NEED NUTRITION TIPS FOR WEIGHT GAIN

Meowycat
Meowycat Member Posts: 66

Hello Everyone,

 

So mom keeps loosing weight (she is now 93 pounds from originally being 105) since she has been on Folfiri and Zaltrap over the past 6 weeks. She is 71 years old and feeling extremely week and tired.I just bought a blender and would appreciate any suggestions for smoothies, foods i can blend, etc. Anything where I can get nutrition in her.

This is what we are dealing with:

She already drinks Boost Plus/Ensure Plus, she is able to put down a soft egg, mashed potatoes, cream of wheat, applesauce, yogurt. She can not chew anything due to the thrush in her mouth and she seems to have no appetitte. Any suggestions on processing things? Her main complaint is that everything tastes bad. She is not a fan of peanut butter.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can give me.

 

Huggies and love,

 

Nellie

 

 

 

Comments

  • pete43lost_at_sea
    pete43lost_at_sea Member Posts: 3,900 Member
    good luck

    coconit oil

    straight, i might have 4 table spoons a day.

    your mums gut is likely dysbiosed, i would see a good caner naturopath asap.

    google master amino pattern, ideal for mim nitrogem max protien, usef by sick cancer patients and super athletes. 

    hugs,

    pete

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,792 Member
    Thrush

    Have you or your doctor checked her tongue?

    I've had Thrush, a fungal infection, for four months. 

    If her tongue is rosy reds, she should fine, but if its coated white, then get it checked out. 

    I am sick to death of not tasting anything. It has also killed my appitite. . 

     As for Juicing or blending, I'd eithrt get a book or throw in various fruits to your juicer or (peeled) blender. 

    Good luck!

  • Lovekitties
    Lovekitties Member Posts: 3,364 Member
    Ask the doctor

    Ask the doctor if there is a nutritionist associated with your local hospital or his practice who can offer additional suggestions.

    From what I understand, being tired comes with some chemo treatments.

    Some here have used what they call "miracle mouth wash" for mouth sores.  Ask the doctor about this too.  It is a prescription med.

    When the patient has no appetite, it is best to try to get them to take food/drinks in small portions and very often.  My sister's onc also suggested milk shakes...you can add ice cream to the boost/ensure.  He said the most important thing was to add calories to keep up the weight.

    Hope that things improve.

    Marie who loves kitties

     

  • jen2012
    jen2012 Member Posts: 1,607 Member
    The nutritionist suggested
    The nutritionist suggested adding extra fat to things that my husband would eat. Some extra oil or butter to mashed potatoes, soups, etc.

    Good luck!
  • steveandnat
    steveandnat Member Posts: 886
    It's a tough one

    I have also lost a lot of weight that seem impossible to gai back. I been drinking a protein drink that hopefully is giving me protein. If I eat too much it's going to come out one way or another. Take care of mouth issues, get prescription from onc. Eat more smaller meals with high calories if possible.  If you find anything good let me know. Jeff

  • Meowycat
    Meowycat Member Posts: 66
    Thank you all for your ideas

    Thank you all for your ideas I am hoping to implament all of them. Mom ended up in the hospital on Thursday due to neutropenic fever and they are trying to figure out what type of infection they are dealing with. She now is having a violent display of vomitting and diarrhea. So she is being isolated. So basically she is losing more weight. She's is trying so hard to get spoonfuls of things down but it's just not working. Hoping she can turn the corner. Nutitionist came yesterday and basically gave me the same tips as all of you did. She did mention Whey Protein. Anyone have any personal knowledge of this?

    Lots of love and huggies to you all,

     

    Nellie

     

  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    Meowycat said:

    Thank you all for your ideas

    Thank you all for your ideas I am hoping to implament all of them. Mom ended up in the hospital on Thursday due to neutropenic fever and they are trying to figure out what type of infection they are dealing with. She now is having a violent display of vomitting and diarrhea. So she is being isolated. So basically she is losing more weight. She's is trying so hard to get spoonfuls of things down but it's just not working. Hoping she can turn the corner. Nutitionist came yesterday and basically gave me the same tips as all of you did. She did mention Whey Protein. Anyone have any personal knowledge of this?

    Lots of love and huggies to you all,

     

    Nellie

     

    and?

    I drink a a high-protein "shake" 3xday. That Ensure etc taste terrible to me. The 'shake' I finally found is cappucino flavoured - quite tasty. But she may be beyond that. One of my friends also brought me a "fruit yogurt shake" --small size plastic bottle (like we see in any supermarket/health foods store) -- it was more than 600 cals!

    But until they get the sore mouth, nausea and vomiting under control, it is going to be very tough....

    Sending love and prayers....

