Eating Habits

jtl
jtl Member Posts: 456
I have always been a carnivore but I think I am losing my appetite for meat. Not only does it taste dry due to the lack of saliva but it just isn't appealing. I wonder if I am a closet vegan. I have always liked most veggies but I don't think I could eat them and only them. Come to think of it I occasionally like fish and chicken so I guess it is red meat or mammals that are an issue. Anyone else going through this?
John2
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Comments

  • francma
    francma Member Posts: 69 Member
    Yes, I am having the same
    Yes, I am having the same issue right now along with foods tasting very "hot" even if it is not a spicy food. The meats, as you said are just not appealing. I seem to be okay with pork tho. Also I find bread to get really pasty so load it with butter or make toast..helps alittle.

    Keep trying things over and over every week. As some things that didn't work, will work when tried again.

    How long since last treatments for you?

    Good luck to you! Stay positive!

    Fran~
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    MeatEater2
    I am/have always been a big meat eater also...

    Although, I probably tend to eat less than I used to, but I do like chicken wings and fish. As mentioned when I first had little to no saliva or taste, it simply was too dry and had little to no taste.

    The taste will more than likely change with improvement over time of both your taste and saliva.

    Like mentioned, it's easily measured in weeks and months versus days and weeks even. If something didn't taste good, I'd table it for several weeks or even a few months.

    Now at over 2 1/2 years post treatment, I have regained nearly all of both taste and saliva.

    Hang in there, more than likely you'll both see improvement over time.

    Best,
    John
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    Skiffin16 said:

    MeatEater2
    I am/have always been a big meat eater also...

    Although, I probably tend to eat less than I used to, but I do like chicken wings and fish. As mentioned when I first had little to no saliva or taste, it simply was too dry and had little to no taste.

    The taste will more than likely change with improvement over time of both your taste and saliva.

    Like mentioned, it's easily measured in weeks and months versus days and weeks even. If something didn't taste good, I'd table it for several weeks or even a few months.

    Now at over 2 1/2 years post treatment, I have regained nearly all of both taste and saliva.

    Hang in there, more than likely you'll both see improvement over time.

    Best,
    John

    Meat
    From purely a health standpoint giving up red meat may be a good thing. I can eat spicy stuff, for example had scrambled eggs for breakfast and used tabasco. I am not a huge egg eater but occasionally they are ok. Fish tonight baked with tomatoes, onions and some.....tabasco.
    John2
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    jtl said:

    Meat
    From purely a health standpoint giving up red meat may be a good thing. I can eat spicy stuff, for example had scrambled eggs for breakfast and used tabasco. I am not a huge egg eater but occasionally they are ok. Fish tonight baked with tomatoes, onions and some.....tabasco.
    John2

    Cajun Sunshine...
    Not sure if you are a cayenne kinda guy, LOL...

    But I like cayenne more than the red chiles in tabasco. It just has a lot more flavor to me and not as much bite or heat.

    Anyways, somethng to try perhaps...

    Best,
    John
  • HAWVET
    HAWVET Member Posts: 318
    jtl said:

    Meat
    From purely a health standpoint giving up red meat may be a good thing. I can eat spicy stuff, for example had scrambled eggs for breakfast and used tabasco. I am not a huge egg eater but occasionally they are ok. Fish tonight baked with tomatoes, onions and some.....tabasco.
    John2

    Cannot eat meat
    During and after treatment, I just lost my appetite and did not want to eat anything. My appetite returned but unfortunately, my saliva did not recover. Meat was my first love. During the holiday season, it used to be difficult looking at all the various dishes especially in our combined Hawaiian/Asian/American environment. Now, it does not bother me and I just eat what I can.

    As for spicy food, it seems hotter because of the dry mouth factor. It burns to have anything spicy in my mouth.

    This year, I am just grateful to be able to continue to be with you folks and starting my 14th year after the discovery of this dreaded disease.
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    Skiffin16 said:

    Cajun Sunshine...
    Not sure if you are a cayenne kinda guy, LOL...

    But I like cayenne more than the red chiles in tabasco. It just has a lot more flavor to me and not as much bite or heat.

    Anyways, somethng to try perhaps...

