Welcome to OCF! Please check your messages as I have sent you a private message (PM). Its important that you add a signature so we can help you easier. Full instructions are included in the link on the PM I sent. As a caregiver you have a difficult job. Please dont forget to take some time for yourself too. This can be especially important as the treatments go on and it becomes more difficult.

As an adult, your husband must help to assume some responsibility for his care. I suggest you print out a bunch of the responses and show them to him. If he is the type that wont bother reading them then you can "accidentally" leave them lying somewhere you know he will find them and pick it up to read. Make sure its someplace where he will be able to read the posts in private so he wont feel like you are telling him what to do. This has worked quite well for many of the 'stubborn' ones. smile

Every single day your husband needs to take in a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 oz of water. If he chooses to cut corners and skimp eventually it will catch up to him. He may think he knows best and can do what he wants with his nutrition but he is WRONG! This is a sure way to get a fast track admittance into the hospital for malnutrition and/or dehydration. Im sorry to be so blunt but this is something that cant be fooled around with. Ive spent many a night hospitalized because I was too lazy to set up my feeding pump, I would just stay in bad and sleep. Ive seen many stubborn patients come thru here with their caregiver working so hard to help them but the patient fights them every step of the way. I hope you are not in that situation and your husband will realize its his life that is on the line and he must begin to step up and work at what he can control which is his intake.

Some caregivers line up all the water bottle the patient needs to drink per day on the counter. That works with ensure or boost too. This helps the patient to keep track of their intake and they can see progress as the day goes by to get rid of all the bottles before its bedtime.

Hope tomorrow is a better day smile

Best wishes!!!


Christine
SCC 6/15/07 L chk & by L molar both Stag I, age44
2x cispltn-35 IMRT end 9/27/07
-65 lbs in 2 mo, no caregvr
Clear PET 1/08
4/4/08 recur L chk Stag I
surg 4/16/08 clr marg
215 HBO dives
3/09 teeth out, trismus
7/2/09 recur, Stg IV
8/24/09 trach, ND, mandiblctmy
3wks medicly inducd coma
2 mo xtended hospital stay, ICU & burn unit
PICC line IV antibx 8 mo
10/4/10, 2/14/11 reconst surg
OC 3x in 3 years
very happy to be alive smile