     

    Tara

  • MaryCarol5
    MaryCarol5 Member Posts: 102
    Meowycat said:

    Thank you all for your ideas

    Thank you all for your ideas I am hoping to implament all of them. Mom ended up in the hospital on Thursday due to neutropenic fever and they are trying to figure out what type of infection they are dealing with. She now is having a violent display of vomitting and diarrhea. So she is being isolated. So basically she is losing more weight. She's is trying so hard to get spoonfuls of things down but it's just not working. Hoping she can turn the corner. Nutitionist came yesterday and basically gave me the same tips as all of you did. She did mention Whey Protein. Anyone have any personal knowledge of this?

    Lots of love and huggies to you all,

     

    Nellie

     

    The TPN mentioned in the

    The TPN mentioned in the other post is a great idea while she is in the hospital.  I also dropped to 95 lbs and am back up to 117 by eating peanut butter, nuts, and the high calorie/protein shakes.  I feared the weight loss so much more than the cancer so forcing myself to eat when I didn't have an appetite came easy.  Knowing that my larger organs would soon feed on my smaller organs was enough motivation for me. 

    Hope and pray that she feels better quickly! 

  • Nana b
    Nana b Member Posts: 3,030 Member

    The TPN mentioned in the

    The TPN mentioned in the other post is a great idea while she is in the hospital.  I also dropped to 95 lbs and am back up to 117 by eating peanut butter, nuts, and the high calorie/protein shakes.  I feared the weight loss so much more than the cancer so forcing myself to eat when I didn't have an appetite came easy.  Knowing that my larger organs would soon feed on my smaller organs was enough motivation for me. 

    Hope and pray that she feels better quickly! 

    Steam any veggie, such as

    Steam any veggie, such as asparagus, brocolli, caulflower, then add to blender with a warm chickcn broth, add some half and half or crean for desired consitensy and drink.   Add banana to smoothies.  I use yogurt, banana, and berries.  

     

     

  • Sonia32
    Sonia32 Member Posts: 1,071 Member
    Steriods

    I got that before I had chemo infusions, not sure if people still get that, as it was four years ago. But that helps with appetite, and that gave me a sugar craving which in turn made me add weight on.

  • gizzyluv
    gizzyluv Member Posts: 143
    Try "Benecalorie".....

    Hi Nellie, One thing you might want to try is something I found totally by accident at Walmart. It's called "Benecalorie" & you can find it w/ the Ensures, etc. It's in a little box & has 6 little cups of the stuff, which is like a thick white liquid. It has no flavor but contains 330 calories & 7 grams of protein. You can put it in Ensure, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, pretty much anything. Jason being a 'man' said it looked gross & he was NOT eating it (it doesn't look gross) so, when I fixed him soup later that day I secretly mixed a cup of the stuff in with the soup, he ate it & had no idea what he had eaten until I told him. Tongue Out He said he had no idea there was anything in the soup BUT soup. If you can't find it at Walmart I'm sure they can order it for you, or maybe you can look online & see if any other places sell it.....Good luck! ((((HUGS)))) for you & your mom! Kris

  • pete43lost_at_sea
    pete43lost_at_sea Member Posts: 3,900 Member
    gizzyluv said:

    Try "Benecalorie".....

    Hi Nellie, One thing you might want to try is something I found totally by accident at Walmart. It's called "Benecalorie" & you can find it w/ the Ensures, etc. It's in a little box & has 6 little cups of the stuff, which is like a thick white liquid. It has no flavor but contains 330 calories & 7 grams of protein. You can put it in Ensure, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, pretty much anything. Jason being a 'man' said it looked gross & he was NOT eating it (it doesn't look gross) so, when I fixed him soup later that day I secretly mixed a cup of the stuff in with the soup, he ate it & had no idea what he had eaten until I told him. Tongue Out He said he had no idea there was anything in the soup BUT soup. If you can't find it at Walmart I'm sure they can order it for you, or maybe you can look online & see if any other places sell it.....Good luck! ((((HUGS)))) for you & your mom! Kris

    that really clever kris

    i would give you 10 out of 10 for being a good carer.

    hugs,

    pete

     

  • Varmint5
    Varmint5 Member Posts: 384 Member
    Double strength milk

    Replace the milk in recipes with double strength milk - 1 qt whole milk plus 1 cup powdered milk. Also, you can make a small shake with 1/2 C Half N Half and one envelope Carnation Instant Breakfast - almost 300 calories in a very small amount of liquid, and tastes good - better than Ensure, etc. You can make cream soups with the double strength milk and add a T. butter to a serving, etc. Good luck.

