Eating Issues

Kritter
Kritter Member Posts: 147
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hello to all...

 

Well I thought I had things under control. But it seems the ensure, boost, instant breakfast, or anything of that nature doesn't like me now. It tastes absolutely horrid, and if I put it through my feeding tube it just seems to sit and ferment until I throw it up. Either way I try it, I get sick from it. So I open the Peg and drain it. Right now the only thing that even stays with me is Jell-O, iced tea, and very few other foods. Most food taste so bad I throw up just from the taste.

 

I have finished 4 Chemo ( Erbitux ) out of 7 and 17 radiations out of 33. Have the Erbitux rash, but it's not all that bad. Aquafor and cornstarch helps. Doc has said that things are opening up pretty good and I can breathe through my nose now with my mouth closed !

 

What they are talking about is a pump to attach to my Peg tube if I lose any more weight. My face mask has to stay as tight as possible, since they are radiating right between my eyes. And also lymph nodes in neck. It's not that my throat to sore to swallow, it's that food sours quickly in my stomach. I am different, as my tastes and smells are returning now during treatment as I didn’t have them for almost a year. 

 

Any ideas on what I might tolerate? As the drinks they are wanting to supplement me with are so expensive, and I am afraid I won't be able to tolerate it either.

 

Thanks for the prayers for my Mama, her port is in, and she starts chemo soon. I just wish there wasn't 400 miles between us.  Prayers and hugs to all, Kritter.

Comments

  • Sailor123
    Sailor123 Member Posts: 97
    #2
    Hi Kritter:I'm so sorry your

    Hi Kritter:

    I'm so sorry your suffering.  It is a mystery as to why any of us would have to undergo such brutality.  You are right in the middle of the most difficult part right now.  It will get better.  You will be eating food again and you will feel better eventually.  I promise.  Hang in there.

    Smelling an orange rind helped me when I felt nausea.  Also, what about injecting applesauce or babyfood like pears maybe?

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #3
    Hi Kritter

    I agree with Matt Jevity is a lot better than all the other. Also remember I been on the PEG for a little over two years and I eat anything anybody else can eat. All you need is the right blenda and you can make liquid food out of anything.

    Tim Hondo

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #4
    What a pain in the butt....

    that the store bought supplements don't agree with you.  You might have to get on the more expensive kind, because Jello isn't going to get you through this....nutrition and hydration are everything.  Check with the insurance company and see if they won't pay for the feeding stuff (like Jevity....and there are others....I think Osimilite (something like that) ).....I know insurance companies for have paid for others here.  The pump lets you adjust the amount you're getting...and keeping it slow and steady has worked for some folks....they feed during the night so they don't have to spend all day doing it.  There might be people here who have finished treatment who could send you a couple of cans of the other supplements to test out before you buy....to find out what you can tolerate??  Thing is, there is more than one way to skin a cat....and finding a supplement that you can tolerate is very important. 

    Whoo Hoo on the taste, smell and breathing!!!  The treatment is working! 

    Check with the insurance company!!!!

    p

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #5
    drinking issues too

     

    Kritter.

    You need nourishment (calories) and need to stay hydrated (water,  tea, whatever ).  Also, you need to keep  swallowing (it is important).

    I used Jevity in my PEG, did not like thee smell, but it did not make me sick.  I also continued to drink 1 meal a day.

    Take it one day  at a time, learn to work with your body, whatever it takes.

    Good luck,

    Matt

     

  • robswife87
    robswife87 Member Posts: 209
    #6
    How long does it take

    for you to take in 500ml. I had to slow my husband up to take 45 min at the least. Any faster and he would through it up. Also do you have Emend for nausea? The best stuff on earth for your queasy stomach.

    Also the stuff in stores has a ton of sugar. As Hondo said, with the right blender (Blendtec, Vitamix) you  can blend up some nice chicken and asparagus with some low sodium broth and yum.

    Sandy

  • Eddiegirl
    Eddiegirl Member Posts: 1
    #7
    Eating issues

    My husband had throat cancer & went through chemo/radiation. He was suppose to have a feeding tube, but ended up in the ICU from the biopsy surgery. He opted out of getting the feeding tube. The Nurse in the Chemo suggested he get Two Cal HN from Bings Pharmacy, it has 475 calories, that is all he has been living on mainly since Aug. I found he can eat eggs cooked over easy, soups, mashed potatoes & gravy. And he swished with the miracle mouth wash prior to trying to eat. It has been a big fight to keep him fighting. Always have to help him & remind him to swish with the baking soda/salt solution to help keep his mouth clean. He does have mouth sores that made it very hard to eat anything but the Two Cal HN & he lost weight from that. He needs encouragement often & that does help him. I bought L-glutamine tablets & dissolved them in water; I try to encourage him to swish & swallow that daily to help his mouth sores heal. He has a sore that might need an oral surgeon soon. He is not able to wear his dentures at all. I am happy to have joined this support group today so that I can help encourage him. I am here to help anyone if I can.

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