Hi all,

My brother is in week four of treatment and we are trying to keep his calories up through a PEG. He is taking four to five ISO's daily at 375 calories each. Our nutritionist told us to add BeniCalorie as a supplement along with it, which adds another 330 calories each time (so over 700 calories with each meal). The challenge is that the BeneCalorie doesnt mix well with the ISO (it is very oily and thick). Has anyone found a powder or better low volume liquid that works for nothing but some calorie supplement?

Thanks

My husband, Richard is 4 weeks into chemo and 10 days into radiation. We just started the PEG this past Saturday, and his dietician has him on Nutrin 2.0 at 500 calories per 8.45 oz box. She has calculated that because he is a tall, lean man (6'2", starting out at 226 lbs at the beginning of treatment, now at 219 lbs), she recommended 5 boxes per day - 2,500 total calories.
Hope this helps.
Barbara

Thanks, I will look at the Nutrin. Best of luck with your husband!

Ive used many different formulas over the years. Seems like the higher the calories, the thicker it is and the higher the likelihood of discomfort. Nutren comes in several strengths, I currently used the 375 calorie type. The first formula which was high calorie I found success with was called 2-Cal, it has 560 calories per can.

You can talk to the nutritionist about switching formulas. But before you do that, try watering it down. Adding a can or 2 of water usually does the trick. Another common tip for helping to handle the formula is to slow down the feeding. Ask for a prescription for a feeding pump that can run overnight while your patient sleeps. They will need to be propped up on a couple extra pillows or it can also be used while watching tv in a recliner. By running a feeding pump overnight you can add an extra 1000 ml of fluid easily every night.

Be careful about switching formulas, not all are covered by all insurance companies.

Hi,
There are some mechanical limitations at work. Protein and carbohydrate each offer 4 calories per gram. Both have about the same density as far as I can see when dealing with whey protein isolate powder (83% pure) and pure carbohydrate powder such as malodextrine. Fat has more than double the calories at 9 per gram but surely more dense.

so drinking pure olive oil gets you the most calories per volume but likely to create some digestion issues. On the other end just simple protein powder mixed into liquid with milk or water offers the ability to adjust the caloric density to what works best for your situation. don

Thanks. I was afraid there were limited choices. Maybe the benecalorie is the best option - with a lot of water. So far, he has been good with getting food in, so as they taught me way back - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I have used "Unjury" who make medical quality protein. They mix well, tastes good with several flavored, unflavored, and even have a chicken flavored protein stock base. I stay away from high protein bodybuilding drinks with too much protein, and who know what they put in them. I also used K-PAX, protein blend, immune booster, which is 100% rice protein, made for medical conditions like cancer, others as well.

To increase calories, you can add any healthy vegetable oil to anything, since each Tbs has 120 calories, 14g of fat.

Too much protein can cause a hardship on the organs, especially the kidneys, which can cause dehydration, due to the need to eliminate ketones in the urine. It's adequate protein, what that is differs for everyone based on height, weight, activity level, and medical conditions, and who you talk with. Check with your healthcare team before adding any supplement.

Good luck.

Never had a PEG but I did find that drinking what's now called Boost VHC (very High Calories) helped me a lot as this small 8 oz can had/has a whopping 560 cals. Please make sure he continues to use his swallowing muscles every day even with the PEG as some link this non activity to swallowing problems post Tx.

You all rock. Thanks community!