Breaking the News to Mom

gwoth
gwoth Member Posts: 11
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Mom just had her second chemotherapy session. How do I tell her that she needs to eat better? She thinks she can eat anything and damn the consequenses. She has heartburn all the time and takes prilosec everyday. It is doubly bad because she is diabetic. She can't have milkshakes without sending her blood sugar sky high. I've heard that chocolate takes away the metalic taste of chemo. Is there anything else out there that will work just as well? Maybe carob? I need help. Please help. If I make it she won't turn it down.

Comments

  • zahalene
    zahalene Member Posts: 670
    #2
    be sneaky :)
    My mom was diabetic and recovered from ovarian cancer as well. She was just like your mom...eat it and be ******! If you are doing the cooking for your mom there are lots of ways to 'sneak' more health into her diet that she won't notice. Like using half splenda and half sugar at first then gradually easing off the sugar and uping the splenda. And serving her on a smaller plate so that smaller portions of the things she doesn't really need will look bigger.
    Also, 'noshing' several small meals instead of eating large at two or three times a day helps keep the blood sugar more leveled off.
    In the end however, if your mother is not going to accept her situation and do the best she can with it, it is out of your hands to make everything 'ok'. You just have to rest easy in the knowledge that you are doing the best you can. She is an adult after all and ultimately responsible.
    Oh, and using plastic utensils cuts down on the metallic taste they tell me.
  • Kat11
    Kat11 Member Posts: 1,931 Member
    #3
    Hi gwoth, My Husband is a
    Hi gwoth, My Husband is a diabetic. There is a lot of sugar free candy, ice cream, pie, cake avaiable today. The chocolate is really good( if you can find a candy store its even better ) Milk shakes can be made with sugar free ice cream, but know that milk can shoot the blood levels up as well. Good luck
  • tommaseena
    tommaseena Member Posts: 1,769
    #4
    Kat11 said:

    Hi gwoth, My Husband is a
    Hi gwoth, My Husband is a diabetic. There is a lot of sugar free candy, ice cream, pie, cake avaiable today. The chocolate is really good( if you can find a candy store its even better ) Milk shakes can be made with sugar free ice cream, but know that milk can shoot the blood levels up as well. Good luck

    metalic mouth
    When you have metallic taste in mouth always use plastic ware and don't cook in aluminum pots and pans.
    I have also found rinsing your mouth several times a day with 1 tsp of baking soda with warm water helps too.

    It is hard because I am craving different foods now. Never ate chicken drumsticks before but I could eat them everyday. Also I am craving beer.

    Margo
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #5
    Glucerna brand, made for diabetics...
    Their shakes are delish!!!!

    Find them over by the slim fast, etc.

    Think about how mom's feeling. That even if she ate right in the past, she STILL got cancer...so why worry about it now????

    Take her on a 'treatment break'. A movie, shopping, spa day, whatever. Only rule: NO cancer talk....NOT EVEN ONCE!!!

    Hugs, Kathi

    For the metalic taste, I drank Propel flavored water. It has a rather strong taste that eliminates the other, and is filled with all sorts of good stuff...B vitamins.
  • jojo elizapest
    jojo elizapest Member Posts: 122
    #6
    sugar free root beer poured
    sugar free root beer poured over a scoop of still frozen fat fee cool whip...makes a frothy diabetic friendly creamy drink....great also with diet orange soda....

    I too am a diabetic....I saw a dietician just after dx and asked about how to manage sugars and medications when I was eating so little (and so crappy). She told me that the diabetes wasn't going to kill me any more...so not to worry!!!!!!

    I like the sugan free jellos they seem to taste good and refreshing even when my mouth is grungy....oyster crackers...chocolate doesn't do much for me the first couple of weeks after treatment...but when it finally tastes good.......YEE HA

    oh yeah breakfast sausage goes down good...scrambled eggs with plenty of salt...
  • gwoth
    gwoth Member Posts: 11
    #7
    zahalene said:

    be sneaky :)
    My mom was diabetic and recovered from ovarian cancer as well. She was just like your mom...eat it and be ******! If you are doing the cooking for your mom there are lots of ways to 'sneak' more health into her diet that she won't notice. Like using half splenda and half sugar at first then gradually easing off the sugar and uping the splenda. And serving her on a smaller plate so that smaller portions of the things she doesn't really need will look bigger.
    Also, 'noshing' several small meals instead of eating large at two or three times a day helps keep the blood sugar more leveled off.
    In the end however, if your mother is not going to accept her situation and do the best she can with it, it is out of your hands to make everything 'ok'. You just have to rest easy in the knowledge that you are doing the best you can. She is an adult after all and ultimately responsible.
    Oh, and using plastic utensils cuts down on the metallic taste they tell me.

