What's the lowest weight towards the end?

[Lottie4]

I really can't believe my Uncle is still with us. Around xmas he was 8st and now 7st (he's around 5'10") which seems extremely low. Just wondering how much more weight he can really lose. He's bed bound (can't get out as his blood pressure drops too much) but sadly very much with it.

How much more can he really loose?

I’m so sorry you and your family are going through this.

I don’t know the answer to your question but my Mum was just under 6st at the end. She was short though- 5ft 2 and always little even before she was ill.

Is your Uncle still able to eat? Does he have cancer?

He's been scanned in the last few months for bowel and lung cancer, got the all clear. He's had a dietitian out to advise my Auntie, ie full fat milk etc/really tasty good etc, but he just hasn't got an appetite. He was in hospital for 24 hours with a urinary infection at weekend, but discharged back home, so they obviously can't do any more.

He's been like a second Dad to me, so obviously feeling a bit on tenderhooks now, just waiting for news.

Oh @Lottie4, so sorry to read this. It’s incredibly hard to see someone deteriorating in this way. So does he not actually have any sort of diagnosis at all at the moment? They don’t know what’s wrong with him?

HI @Lottie4 It's hard in the end isn't it? watching your loved one going and you're not sure how to help. How old is he?

My great uncle's wife was 4st 9lbs and 4'10" when she died at the age of 89. She had been 5'6" and about 9 stone when middle aged. I used to visit her most weeks and couldn't believe that someone so thin could survive; she was unbelievably tiny and had lost all interest in food, there was nothing that she found tempting. I think it was the various medication she took that affected her appetite so badly, particularly pain killers. Is your uncle taking pain killers for anything?

Yes my mum's very slight neighbour was less than 6st when she was at the end of life.

Thanks for your kind words everyone.

SidekickSylvia that's a considerably light weight. It must have been really difficult for you towards the end.

No diagnosis. My Uncle had lung cancer approx 6 years ago, then covid a couple of years ago. He's not struggling but his breathing never got back to normal. Never got his taste back either, which doesn't help - curry has been his favourite meal since, but in dwindling proportions.

Xrays have excluded cancer in areas of concern. He kept collapsing when getting out of bed and GP said it's due to his blood pressure, so is now bed bound with carers coming in twice a day. Sadly, I think it's just his body failing in old age (88) - he's mentally sound and doesn't seem depressed.

Your poor Uncle. He is a good age so yes, this is sadly perhaps his time. I hope he’s not in too much discomfort.