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My mom perseverates on sweets, especially ice cream. Last Monday she ate 6 drumsticks in one 24 hour period. We took her ice cream away and parse it out daily from our home next door (after a reasonably healthy dinner), but she got her medical driver to stop at the store and she bought ice cream. She completely forgets that she ate that much in one day and wonders why we are letting time pass before her next ice cream. She makes upset baby faces when she is denied ice cream. This is not my mom!!!

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When's the last time she had blood work done, and were there any issues?   That much sugar craving (even though ice cream is delicious) might be reflective of something.   She isn't diabetic, is she?   What's her regular diet like, assuming that she still has good, healthy foods for meals?  

There's also a disorder called pica, reflected by eating strange things, although I don't think ice cream could be considered in this category of nonfood items.
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Is there a reason that your mom can't eat what she likes?

Have you duscussed this with her doc?
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If she's not diabetic or in danger of becoming morbidly obese, and if she still has an appetite for regular food and averages a balanced diet on a weekly basis I'd let her have her ice cream. And maybe try buying the mini ice cream treats marketed to people with toddlers if you feel a need to cut back.
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I say let her eat what she wants. My uncle's mom lived to 102 by eating nothing but fried chicken and Oreos the last 15 years of her life.
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Without knowing more about your mom's health condition, it would be irresponsible of me to make any suggestions. I can only share my experiences with my parents. My dad was diabetic with AZ. When he had a fall and broke his hip, he didn't react well to anethesia. He became violent, my sister walked into his room and there were 2 security guards and 2 nurses trying to restrain him. My sister told the nurse to just give him some ice cream. The nurse did and it calmed him down. At 89, my sister and BIL gave him his ice cream every night. My BIL was the ice cream man, it was one of the few joys my dad got out of life in his remaining months. When I was caretaking for my mom, I had a hard time getting nutrition into her. I made my mom everything she liked, she would eat some but not enough. On a whim, I bought her small brownies. She loved those as well as an ice cream sandwich every night. As we age we lose our sense of taste, the last thing to go is sweet. If your mom's Dr agrees, and she needs protein, you might try a fortified milk shake. Try as they might, Ensure and other protein drinks don't taste that well for older patients. It's a delicate balance of giving your mom her remaining freedoms, and what you feel is right for her. These are the caregiver decisions we all face. Best wishes.
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