    Best,
    John

    Cayenne
    Great idea, I am going to try it!

    Laisser les bons temps rouler
  • ratface
    ratface Member Posts: 1,337 Member
    HAWVET said:

    Cannot eat meat
    During and after treatment, I just lost my appetite and did not want to eat anything. My appetite returned but unfortunately, my saliva did not recover. Meat was my first love. During the holiday season, it used to be difficult looking at all the various dishes especially in our combined Hawaiian/Asian/American environment. Now, it does not bother me and I just eat what I can.

    As for spicy food, it seems hotter because of the dry mouth factor. It burns to have anything spicy in my mouth.

    This year, I am just grateful to be able to continue to be with you folks and starting my 14th year after the discovery of this dreaded disease.

    I've totally changed my diet
    since treatment and now 2 1/2 years post. I had such a hard time with meat initially because of the saliva thing. Add to that the problems with breads, rice, potatoes which were initially so difficult. Rice and bread still are. Although most of my saliva is back it's never going to be like it was. I've gone completely vegan for ease of chewing and digestion along with all the health benefits. Meats have been linked to at least a dozen different cancers. To each his own but why tempt fate, I'm already a one time loser!

    As an aside, has anyone here eaten buckwheat and where do you buy it?
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    jtl said:

    Cayenne
    Great idea, I am going to try it!

    Laisser les bons temps rouler

    Joie de Vivre
    Roll on brother....

    JG
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    jtl
    You are actually John3 in my head. I think of Skiffin as John, FISRPOTPE, as John2, lol.

    I could not be a vegan, because there is no way I could give up milk, eggs, and cheese. Just ain't gonna happen. Plus, I could not get all the calories and nutrients I need as a vegan. Vegetarian, I can do. I don't eat too much meat at all these days, because it's just too darn hard, if not impossible to eat. Besides having like, no saliva, I also have a stricture, so eating is a challenge.

    I eat a little bit of chicken. I can do chicken thighs, most of the time, if they are cooked right. I can do rack of lamb chops. I have just been engaged in The Great Duck Experiment 2011. I thought that duck might be easier than chicken to swallow, but I think after making several duck dishes, I think it's the same as chicken thighs.

    Fish still seems to remain problematic for me as well. The thing that I can eat as far as sea food goes, is sea scallops.

    I try to add beans and legumes to my diet, and more whole grains, and I normally get at least my minimum of five servings of fruit and veg a day. When I do eat meat, it is a very small portion, like one chicken thigh, two small lamb chops, about 4 ounces, 1-2 rashers of bacon, or two slices of deli meat, and If I eat meat, it would usually only be once a day.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    ratface said:

    I've totally changed my diet
    since treatment and now 2 1/2 years post. I had such a hard time with meat initially because of the saliva thing. Add to that the problems with breads, rice, potatoes which were initially so difficult. Rice and bread still are. Although most of my saliva is back it's never going to be like it was. I've gone completely vegan for ease of chewing and digestion along with all the health benefits. Meats have been linked to at least a dozen different cancers. To each his own but why tempt fate, I'm already a one time loser!

    As an aside, has anyone here eaten buckwheat and where do you buy it?

    Ratface
    I am going to assume that you are referring to buckwheat groats, Versus say, Buckwheat from the show I loved as a kid, The Little Rsacals.

    I used to buy Kasha and make it with bow ties. I would buy this kind at my local Weis Market store:


    WOLFF's  KASHA WOLFF's  BUCKWHEAT
     

    BOBS RED MILL   BUCKWHEAT IDEAS  FOR  COOKING  BUCKWHEAT -  Kasha


    BUCKWHEAT </b

    I also used to buy Soba noodles, which are made with buckwheat flour and Buckwheat pancakes, are everywhere around here.
  • fisrpotpe
    fisrpotpe Member Posts: 1,349 Member
    mostly
    i eat mostly soft veg's as they are easier when cooked to swallow. when i do have meet it is pretty much dark chicken or greasy burger slider. i look at it like it is part of the new normal and after some many months it becomes the norm.

    nothing wrong with mostly veg's

    john
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    ratface said:

    I've totally changed my diet
    since treatment and now 2 1/2 years post. I had such a hard time with meat initially because of the saliva thing. Add to that the problems with breads, rice, potatoes which were initially so difficult. Rice and bread still are. Although most of my saliva is back it's never going to be like it was. I've gone completely vegan for ease of chewing and digestion along with all the health benefits. Meats have been linked to at least a dozen different cancers. To each his own but why tempt fate, I'm already a one time loser!

