Marvin is struggling more with getting his required amount of boost or carnation down lately said he can't handle the taste anymore. Any ideas on how to make this stuff taste better. I have been mixing chocolate syrup with some of it but he is still haveing a hard time. Also could this be from the swelling he still has that makes it difficult to drink. They said yesterday at his 3 month ck up that he still had a good amount of swelling.

Barb - My son used Boost but had the same reaction after a few cans of it. His tastes changed all the time so I learned not to buy too many cans of anything. After Boost, we went to using Ensure which worked for a little while and also the Carnation VHC (which has more calories). Another thing that seemed to help was to dilute whatever he was drinking with water. He also went from chocolate to strawberry to vanilla milkshakes in the blender - said the chocolate tasted funny. He also took a liking to different flavors of sports drinks. I think it's just a matter of trying different things. I'm sure others will have some good ideas.

I put cinnamon in my protein drinks.I thought that tasted really good, or as good as could without tastebuds.

I think any of those protein drinks taste better mixed with good coffee. But of course you can't drink coffee all day long.

Nelie

We kept a variety of icecream toppings in the frig to add to the canned drinks- and just experimented. Anything chunky I would puree before adding it. Amy

You have to experiement with different flavors. The espresso flavored Carnarion Instant Breakfast worked well for me and I also drank daily Hagen Daz coffee milkshakes (doctors orders actually).

Coffee...and ice cream toppings...milkshakes...was this during or after IMRT?

Coffee, chocolate, sugar, and fruit (every kind) all went on the list of "hurts/burns/tastes like h#@#" awhile ago.

He's so bored with vanilla Ensure and VHC, but I've given up trying to jazz them up a little as everything seems to make matters worse not better.

How long does it take post treatment for things not to hurt so much? Barb, how far is Marvin post treatment?

Margaret,

I know you probably hate my responses but...

Dan is in a war right now and he just needs to pour that stuff down as fast as he can. His taste is probably pretty shot right now and will be for many months to come so don't worry about frills, this is WAR. Tell him to open the can and open his mouth and let gravity do it's thing. If he's worried about subtle tastes then he ain't as bad off as most of us were. It got so bad for me that I would drag myself out of bed, open a room temp VHC, drink it fast and then hold my mouth closed with my hand while standing over the sink and prey that it would stay down. Taste was the farthest thing from my mind.

Re the post Tx pain. I'm sure you've been told it's an individual thing and it's true. He will recover when he does but it will most likely be MUCH slower than he wants. Even once he walks out of that tunnel he will be surprised that one day he will feel better and the next day he will feel worse. That scenario may last for months. Look, I think by comparison I recovered quicker than a lot, but it really wasn't until my 8th or 9th month that normal started to really return.

I tried from your first e mail to warn you and Dan and I tried to paint as ugly a picture as I could to get you to understand that this is not the flu or a bad cold. This is a deadly cancer that does kill even with the vastly improved Txs we get today. Please go with the flow and don't expect miracles.

David,

While I am always in search of the magic solutions that will take away all of Dan's symptoms, pain, depression and discomfort, your posts keep me in check in that all is as it should be at this stage in the game.

So, you are correct, I hate your responses because they aren't offering what I am looking for right now...which is a miracle...but, I have much gratitude for your responses because they help me to realize that we're on track for where we are at.

And, I enjoy reading your posts about how active you are and how much you are biking...I love looking towards the future and believing that there is a life post treatment that includes solid foods, exercise and a good quality of life.

So, please keep replying...I need those reality checks.

Thanks!

Margaret,
My husband, Kyle, had a tongue tumor removed in March and just ended his treatments about 5 weeks ago. During treatment and a few weeks after he just could not get the Ensures or Boosts down. They actually made him gag. He could drink just milk or milk with regular Carnation Instant Breakfast in it. I would occasionally add that whey powder for some extra protein and calories. I figured better for him to drink something with fewer calories termporarily then little of the Ensures because he hated them so much. After a few weeks the Ensures were not so bad again and now he drinks 3-4 a day plus eats some foods. He was always able to eat fruit flavored yogurt too. Good luck! Tamara