    Sandy

  • pete43lost_at_sea
    pete43lost_at_sea Member Posts: 3,900 Member
    low zinc

    most caner patients have low zinc, therefore low stomach acid. google this to check.

    so supplement zinc. picolinate is the best form, you need a good alternative doc to supervice and monitor. red cell zinc, and or 24 hour urine, again see your doc. if they just measure plasma zinc its pretty useless.

    the ultimate test is a comprehensive stool sample, you will get all sorts of interesting information.

    while zinc levels are rising, supplement stomach acid and digestive enzymes i use bentan hci from iherb and creon 4000 from chemist you need a script.

    I needed these supplements as my pancreatic enzymes were really low.

    that said the principle is simple, that most patients loosing weight could be a simple zinc difficiency, and the resulting stomach cascade that then means you dont break down protiens to aminos, and then you catabolise muscle.

    try and get your proteins high, your oils very high and your sugars very low. many will disagree, thts the joys of the internet.

    based on my research muscle is essential to survival, another areas the onc have gotten completely wrong. god bless there arrogant souls.

    simple weight gain tips.

    1 add digestive enzymes to everymeal and supplemenatal enzymes

    2 add coconut oil, or mct oil 6 times per day, its a great energy source. I sometimes have it 1/2 a square of 85% dark chocolate as a treat.

    some cocnut oil on rising and sleep ensures a good sleep by reducing the hypoglymic low that happens to most at night.

    3 map is essential for muscle gain

    none of this is medical advice, heaven forbid, its just what I have tried, its been recommended by my real doctors, but doctor goggle agrees.

    the issue with most nutrionists is they are limited by the standard of care. informed patients are allowed to make choices about the personalised treatments, after all we are people not numbers. 

    hugs,

    pete

    ps 

    http://petertrayhurn.blogspot.de/2013/06/one-for-all-and-all-for-one-from-three.html

    http://ultrarunnerpodcast.com/master-amino-acid-pattern-map-review/ map for ren, for rona, for all cancer patients needing some muscle. watchout you might become a super ultra marathon runner. I will post this on csncolonclubcolonchat.

  • renw
    renw Member Posts: 282 Member
    I was losing 1kg every two

    I was losing 1kg every two days. nothing worked no matter how much I ate. After losing 20% of my body weight, I started resistance training 5x a week. It stopped and reversed my cachexia. I know excercise may seem counter productive, but it worked for me. It was not easy as at the time I had lot of liver swelling and serious pain, but pushed through it and things improved.

  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    renw said:

    I was losing 1kg every two

    I was losing 1kg every two days. nothing worked no matter how much I ate. After losing 20% of my body weight, I started resistance training 5x a week. It stopped and reversed my cachexia. I know excercise may seem counter productive, but it worked for me. It was not easy as at the time I had lot of liver swelling and serious pain, but pushed through it and things improved.

    Perhaps investigate a supplemental drink thats rec'd

    press coverage recently called Juven

    *****************************************************************************************************************

    I had recommended this product based upon what articles i hasd read on it,none of which included the ingredients. I would delete this suggestion if possible since the drink is not totally natural and has aspertame as one component. This is one article which influenced my intent(maybe its sill an alternative)

    http://medicalxpress.com/print290689419.html

  • Deena11
    Deena11 Member Posts: 199 Member
    Try a product called Unjury

    I lost quite a bit of weight while in chemo so along with Ensure Plus, I mixed a protein powder called Unjury in milk and drank that too.  My oncology nutritionist recommeded it.  I bought it on line.  There is a chicke flavored one that can me mixed into soup or used alone as a broth and the unflavored one that can be mixed with other liquids (milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc...).  The stopped me from lsing any more weight. Good luck!!

  • RickMurtagh
    RickMurtagh Member Posts: 587 Member
    good food

    Nellie,

    good food that can be drank - drunk - drinked?  oh, well.  i juice 4 very large carrots, 2 oranges, 2 apples frequently for easy added nutreints when i feel i can't eat more.  I also make one or two protien drinks every day - syntha-6 chocolate milkshake (powder w/ cold water), w/ peanut butter tastes like a reeses cup, but since your mum does not like peanut butter maybe the vanilla w/ 3/4 of blueberries and a banana would be good.  I have had two of those every day for a month now (in addition to normal meals) and have not had a problem keeping my weight up.  in fact one might say i could stand to lose a few.  you can put lots of other fruits in the shakes as well - lots of fruits are starting to come into season here in the US - PTL.  I use organic when i can get it and when i can afford it.  in general i have not liked the taste of most protien powders, but syntha-6 chocoalte and vanilla are better than just tolerable.  i really like them both, especially the chocolate.

    peace,

    rick

  • Meowycat
    Meowycat Member Posts: 66
    WOW GUYS

    Sorry, I have not been on the site much but have been trying to deal with mom going back for chemo after her Hospitalization. There are a lot of great tips here! Thanks to everyone for the response.

    Huggies to Everyone,

    Nellie