If you are not taking in enough calories and hydration by mouth then you may have no choice about getting a feeding tube. This downward spiral quickly becomes a cycle. You dont feel well enough to eat or drink so you dont which only makes you feel even worse. A patient who refuses a feeding tube and isnt able to maintain the daily minimums will have a more difficult time with everything. Every single day you need a bare minimum of 2500 calories and 48-64 oz of water. If you can push to take in more that will help you make this easier. Those patients who think its ok to skimp on their intake will eventually get admitted to the hospital for malnutrition and dehydration. PLEASE, be honest with yourself and accept the help of a feeding tube. Its a temporary tube, you may even only need a nasal tube for a few weeks.
As far as helping with your intake, ask your doc for an open prescription to get extra hydration in the chemo lab a few times per week. This will help you feel a little better right away after a couple bags of fluids.
The weight loss goals for OC patients is not to lose any weight during treatment and recovery. This is nearly impossible considering how much the cancer cells burn up energy requiring higher caloric intake. Your body is also trying to rebuild itself at the same time which takes even more energy. This cycle is one Ive fallen into myself. Im speaking to you with experience and explaining it in detail so you wont suffer like I did. I felt so horrible at one point I actually felt like I was dying due to malnutrition and dehydration. My son practically carried me and pushed me into the doctors office in a wheel chair. My doc took one look at me and saw how bad my condition was and I was admitted to the hospital on the spot. You do NOT want to go thru that!!!
As treatments continue the get progressively more difficult. Your days will be spent more and more trying to rest. If taking pain meds you probably arent safe to be behind the wheel of a vehicle. Most OC patients have someone drive them to their treatments. If you dont have help like that, call the American Cancer Society and ask for a volunteer driver to help take you back and forth. Your doc fills out a form and you can get help as quickly as next week if you follow along and do the paperwork right away.
Another tip is to not think too far ahead. Take it day by day. Nobody can predict how the future will be. Try to avoid worrying about things you have no control over and focus on what is within your grasp... your intake. By constantly thinking ahead, you are only creating more unneeded stress making everything harder than it has to be.
Ok, thats enough of my rambling on about intake. Its up to you on this one. In this situation you cant fool yourself into thinking skimping will help you get thru this. The balls in your court to stand up and fight with having the fuel and energy to get thru this rough part of your life.
Wishing you all the very best with everything!!!
PS....Here is a recipe for something I used to make and drink when I went thru treatments. The shake has anywhere from 1200-2000 calories depending on how you make it. The list of foods might help too, they mostly have a smoother texture and arent spicy which should be easier to tolerate.
Easy to Eat Food List (All measurements are estimates)
Giant High Calorie Choc-Peanut Butter Milkshake3 or 4 cups chocolate ice cream (regular/full fat type)
2 tablespoons peanut butter (smooth type)
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 or 2 cups whole milk (can substitute half and half to add even more calories)
1 scoop carnation instant breakfast
1 scoop high protein whey powder (check with doc if this is ok)
Blend this extra long to make it very smooth and creamy so it goes down easier. If the shake is too thick, add more milk to thin it down to what works best for you.