    Thank you
    I will try the splenda thing. I will also try the plastic utensils.
  • gwoth
    gwoth Member Posts: 11
    #8
    Kat11 said:

    Hi gwoth, My Husband is a
    Hi gwoth, My Husband is a diabetic. There is a lot of sugar free candy, ice cream, pie, cake avaiable today. The chocolate is really good( if you can find a candy store its even better ) Milk shakes can be made with sugar free ice cream, but know that milk can shoot the blood levels up as well. Good luck

    Thank you
    I did not know that milk could shoot the blood levels up. Mom was using soy milk before she got cancer. Now that she can not use it anymore, she uses cow milk. I will try rice milk in my recipes.
  • gwoth
    gwoth Member Posts: 11
    #9
    KathiM said:

    Glucerna brand, made for diabetics...
    Their shakes are delish!!!!

    Find them over by the slim fast, etc.

    Think about how mom's feeling. That even if she ate right in the past, she STILL got cancer...so why worry about it now????

    Take her on a 'treatment break'. A movie, shopping, spa day, whatever. Only rule: NO cancer talk....NOT EVEN ONCE!!!

    Hugs, Kathi

    For the metalic taste, I drank Propel flavored water. It has a rather strong taste that eliminates the other, and is filled with all sorts of good stuff...B vitamins.

    Thank you
    I will try to get her some Propel. We go out all the time. Today she took too much insulin and wound up in the emergency room because she passed out.
  • gwoth
    gwoth Member Posts: 11
    #10
    jojo elizapest said:

    sugar free root beer poured
    sugar free root beer poured over a scoop of still frozen fat fee cool whip...makes a frothy diabetic friendly creamy drink....great also with diet orange soda....

    I too am a diabetic....I saw a dietician just after dx and asked about how to manage sugars and medications when I was eating so little (and so crappy). She told me that the diabetes wasn't going to kill me any more...so not to worry!!!!!!

    I like the sugan free jellos they seem to taste good and refreshing even when my mouth is grungy....oyster crackers...chocolate doesn't do much for me the first couple of weeks after treatment...but when it finally tastes good.......YEE HA

    oh yeah breakfast sausage goes down good...scrambled eggs with plenty of salt...

    Thank you
    Mom can't do salt. He blood pressure shoots sky high on it. I will try the soft drinks and coolwhip. That sound like something she would go for. She hates jello, loves oyster crackers.
  • gwoth
    gwoth Member Posts: 11
    #11
    Kat11 said:

    Hi gwoth, My Husband is a
    Hi gwoth, My Husband is a diabetic. There is a lot of sugar free candy, ice cream, pie, cake avaiable today. The chocolate is really good( if you can find a candy store its even better ) Milk shakes can be made with sugar free ice cream, but know that milk can shoot the blood levels up as well. Good luck

    Thank you
    We have a candy store at the Mall. I will ask if they have sugar free candies.
  • EveningStar2
    EveningStar2 Member Posts: 491 Member
    #12
    gwoth said:

    Thank you
    Mom can't do salt. He blood pressure shoots sky high on it. I will try the soft drinks and coolwhip. That sound like something she would go for. She hates jello, loves oyster crackers.

    I am also diabetic
    There are ice creams made with splenda. It may not be appropriate for her but I like the root beer floats made with that & diet root beer!

    Maureen
  • gwoth
    gwoth Member Posts: 11
    #13
    EveningStar2 said:

    I am also diabetic
    There are ice creams made with splenda. It may not be appropriate for her but I like the root beer floats made with that & diet root beer!

    Maureen

    Root beer floats
    That sounds good. I bet she would like that. A&W makes a great diet root beer. I will try that.

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