Please help! Suggestions needed

cher76

I was wondering if anyone could share with me any ideas for things to eat on a soft food diet. My husband has been having great difficulty swallowing and is becoming limited to soft or liquid foods. The doctor does not want to put a feeding tube in at this time as he feels that it will delay the much needed chemo treatment. He believes that after a treatment or two he should be able to swallow again. We have tried protein powders and ensure. The problem with those is that they create phlegm and makes him gag and spit up. He also has trouble getting much down. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

sandy1943

Hi, When I am having trouble
Hi, When I am having trouble with my food getting stuck, I grate everything. The food is cooked the same way, so the taste is still there. The texture is a lot different,but I can eat and enjoy it. I have a mini food processor, which is perfect for small portions.
I'm starting to have problems again, so I will have another dilation soon.
Good luck, sandra

linda1120

Suggestions
Hi Cher, Give mashed potatoes and gravy a try. Also applesauce, yogurt, custard, pudding, a baked potato with butter and sour cream. I hope these ideas help you. My husband had trouble with those same things so I understand. I also made homemade potato soup, chicken soup, and split pea soup.

I hope you won't give up on trying to get them to put in a j-tube. Jim's doctors were resistant to one as well and did it when he had his MIE surgery.

Take care,

Linda

cher76

linda1120 said:

Suggestions
Hi Cher, Give mashed potatoes and gravy a try. Also applesauce, yogurt, custard, pudding, a baked potato with butter and sour cream. I hope these ideas help you. My husband had trouble with those same things so I understand. I also made homemade potato soup, chicken soup, and split pea soup.

I hope you won't give up on trying to get them to put in a j-tube. Jim's doctors were resistant to one as well and did it when he had his MIE surgery.

Take care,

Linda

Thanks for your ideas. He
Thanks for your ideas. He ate mashed potatoes with gravy today. One of the biggest problems is that he just isn't able to eat a very large quantity of anything. usually about 1/2 cup is all he seems to be able to get down at a time. He also is not very interested in eating. In too much pain, I believe.

tinab1127

cher76 said:

Thanks for your ideas. He
Thanks for your ideas. He ate mashed potatoes with gravy today. One of the biggest problems is that he just isn't able to eat a very large quantity of anything. usually about 1/2 cup is all he seems to be able to get down at a time. He also is not very interested in eating. In too much pain, I believe.

Cher,
I used to make some
Cher,

I used to make some homemade chicken and dumplings (86 the dumplings) what I would do is shred the chicken and then had cream to the chicken stock (they definitely need the calories) and then I would mix A LITTLE flour and water and add that to give it just a little texture so as he didn't feel like he was eating just broth.

Unknown

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

Tina Blondek

Welcome
Hello cher and welcome to you and your husband. My mom used to buy baby food for my dad. The fruits, oatmeal, and meats. These are all prureed, so they were easier to eat. She would also make him carnation instant breakfast mixed with protein powder. You can also ask his dr. about appetite increaser meds. Something to make him have more of an appetite. He will also have to make sure he keeps hydrated. This is sometimes very hard to do, and actually have to go to hospital for iv hydration. Have him eat small amounts of food throughout the day. Six small meals, instead of 3 large meals. The j tube will also be very helpful after his mie surgery. Praise God that these drs. and these feeding tubes are available for EC patients! Praying for both of you. Keep in touch.
Tina in Va

birdiequeen

Tina Blondek said:

Welcome
Hello cher and welcome to you and your husband. My mom used to buy baby food for my dad. The fruits, oatmeal, and meats. These are all prureed, so they were easier to eat. She would also make him carnation instant breakfast mixed with protein powder. You can also ask his dr. about appetite increaser meds. Something to make him have more of an appetite. He will also have to make sure he keeps hydrated. This is sometimes very hard to do, and actually have to go to hospital for iv hydration. Have him eat small amounts of food throughout the day. Six small meals, instead of 3 large meals. The j tube will also be very helpful after his mie surgery. Praise God that these drs. and these feeding tubes are available for EC patients! Praying for both of you. Keep in touch.
Tina in Va

Suggestions
My husband was able to take in calories via Carnation Instant Breakfast Mix. I made it with no sugar added ice cream (I had heard sugars could be hard on them), milk, frozen fruit and protein powder. I packs about 700 calories per 8 oz. Then he would sip on Gatorade all day long to keep hydrated. We had tried everything else but these two things did the trick for him and got him through the two weeks that were the worst.

