Re: Need to be able to...EAT!
 

Where is Tanya, our registered oncology nutritionist? I bet she could help.
I think the body is smart and knows what it needs. The gastro intestinal track might be overwhelmed by the chemo or other things.
Eat lightly. Don't try to eat alot at one time. Several small meals or snacks might be good during the day.
I like the suggestions about the soft rice and eggs. Perhaps a little yoghurt will help replace the friendly bacteria in the gastro intestinal track and give you extra protein and calcium. If you don't want to eat yoghurt you can get chewable probiotics from any health food store. Some brands also have digestive enzymes in them. You might want to wash and freeze small fruits like grapes and eat a few when you feel like it. They are very good frozen.
I make my own fruit juice from frozen berries or other fruits. I use half for drinking and mix the other half in a smoothie with yoghurt or almond milk and protein powder from the health food store. I pour the mixture in small cups or ice cube trays and freeze them for refreshing small snacks during the day. You can cooka a few veggies and juice them instead of eating tghem whole. Cooked carrots, apples and oranges juiced together are very refreshing and nutritious. Try Gerber 2nd foods, especially the fruits and sweet potatoes. They can be eaten the way they are and are not too much to eat at one time. Those little boxes of raisins are great carry along snacks for when we go out. I also carry a cereal bar or a few crackers with cheese or peanut butter with me no matter where I go. Even if I don't eat everything every little bit helps. I also carry water with me









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Re: Need to be able to...EAT!
 

I was the same when I had chemo and I could ill afford to lose weight at the time. I agree with Becky to eat little and often as I did, I finally began to gain weight and get an appetite about a year after I finished treatments.

Re: Need to be able to...EAT!
 

Elaine brought up chewable probiotics. That reminded me that I took acidophilus and bifidus tablets, which helped.

Plus the havoc played with our elimination system by the drugs and the pre-meds do not do us any favors. Finding a good balance on the elimination side certainly helped me want to face more food.

Hope things are better for you by now.

Re: Need to be able to...EAT!
 

There was a time in my life when, due to a severe emotional trauma, I just could not eat. I remember how scary that was. Eating is so primal, and we know we need to do it. There was also the regret that something I used to like so much was such a chore. Like you, it was two bites and then it simply became impossible to put in, chew, and swallow any more.

People told me I looked great, and I did. I'm usually a size 10 or 12, and I got down to a size 6 or 8. But the experience made me realize how upside down and backwards our cultural values can be. I was wasting away! Looking great in a sundress did not make up for that.

I wonder if maybe there's guided imagery that would be helpful to you? If not, perhaps simply doing mindfulness meditation would help you get back in touch with your appetite.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Re: Need to be able to...EAT!
 

Im hanging in there...Im taking probiotics. Im eating a little bit more than I was...trying to work in a lot of the suggestions I have gotten from you all. Im still eating only few bites at a time, but doing it more frequently. I can get about a half a cup of yogurt down for breakfast. Sometimes because I don't get hungry I totally forget to eat, so I have set the alarm on my cell phone to go off every couple hours to remind me. Amy, I never thought about it that way, but you are right...its totally backwards and upside down. Makes me sad. Im also doing some hypnosis and meditation. I know I have to eat to gain strength and be better. It's only a matter of time before I will have to start a more harsh treatment regimen, and I want to be strong when I do.
I just want to say thank you to everyone for all the suggestions, and just for being there when I have a question or I am feeling down or whatever it is I need. Wish I could just give you all a hug....

Re: Need to be able to...EAT!
 

and JML..thanks for posting. Its nice to hear someone who has the same results after WBR. I too said..they must have damaged the part of my brain that tells me to eat..or I must have a tumor in the part of the brain that controls my appetite. I think Denise is right, I need to quit obsessing about it, and if I am getting in enough calories with the Boost and making sure to take supplements and eating what I can here and there...well, then maybe its enough for now. I hope so. :)

Re: Need to be able to...EAT!
 

Have they put you on Megace or Marinol yet? That's what they give to people who get under a certain weight at my oncology office. My friend there was down to 89 and they put her on Megace and now she's up around 100 again - she looks great.

I too, can't eat. I get full with one or two bites. I think it's liver disease, it just makes us not hungry and eating is painful.

Our family tradition is to eat dinner together nightly so when we all sit down, I eat a few bites and that is enough to keep my weight in the upper 90s, which isn't so far off my normal weight of 103. I keep a bowl of treats that I like, right now it's those Spree candies and sometimes I just grab a few and eat them. And, I love coconut popsicles and I eat one at night watching TV and if I want two, I eat two. I'm not active so don't burn a lot of calories. Sometimes I eat a yogurt during the day.

It's funny because until I got cancer, I was the healthiest eater you've ever met - I haven't had a soda in maybe ten years, I don't do dessert, love veggies, grains and fruits - and now I can't really eat that way anymore. It's just hard on my gastro system so I have to do easily digested foods and oddly, that's what my body wants.

My doctor says at this point, any calories are good calories. The big worry is bedsores so keeping some weight on, however you do it, helps buffer that and keeps your skin from breaking down if you get sick and have to stay in bed.

Remember, the sugar feeds cancer thing is a myth.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/can...SECTIONGROUP=2

I'm sure you go a ton of good ideas in this thread! Dropping 30 pounds would be a big red flag at my oncology office and I'm surprised they haven't prescribed something for you. Maybe they have a certain weight/percentage of normal they get to before they do that? You can ask. *hugs*

Re: Need to be able to...EAT!
 

Thanks Ann. smiles. No, they haven't given me anything yet. Even though I lost thirty pounds, Im not near a dangerous weight at all. Im right around 140 last time I checked. Also, a lot of the weight I have taken off was weight I gained on dex. I am on nausea meds and omeprazole. Dont have to take the nausea meds all the time.
Im sure you all can identify with me when I say...Im just sick of being sick. Im grateful for every day I have here with all of you and my family and friends, but I wish I could eat, and I wish I had more energy, and I wish I had HAIR..lol. You all know, its just a rough road to travel, and sometimes it seems overwhelming. If it was up to my body I just wouldn't eat at all apparently. I have scans and labs middle of July, so we will see what is up with the good ole liver and brain then. Until then...Im just chilling eating ice cream and pudding and BOOST. :)

Re: Need to be able to...EAT!
 

Yeah, it is not fun being sick. Your brain never catches up to that does it? I still have a hard time when I fill out a questionnaire and it asks me how I'd describe my health: excellent, good, okay, poor....I always still want to put down excellent. Hah! I have to force myself to put down poor.

I do find this comes and goes. I'm feeling energetic these days, which I'm taking advantage of. It's rare and beautiful and I appreciate it a lot more! Often we are tired and sick and not able to do much, but I've found that once in a while, a period of energy comes around and it is so nice! I hope you have one soon!