Will I ever gain any weight???

Glenna M
Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
First a little background. I have squamous cell cancer of the larynx and NSCLC in my left lung. I underwent 35 radiation treatments and 6 cisplatin for the larynx, these treatments ended Aug. 12, 2009. I underwent 4 Stereotactic Radiation treatments for my lung, these ended Sept.28,2009.

I had my feeding tube removed on Oct. 14th. I had not been using the tube for over a month before they removed it and have been able to eat most foods as long as I have plenty of water to drink with my meals. My taste buds are not very good and most foods only have a little flavor to them but I force myself to eat a variety of healthy foods so I can maintain my weight. From the time I was diagnosed until today I have lost 16 pounds but have been able to maintain my present weight as long as I force myself to eat several times a day. I am not as active as I was prior to my diagnosis but I try to walk each day and and work around the house to stay active and try to regain some of my strength and energy.

My question is - has anyone managed to gain all of their weight back after treatments? I was always small and after losing 16 pounds I look like a scarecrow and was wondering if it is natural to have such a hard time gaining any weight. I know I could probably eat more fattening foods like ice cream and sundaes but I have never really liked sweets and my ability to taste sweets is not real good at this time. I also don't want to eat sweets in an effort to gain weight only to lose weight if I stop all the sweets. I guess I just want to know if this inability to gain weight is normal or is it something I should be concerned with.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me find an answer to my problem. I feel a little ashamed at asking these questions as my problem is very pety compared to what others are going through right now but I am trying so hard to do all the right things so I can continue my battle with this evil disease.

My best wishes to everyone on this site, may you all improve and beat this BEAST!!

Glenna




















Comments

  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #2
    A weighty subject
    Glenna!

    I am glad to read that your treatments are behind you and am hopeful that they STAY behind you.

    That said, have you considered that you are still less than a month away from your last treatments? I would venture that your taste buds will come back, given another month or two. And I would advise that in the meantime your efforts to eat multiple times each day while also exercising is a great regimen!

    If you have not yet consulted a dietician or nutritionist, you may want to consider this. I have found that they are pretty sharp, able to ascertain what you should weigh and what you need to consume in order to get to that weight in a healthy fashion.

    In the meantime, I would not steer away from protein-rich products like boost and ensure simply because the tube is gone. Consider, if you are not already doing so, bringing these back into your daily diet.

    Wish I could offer something more solid, my friend.

    In any event, congratulations on getting through your treatments :)!

    Take care,

    Joe
  • Glenna M
    Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
    #3
    soccerfreaks said:

    A weighty subject
    Glenna!

    I am glad to read that your treatments are behind you and am hopeful that they STAY behind you.

    That said, have you considered that you are still less than a month away from your last treatments? I would venture that your taste buds will come back, given another month or two. And I would advise that in the meantime your efforts to eat multiple times each day while also exercising is a great regimen!

    If you have not yet consulted a dietician or nutritionist, you may want to consider this. I have found that they are pretty sharp, able to ascertain what you should weigh and what you need to consume in order to get to that weight in a healthy fashion.

    In the meantime, I would not steer away from protein-rich products like boost and ensure simply because the tube is gone. Consider, if you are not already doing so, bringing these back into your daily diet.

    Wish I could offer something more solid, my friend.

    In any event, congratulations on getting through your treatments :)!

    Take care,

    Joe

    Is this going to work??
    Just checking to see if I can post yet or if this will get "Lost in Space"
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #4
    Glenna M said:

    Is this going to work??
    Just checking to see if I can post yet or if this will get "Lost in Space"

    :)
    I have taken to writing mine in Notepad and then posting them. That way, if they get lost, I can post again.

    Take care, my friend,

    Joe
  • Glenna M
    Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
    #5
    soccerfreaks said:

    :)
    I have taken to writing mine in Notepad and then posting them. That way, if they get lost, I can post again.

    Take care, my friend,

    Joe

    Thanks Joe!!
    Thanks Joe, you are right again, as usual :-) I am just being impatient again, probably
    because I have waaaaay too much free time on my hands, I tend to wonder and worry more than
    I should.

    I would also like to thank you for the advice on Notepad (duh, why didn't I think of that :-)

    I haven't been able to post for the past 3 days so I actually have some encouraging news.
    I spoke with my nutritionist and she assured me that it was not a problem that I wasn't gaining weight as long as I am not losing any. I told her that I have plenty of Ensure Plus left at home and she said if I wanted to gain a few pounds to try drinking 2 cans per day and keep eating the way I have been, she said I could stop drinking the Ensure once I reached my desired weight and I should be able to maintain my weight just from my regular food intake.

    I saw my ENT last week and he put the scope down my throat and said there was some swelling on the left side but he saw no abnormalities which I took as very good news, anytime someone says no abnormalities I get excited!! He also said he may do another biopsy when I go back in three weeks and that my throat looked much better than it did when I saw him in June.

    I saw my rad doctor today and he said the swelling my ENT saw was nothing to be concerned about. I don't see him again for 2 months but he is going to scheduled another scan (they will be scanning my throat and lung at the same time) just before I see him so I should know a lot more after that appointment.

    Thanks again Joe for your response and encouragement, I don't know what I would do without you :-)

    Take good care of yourself.

    Your friend and fellow SURVIVOR!!

    Glenna
  • train-nut
    train-nut Member Posts: 101
    #6
    Weight
    Glenna,

    After taking a shower today I was looking in the mirror at an old man I didn't want to recognize who is getting kind of tubby again. Give it some time, you'll be fine. Rich
  • Glenna M
    Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
    #7
    train-nut said:

    Weight
    Glenna,

    After taking a shower today I was looking in the mirror at an old man I didn't want to recognize who is getting kind of tubby again. Give it some time, you'll be fine. Rich

    LOL
    Thanks Rich, your response made me smile. I'm tired of the skinny "old lady" I see in the mirror each day and look forward seeing a "tubby old lady".

    I just have to learn to have more patience :-) and enjoy the improvements I am already seeing.

    Take care,
    Glenna

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