5 weeks out

arndog64

Well we are 5 weeks out. Husband seems to be healing up nicely. He went to his onco appt yesterday and he seems to be doing fine. Still sitting at 146 pounds. She said he needs to gain weight. But, he still can't eat. The left side of his mouth/tongue is still pretty fried. We will keep trying. I told him try to eat every week, if he can't get anything down this week, stop and try again next week. I am trying to keep him from getting frustrated. He sure does want to eat!!!

Pumakitty

Hi
Glad to hear things are headed in the right direction. It is good that he wants to eat, tell him to just keep trying.

Kathy

ratface

Malnutrition kills appx. 1/3 of us
not specifically head and neck but all cancer related treatments. You are diligent in being concerned about his eating as it is most important. You are also obviously right on top of the situation and consulting your doctor. Utilize the peg and continue to encourage eating to the point of making something and throwing it away if he doesn't eat it. Encourage mild exercise such as walking to stimulate appetite. He will eat/drink soon.

arndog64

ratface said:

Malnutrition kills appx. 1/3 of us
not specifically head and neck but all cancer related treatments. You are diligent in being concerned about his eating as it is most important. You are also obviously right on top of the situation and consulting your doctor. Utilize the peg and continue to encourage eating to the point of making something and throwing it away if he doesn't eat it. Encourage mild exercise such as walking to stimulate appetite. He will eat/drink soon.

Yeah, I need to get him out
Yeah, I need to get him out and get some exercise. Unfortunately, we live in SE Texas and it's frigging hot and humid!!! So, walking around the block is not an option. I will try to get him to go grocery shopping with me this weekend. He was on Jevity at the hospital, but that stuff is very expensive. Does anyone know if you can get Jevity prescribed to you by your doctor and use your insurance to purchase it?

amr2662

arndog64 said:

Yeah, I need to get him out
Yeah, I need to get him out and get some exercise. Unfortunately, we live in SE Texas and it's frigging hot and humid!!! So, walking around the block is not an option. I will try to get him to go grocery shopping with me this weekend. He was on Jevity at the hospital, but that stuff is very expensive. Does anyone know if you can get Jevity prescribed to you by your doctor and use your insurance to purchase it?

Jevity
I am on the Jevity 1.2 and get it fairly cheap through my home health care and it is delivered to my home. My insurance won't cover it as it is considered "food" but they do pay for my other feeding supplies. Some insurance companies will cover however. Have you tried buying directly online through Abbott? It is a few dollars more per case than what I pay and if you buy a few at a cases at a time they will ship at no cost. You can also price shop it through different home care companies. The prices I got ranged from $1.50-5.75/can. So I would definitely shop around.

Meredith

BeacherBum

I'm around 6 weeks out of
I'm around 6 weeks out of treatment myself and trust me, I feel his pain with lack of eating. I drink around 3 to 4 cans of carnation instant breakfast (my hospital has the best program ever, $5 donation for a case of them) and try to eat dinner. Sometimes it's soup, sometimes I can get down a lil chicken or fish. Regardless of what I eat, it's pretty much primed and followed with a drink of water.

Stay strong and keep trying to eat. each week it gets a lil easier, though it is entirely frustrating. I've lost about 60 lbs since treatment and have found this way of eating for me allows me to hold my weight somewhat constant.

Also, I noticed yesterday, since I have stopped taking my pain medication, my appetite has returned and so have some saliva.

Just a few things to keep in mind. I hope something helps.

Pam M

arndog64 said:

Yeah, I need to get him out
Yeah, I need to get him out and get some exercise. Unfortunately, we live in SE Texas and it's frigging hot and humid!!! So, walking around the block is not an option. I will try to get him to go grocery shopping with me this weekend. He was on Jevity at the hospital, but that stuff is very expensive. Does anyone know if you can get Jevity prescribed to you by your doctor and use your insurance to purchase it?

PEG Food
My insurance didn't cover my formula, but I would surely check with his docs to see if yours might. You could probably call the insurance company and ask if there are any circumstances under which they would cover the Jevity.

It's work, but I do know that some people prepare their own tube food - I think it's recommended you have a 20 French tube size to do that, but if you do, I've read you can blend/puree lots of stuff, and not only save money, but get in "real" nutrients.

Hope he gets to where I am soon - I'm looking at needing to LOSE some weight now.

luv4lacrosse

KEEP TRYING
I know it is tough, but take baby steps. Allot of us had initial success with canned peaches. Do not know what it is about them, but they slide down like oysters.

I also did allot of Whey Protien "mass Building" shakes that I purchased at my gym.

Hang in there buddy.

Mike