Susie_Brendon

birdiequeen said:

Suggestions
My husband was able to take in calories via Carnation Instant Breakfast Mix. I made it with no sugar added ice cream (I had heard sugars could be hard on them), milk, frozen fruit and protein powder. I packs about 700 calories per 8 oz. Then he would sip on Gatorade all day long to keep hydrated. We had tried everything else but these two things did the trick for him and got him through the two weeks that were the worst.

soft foods that Brendon likes
* ice cream blended w/ a tablespoon of peanut butter
* mashed potatoes and gravy
* lo-mein noodles
* cottage cheese
* macaroni and cheese..and then I cook a brat, cut it up with out the outside lining, and chop all together


Of course today he said...I can't wait until I can eat some pizza!!! Hmmm...I wonder if there's too much acid in the tomato sauce for me to make him a pizza blizzard?!?!

kcinpdx

Soft Food Suggestions
My tumor is at the gastroesophageal (GE) junction and the inflammation caused my lower esophagus to constrict. I had difficulty swallowing and lots of regurgitation and plenty of vomiting for 11 months so I know what he is experiencing. The chemo will help once it kicks in, especially if the treatment includes an anti-inflammatory "precursor" that reduces the inflammation and helps the esophagus to relax. Food I could swallow easily included yogurts, blended milkshakes that you can add extra ingredients (ensure, protein powder, banana, jam, etc.), mashed potatoes and gravy, tomato soup and other puree type soups, bananas, cantaloupe, honey dew melons, canned or packaged peaches and pears, jellied cranberry sauce, milk, soft cheeses, cottage cheese, sweet potatoes from a can, instant oatmeal, canned green beans, custard, sherbet, applesauce, avocados, scrambled eggs, popsicles. You have to experiment around of course, but always have water available to sip before eating and while eating. For more calories, flat 7-up drinks help (pour and let sit until its no-fizz). Depending on the type of chemo, nausea may come and go, and one thing that helped me was taking Prilosec (generic is Omeprazole) to turn off the stomach acid so there's one less thing to upset your stomach, consult your doctor first of course. If you can avoid a feeding tube he'll be much better off, just one less thing to complicate your digestive tract and comfort. When my tumor was "active" I had lots of pain swallowing so I took Tylenol (500 mg tablet dissolved in water to easily drink) a half hour before I ate, no more than 3 times a day. During radiation I used prescribed pain medication and "magic mouthwash" - a lidocaine based syrup that briefly numbs the esophagus to aid in swallowing.

Cut and paste this link for a free guide on EATING HINTS that may be helpful.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/eatinghints.pdf

Hope this helps! Keith

bdotson

Soft food
Hi!
Here's one of my favorites: Steamed brown rice mixed with cream of chicken soup! I also liked rosetto pasta seasoned with salt pepper and garlic tossed in a couple of tsps of melted butter!

frank01

kcinpdx said:

Soft Food Suggestions
My tumor is at the gastroesophageal (GE) junction and the inflammation caused my lower esophagus to constrict. I had difficulty swallowing and lots of regurgitation and plenty of vomiting for 11 months so I know what he is experiencing. The chemo will help once it kicks in, especially if the treatment includes an anti-inflammatory "precursor" that reduces the inflammation and helps the esophagus to relax. Food I could swallow easily included yogurts, blended milkshakes that you can add extra ingredients (ensure, protein powder, banana, jam, etc.), mashed potatoes and gravy, tomato soup and other puree type soups, bananas, cantaloupe, honey dew melons, canned or packaged peaches and pears, jellied cranberry sauce, milk, soft cheeses, cottage cheese, sweet potatoes from a can, instant oatmeal, canned green beans, custard, sherbet, applesauce, avocados, scrambled eggs, popsicles. You have to experiment around of course, but always have water available to sip before eating and while eating. For more calories, flat 7-up drinks help (pour and let sit until its no-fizz). Depending on the type of chemo, nausea may come and go, and one thing that helped me was taking Prilosec (generic is Omeprazole) to turn off the stomach acid so there's one less thing to upset your stomach, consult your doctor first of course. If you can avoid a feeding tube he'll be much better off, just one less thing to complicate your digestive tract and comfort. When my tumor was "active" I had lots of pain swallowing so I took Tylenol (500 mg tablet dissolved in water to easily drink) a half hour before I ate, no more than 3 times a day. During radiation I used prescribed pain medication and "magic mouthwash" - a lidocaine based syrup that briefly numbs the esophagus to aid in swallowing.

Cut and paste this link for a free guide on EATING HINTS that may be helpful.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/eatinghints.pdf

Hope this helps! Keith

Wife status
Hi, your post above seems like very close to my wife's. She is fadding and I need help/suggestions. Diagnosed in Aug, chemo to Oct, then stomach surgery and 3cm ephos. Last PETT was in lungs, throat, a little activity in stomach. She had cough for months but that has stopped this week. She is spitting up about 50% of everything she drinks, liquids only now. She has a slimmy clear liguid up until yesterday, now turned dark red or coffee colored. She thinks it is clensing. Obviously she is not getting enough calories and will probably go for hydration on Monday. The Dr's told her she was to weak for chemo and the area was to large for radiation and to contact hospice. That is not on our list. If I can get her ephos opened up and some food in her I know she will make it. Any suggestions?

linda1120

frank01 said:

Wife status
Hi, your post above seems like very close to my wife's. She is fadding and I need help/suggestions. Diagnosed in Aug, chemo to Oct, then stomach surgery and 3cm ephos. Last PETT was in lungs, throat, a little activity in stomach. She had cough for months but that has stopped this week. She is spitting up about 50% of everything she drinks, liquids only now. She has a slimmy clear liguid up until yesterday, now turned dark red or coffee colored. She thinks it is clensing. Obviously she is not getting enough calories and will probably go for hydration on Monday. The Dr's told her she was to weak for chemo and the area was to large for radiation and to contact hospice. That is not on our list. If I can get her ephos opened up and some food in her I know she will make it. Any suggestions?

