During chemo what is a normal amount of weight loss? My dads weight was approx 200 before first TX and now he weighs 183.5. three and a have weeks. and does anyone have any recipes for peg tubes that can increase calories? My dad burps up the ensure and it makes him nauseated.

Try using Carnation Very High Calorie. It has 560 calories per can. It can be purchased thru the Amazon link right here on the forum. Its a bit think so I dilute it with adding extra water. Thats just my personal preference.

My oncologist told me that I should not lose any weight while going thru treatments. I could have lost several pounds without a problem. But he insisted that the goal was to not lose any weight. I ended up losing 65 pounds and being hospitalized for malnutrition and dehydration a couple times.

A 17 pound weight loss in 3 weeks is way too much! His diet should be a minimum of 2500 calories daily. If he is getting 2500 calories daily and losing weight like that then he needs to up his calories. Its ok to get 3000 or even 3500 calories daily while going thru treatments. During that time his body burns up calories very quickly. Without proper nutrition he will begin to feel run down. Pay very close attention to his calories and also water intake daily. This can mean the difference between feeling horrible and getting hospitalized or getting thru this easier.

Cezar

Weight loss varies by individual. Doctors don't like to see any as Christine noted. If burping up Ensure makes him nauseous, I'm not sure what VHC would do. Usually you can get a can for free to try out at the hospital.
Another option is to use a blender (Vitamix is the very best but expensive although they have a medical discount program for a reconditioned one for $300) to mix up high calorie shakes for your Dad. You can put in things he likes the taste of, add some flax seed oil and you will have a healthy supplement to put some more calories on. Ensure Plus has more calories than regular ensure and that's what I lived on the last three weeks of radiation and chemo.
Charm

I probably lost about 30 pounds but I have gained ten+ back. I was overweight before I went into treatment, so I am pretty comfortable with what I weigh now. I try to eat things that are relatively high in fat. They seem to be easier to get down, and I eat pretty small portions. I do make a shake everyday with a can of Ensure plus (Kroger's has a house brand that is cheaper than Ensure and it seems to have the same nutrients), a banana, and a big scoop of "good" ice cream. I also eat a lot of yogurt, and I like to have a snack of Ovaltine every so often. I also try to take a multivitamin every day.

I lost 70lbs altogether during treatment and then after surgery going from a solid 210 lbs to 140. I'm 3 years out of treatment and I'm just now starting to get some of that weight back on me, a very solid 175 at the moment.

I'll never get back the rest of that weight, I can't keep enough calories going in me to sustain it anyway even with 6 cans of Ensure Plus a day with MuscleMilk Protien powder mixed in (adds 27g of protien and 140 calories per scoop!). High protien will help keep the lean muscle mass from withering away, it does make it thick though so I use milk to thin it out.

I lost 61 lbs and and left 30 behind permanently (which was no loss). I am certainly no expert on PEG feeding (not having had one) but from other posters knowledge, slow, gravity drip is prefered. Being elevated will also help.

20 lb weight loss is the trigger that the docs will order a nutritionist to start working with you, if you haven't already seen one.

Personally I found that Ensure and Boost could gag a maggot so I used Carnation instant breakfast (the VHC type wasn't around when I was going through treatment). I added Hagen Daz (doctors orders).

I lost over 21% of my total pre Tx weight and I couldn't afford to loose a pound. I even stopped biking about a month pre Tx and I probably only gained a few pounds. Since my schedule and the BRUTAL winters we suffer in southwest Fl, I usually stop riding in Nov and don't get back on the bike until late April, early May. This non riding season I have relearned the art of gaining weight so this coming bike season will be a difficult start.

David...you know I appreciate you, your humor etc...but I've been snowed in for a few weeks so anytime you want to trade locales I'm more then willing. There is amazing biking areas around here as long as you don't get hit by logging trucks

My RO who did NOT recommend a peg tube for me said if I lost more than 10% of my weight, she would make me have a tube put in. I only lost 5 lbs in the 7 weeks living mostly on Ensure Plus. I didn't know about Carnation VHC if it existed in 1997.

Take care,
Eileen

Eric,

I stop riding when the sunrise temps dip below that cruel and frigid 60 degree mark and then comes tax season so that knocks 1/2 of the year out here. I can only imagine that I would have much less time in Idaho. I need to move further south where it's HOT all year long!