    As an aside, has anyone here eaten buckwheat and where do you buy it?

    The Dreaded Buckwheat Pancake
    I like 'em - my family won't touch them. I can get buckwheat pancake mix at Kroger (large chain in this area - maybe nationwide, I dunno). For the groats, I have gone to health food store (haven't gotten brave enough to cook with them yet - still in fridge). Our Meijer store (another chain) carries Kasha in the International Foods section.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    Pam M said:

    The Dreaded Buckwheat Pancake
    I like 'em - my family won't touch them. I can get buckwheat pancake mix at Kroger (large chain in this area - maybe nationwide, I dunno). For the groats, I have gone to health food store (haven't gotten brave enough to cook with them yet - still in fridge). Our Meijer store (another chain) carries Kasha in the International Foods section.

    Dreaded buckwheat pancake.
    Yeah, I don't like them either. My ex husband used to drag me to these nasty buckwheat pancake suppers (he finally gave up, and went with his guy friends and let me stay home, since I didn't like them and wouldn't eat them). That, and chicken and waffle suppers are popular here. I never in my life saw chicken served like that, until I came here to PA. There's a long list of stuff I never saw eaten until I came to PA. 0_O
  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    ratface said:

    I've totally changed my diet
    since treatment and now 2 1/2 years post. I had such a hard time with meat initially because of the saliva thing. Add to that the problems with breads, rice, potatoes which were initially so difficult. Rice and bread still are. Although most of my saliva is back it's never going to be like it was. I've gone completely vegan for ease of chewing and digestion along with all the health benefits. Meats have been linked to at least a dozen different cancers. To each his own but why tempt fate, I'm already a one time loser!

    As an aside, has anyone here eaten buckwheat and where do you buy it?

    rice and bread
    the radical surgery I had last year really did a number on me for swallowing certain things. Unless I can smother rice with gravy, I don't even try. The little bits get stuck everywhere in my mouth. I can fish them out as snacks for days after. Bread is simply the hardest thing in the world to moisturize and swallow. I don't miss the rice. I do miss the bread.
  • osmotar
    osmotar Member Posts: 1,006

    Dreaded buckwheat pancake.
    Yeah, I don't like them either. My ex husband used to drag me to these nasty buckwheat pancake suppers (he finally gave up, and went with his guy friends and let me stay home, since I didn't like them and wouldn't eat them). That, and chicken and waffle suppers are popular here. I never in my life saw chicken served like that, until I came here to PA. There's a long list of stuff I never saw eaten until I came to PA. 0_O

    Chicken n Waffles
    Even though I grew up in NE PA, the first time I ever saw chicken n waffles was when I lived in elizabethville, I had no clue that people ate them like that and in such huge quanity..of course there being such a large Amish influence there were quite a few things I didn't know people ate either and some of them I will never eat. One of the first times my one sister was visiting we were in the local IGA and she saw hogmaw (sp) asked what it was and when she was told pigs stomach I thought she was going to retch right then.
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456

    jtl
    You are actually John3 in my head. I think of Skiffin as John, FISRPOTPE, as John2, lol.

    I could not be a vegan, because there is no way I could give up milk, eggs, and cheese. Just ain't gonna happen. Plus, I could not get all the calories and nutrients I need as a vegan. Vegetarian, I can do. I don't eat too much meat at all these days, because it's just too darn hard, if not impossible to eat. Besides having like, no saliva, I also have a stricture, so eating is a challenge.

    I eat a little bit of chicken. I can do chicken thighs, most of the time, if they are cooked right. I can do rack of lamb chops. I have just been engaged in The Great Duck Experiment 2011. I thought that duck might be easier than chicken to swallow, but I think after making several duck dishes, I think it's the same as chicken thighs.