Frank
Dear Frank,

Welcome to our ec family. I am sorry to hear of your wife's difficulties. I do suggest that you contact Hospice as they are familiar with your wife's problems and can give her relief. I hope that you will consider it. It sounds like your wife is coughing up blood and her doctors need to know this.

I will pray for both of you.

Linda

Kathyn73020

kcinpdx said:

Soft Food Suggestions
My tumor is at the gastroesophageal (GE) junction and the inflammation caused my lower esophagus to constrict. I had difficulty swallowing and lots of regurgitation and plenty of vomiting for 11 months so I know what he is experiencing. The chemo will help once it kicks in, especially if the treatment includes an anti-inflammatory "precursor" that reduces the inflammation and helps the esophagus to relax. Food I could swallow easily included yogurts, blended milkshakes that you can add extra ingredients (ensure, protein powder, banana, jam, etc.), mashed potatoes and gravy, tomato soup and other puree type soups, bananas, cantaloupe, honey dew melons, canned or packaged peaches and pears, jellied cranberry sauce, milk, soft cheeses, cottage cheese, sweet potatoes from a can, instant oatmeal, canned green beans, custard, sherbet, applesauce, avocados, scrambled eggs, popsicles. You have to experiment around of course, but always have water available to sip before eating and while eating. For more calories, flat 7-up drinks help (pour and let sit until its no-fizz). Depending on the type of chemo, nausea may come and go, and one thing that helped me was taking Prilosec (generic is Omeprazole) to turn off the stomach acid so there's one less thing to upset your stomach, consult your doctor first of course. If you can avoid a feeding tube he'll be much better off, just one less thing to complicate your digestive tract and comfort. When my tumor was "active" I had lots of pain swallowing so I took Tylenol (500 mg tablet dissolved in water to easily drink) a half hour before I ate, no more than 3 times a day. During radiation I used prescribed pain medication and "magic mouthwash" - a lidocaine based syrup that briefly numbs the esophagus to aid in swallowing.

Cut and paste this link for a free guide on EATING HINTS that may be helpful.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/eatinghints.pdf

Hope this helps! Keith

Definitely helps
This is very helpful. Thank you!

Gary had a difficult time with swallowing at dinner this evening. Since his tumor is at the junction also, it may be from constriction as you describe...especially since at the time of the endoscope (2 weeks ago) the tumor wasn't large. Thank you for mentioning that as well as the food suggestions.

Kathy

cher76

kcinpdx said:

Soft Food Suggestions
My tumor is at the gastroesophageal (GE) junction and the inflammation caused my lower esophagus to constrict. I had difficulty swallowing and lots of regurgitation and plenty of vomiting for 11 months so I know what he is experiencing. The chemo will help once it kicks in, especially if the treatment includes an anti-inflammatory "precursor" that reduces the inflammation and helps the esophagus to relax. Food I could swallow easily included yogurts, blended milkshakes that you can add extra ingredients (ensure, protein powder, banana, jam, etc.), mashed potatoes and gravy, tomato soup and other puree type soups, bananas, cantaloupe, honey dew melons, canned or packaged peaches and pears, jellied cranberry sauce, milk, soft cheeses, cottage cheese, sweet potatoes from a can, instant oatmeal, canned green beans, custard, sherbet, applesauce, avocados, scrambled eggs, popsicles. You have to experiment around of course, but always have water available to sip before eating and while eating. For more calories, flat 7-up drinks help (pour and let sit until its no-fizz). Depending on the type of chemo, nausea may come and go, and one thing that helped me was taking Prilosec (generic is Omeprazole) to turn off the stomach acid so there's one less thing to upset your stomach, consult your doctor first of course. If you can avoid a feeding tube he'll be much better off, just one less thing to complicate your digestive tract and comfort. When my tumor was "active" I had lots of pain swallowing so I took Tylenol (500 mg tablet dissolved in water to easily drink) a half hour before I ate, no more than 3 times a day. During radiation I used prescribed pain medication and "magic mouthwash" - a lidocaine based syrup that briefly numbs the esophagus to aid in swallowing.

Cut and paste this link for a free guide on EATING HINTS that may be helpful.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/eatinghints.pdf

Hope this helps! Keith

Thanks for all the
Thanks for all the suggestions. There are some things here I think I can get him to eat. At the moment he is experiencing diarrhea from the chemo so that limits what he can eat also. Doctor told us no milk products and nothing to sugary, so that cuts down the list also. Hopefully we can get it under control quickly and move on to eating again.