Eating...

tuffenuff
tuffenuff Member Posts: 277
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Coco-Wheats with double sugar and milk, tastes like normal except I would definitely not need that much sugar usually
Frosted Mini Wheats, still good.
Scrambled Eggs, gonna put some cheese tonight for extra calories. The one I ate today was borderline delicious.
Watermelon. It was passable but my mom said it wasn't a great one to begin with. Bought a cantaloupe to try but it was mushy when we cut it. Ewww...
Waffles with butter and syrup.

Swallowing is still a non-issue so it's just trial and error with taste. I've never eaten so many sweet carbs in my life without some protein or whatnot to balance it out. I feel like im sugar crashing all day. The husband is going to stop at the store tonight. Thinking I want to try some cream based soups. For some reason, I also think I want to try plain cold boiled shrimp. Maybe a piece of fish. It seems like the key for me is to go for things that normally had little flavor. I think that makes my brain freak out less than if it was something very flavorful which now tastes like nothing, it doesn't seem to traumatized me as much. Crazy?

Comments

  • NoDuck
    NoDuck Member Posts: 134
    #2
    No Sweets
    No sweets for hubby. He says they all taste bad. He's half way through 3rd week of rads (tonsil) And as with others, taste is hit and miss. What has worked consistently well for him is Cream of Wheat. He doctors it up with Half and Half, butter and honey. We are counting it as 300 calories, it's probably more. This afternoon he tried grits. He said they didn't taste bad, but didn't taste like grits. Other than those two things, he is getting most of his nutrition through the peg tube. He had a big dose of Cisplantin Friday so not expecting anything to taste good for a few days.

    Early in his treatment he survived on yogurt and shakes. Now neither of those taste good either. He also says nothing "sounds" good and he's not hungry. Gee, only eating if you are hungry, what a novel idea! If I did that, I'd be thin!

    Hang in there. I am cerainly not a veteran after three and a half weeks but do feel like we've been in enough small battles so far to have some war stories to tell!

    Deb
  • tuffenuff
    tuffenuff Member Posts: 277
    #3
    NoDuck said:

    No Sweets
    No sweets for hubby. He says they all taste bad. He's half way through 3rd week of rads (tonsil) And as with others, taste is hit and miss. What has worked consistently well for him is Cream of Wheat. He doctors it up with Half and Half, butter and honey. We are counting it as 300 calories, it's probably more. This afternoon he tried grits. He said they didn't taste bad, but didn't taste like grits. Other than those two things, he is getting most of his nutrition through the peg tube. He had a big dose of Cisplantin Friday so not expecting anything to taste good for a few days.

    Early in his treatment he survived on yogurt and shakes. Now neither of those taste good either. He also says nothing "sounds" good and he's not hungry. Gee, only eating if you are hungry, what a novel idea! If I did that, I'd be thin!

    Hang in there. I am cerainly not a veteran after three and a half weeks but do feel like we've been in enough small battles so far to have some war stories to tell!

    Deb

    I asked my doc about the PEG
    I asked my doc about the PEG and she said an overwhelming majority of her patients make it through the treatment without it. My main concern was losing my ability to swallow so I didn't push the issue. I have a good 40 pounds to spare so I should be fine. It's just the dread of tasting something new and the low energy from not eating.

    At least I'm not barfing though :o)
  • katenorwood
    katenorwood Member Posts: 1,912
    #4
    tuffenuff said:

    I asked my doc about the PEG
    I asked my doc about the PEG and she said an overwhelming majority of her patients make it through the treatment without it. My main concern was losing my ability to swallow so I didn't push the issue. I have a good 40 pounds to spare so I should be fine. It's just the dread of tasting something new and the low energy from not eating.

    At least I'm not barfing though :o)

    LOL....
    tuffenuff,
    Had to laugh at the weight remark...have said the same thing...but doctors raised an eyebrow at me. I too eat alot of fish baked in the oven, butter and lemon pepper (small amount, pepper for some reason after resect seems stronger) I haven't worried a whole lot about calorie intake. Some days just hate to eat, nothing tastes good, or maybe not hungry...I do use the trusty old supplement....yuck ! Hope all goes well for you, best regards, Katie
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #5
    You seem to have quite a repetoire going
    of things to eat :). I haven't tried any canned soups because my tongue is so tender and they're so high in sodium, but my sister did make me some cheese and califlower soup....very creamy, good texture, and I could somewhat taste the califlower...no sting, either.

    Shrimp was GOOD...I actually can taste them...it seems the blander it is for regular folks, the tastier it is for me.

    I was doing waffles with lots of butter and syrup until the fourth week of rads...they tasted good, and went down easy...Gawd, that seems like the "good old days" now...LOL.

    p
  • tuffenuff
    tuffenuff Member Posts: 277
    #6
    phrannie51 said:

    You seem to have quite a repetoire going
    of things to eat :). I haven't tried any canned soups because my tongue is so tender and they're so high in sodium, but my sister did make me some cheese and califlower soup....very creamy, good texture, and I could somewhat taste the califlower...no sting, either.

    Shrimp was GOOD...I actually can taste them...it seems the blander it is for regular folks, the tastier it is for me.

    I was doing waffles with lots of butter and syrup until the fourth week of rads...they tasted good, and went down easy...Gawd, that seems like the "good old days" now...LOL.

    p

    I was hoping someone would
    I was hoping someone would say shrimp worked for them. I'm definitely trying the shrimp!
  • jim and i
    jim and i Member Posts: 1,788 Member
    #7
    Are you out of treatment? If
    Are you out of treatment? If you are you are doing great. My husband still cannot taste a lot of foods and swallowing something like waffles is not an option. He finished treatment August 2011 and still cannot swallow anything other than smoothies. I pray that things continue to improve.

    Debbie
  • tuffenuff
    tuffenuff Member Posts: 277
    #8
    jim and i said:

    Are you out of treatment? If
    Are you out of treatment? If you are you are doing great. My husband still cannot taste a lot of foods and swallowing something like waffles is not an option. He finished treatment August 2011 and still cannot swallow anything other than smoothies. I pray that things continue to improve.

    Debbie

    haha... i wish!!! no, i just
    haha... i wish!!! no, i just started 2 weeks ago. i'm just a whiny butt who wants to go to my favorite mexican restaurant and eat until i can't move!
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #9
    tuffenuff said:

    haha... i wish!!! no, i just
    haha... i wish!!! no, i just started 2 weeks ago. i'm just a whiny butt who wants to go to my favorite mexican restaurant and eat until i can't move!

    Lordie.....there sure are a lot
    of Mexican food lovers with HNC....I did that, Tuffy....for the entire before treatment started time....went and got Mexican about 3 times a week...LOL...It's not fair that so many of us LOVE all that spicey food!

    p
  • michdjp
    michdjp Member Posts: 220
    #10
    jim and i said:

    Are you out of treatment? If
    Are you out of treatment? If you are you are doing great. My husband still cannot taste a lot of foods and swallowing something like waffles is not an option. He finished treatment August 2011 and still cannot swallow anything other than smoothies. I pray that things continue to improve.

    Debbie

    Hi Debbie
    My dad started
    Hi Debbie
    My dad started treatment in aug 2011 and finished in oct 2011, however he too can only drink smoothies. We have tried dilating but did not help.
    I am Still trying right now as we speak to do it again or try Botox injections as I heard this was helpful. Dr. Says dad still has a 1cm stricture at c5.
    Such a frustrating situation. You are helpless until the dr . Tells u what to do next. Unless you hear the old...keep swallowing line!!!! Yeah if thats all it was.
    I hope your situation improves as well.
    Michelle

Discussion Boards