. Now he has loss of appetite and he sleeps extensively. His elderly age, diabetic stage and his renal function all contributes to his problem. Because he is not taking enough energy into his system he is tired and sleepy. Frequent small easily digestible meal is advised. Keep a watch on his fluid intake.