    Fish still seems to remain problematic for me as well. The thing that I can eat as far as sea food goes, is sea scallops.

    I try to add beans and legumes to my diet, and more whole grains, and I normally get at least my minimum of five servings of fruit and veg a day. When I do eat meat, it is a very small portion, like one chicken thigh, two small lamb chops, about 4 ounces, 1-2 rashers of bacon, or two slices of deli meat, and If I eat meat, it would usually only be once a day.

    John 2 or John 3
    Makes no difference to me, if I cannot be first than everything else is an also ran. Only kidding. Years ago in my working life some referred to me as JT since I signed my name with my first initials.

    I can now pretty much eat anything with the caveat that it is not the same as pre-rads. Had a fresh bagel with cream cheese this morning it was pretty good. Wifey and I still enjoy a smoothie every morning.

    JT
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    Skiffin16 said:

    Cajun Sunshine...
    Not sure if you are a cayenne kinda guy, LOL...

    But I like cayenne more than the red chiles in tabasco. It just has a lot more flavor to me and not as much bite or heat.

    Anyways, somethng to try perhaps...

    Best,
    John

    Tasty
    Tried the cayenne pepper and it was very good. I may have overdone it a little because it sure had an after bite. Maybe I should have put on some lemon, I top it with tomatoes and baked it in the oven. I could not have even considered this a couple of weeks ago but now my throat is pretty much healed.

    My wife had a two week job in New Orleans a few years ago and her hotel was in the FQ. I took a long week-end to visit her and we spent all of our time in the FQ except for an afternoon to the Garden District. I love the food but next time I will bring more beads ☺.
  • ratface
    ratface Member Posts: 1,337 Member
    fisrpotpe said:

    mostly
    i eat mostly soft veg's as they are easier when cooked to swallow. when i do have meet it is pretty much dark chicken or greasy burger slider. i look at it like it is part of the new normal and after some many months it becomes the norm.

    nothing wrong with mostly veg's

    john

    Trying to keep my weight down
    yes, Sweet I was talking about the groats. Do you like them and what do they taste like. I googled them and they are actually a fruit. I thought of the little rascal kid after I posted it. I'm just learning to cook new things. I currently have four vegan cookbooks. The stuff in them is difficult to cook timewise and because I never have the ingredients as they can get quite bizarre. last night I made a kale and lentil stew/soup which turned out prety good. I gain weight very easily and refuse to give up the one of the positive sideeffect of this disease which is lost poundage.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    ratface said:

    Trying to keep my weight down
    yes, Sweet I was talking about the groats. Do you like them and what do they taste like. I googled them and they are actually a fruit. I thought of the little rascal kid after I posted it. I'm just learning to cook new things. I currently have four vegan cookbooks. The stuff in them is difficult to cook timewise and because I never have the ingredients as they can get quite bizarre. last night I made a kale and lentil stew/soup which turned out prety good. I gain weight very easily and refuse to give up the one of the positive sideeffect of this disease which is lost poundage.

    Taste wise, it depends on
    Taste wise, it depends on how they are prepared. I don't like the pancakes, to me the have like a sort of earthy taste (like a mushroom is earthy, if that makes sense) and a little fermented like hoppy beer. But that just might be me. I can eat a little if it's cooked like a pilaf, like you would, say barley. Lots of onions and garlic. It's been years and years since I made it. I would make them with the bow ties, because it was a traditional dish that my friend had in her culture when she was little, and she liked it.

    Not a fan of bitter greens, so I don't do kale, but lentil soup with spinach, is a staple dish for me. How are they difficult to cook time wise? Like labor intensive? If you ever need a hand with unfamiliar ingredients, just ask, Rick, I can probably help.
  • olivia46
    olivia46 Member Posts: 28

    rice and bread
    the radical surgery I had last year really did a number on me for swallowing certain things. Unless I can smother rice with gravy, I don't even try. The little bits get stuck everywhere in my mouth. I can fish them out as snacks for days after. Bread is simply the hardest thing in the world to moisturize and swallow. I don't miss the rice. I do miss the bread.

    Bread and Soup
    I dipped toasted bread into warm soup or warm milk, so it was softened and easy to be swallowed.

    olivia