You folks are awesome.
We also have been advised by Richard's dietician that he needs to take in 2500 calories. Christine, good wisdom, and I will encourage him to try no matter what, even when he does not feel up to it.
He has never had a problem with drinking more than enough water, currently is taking in 2 1/2 large bottles of SMART water per day.
He has lost about 6 pounds since treatment has started, currently at 219, we will try to keep that slippery slope of weight loss down to a minimum.
You folks are amazingly supportive to strangers (what did our Moms tell us about "talking" to strangers - in this forum, that truism does not hold water). I am the computer geek and caregiver. Richard does not do computers, too bad, he is missing out on some wonderful internet fellowship!!
Thank you!
Barbara (wife and caregiver of Richard)

If your husband is not computer savvy, print out some things for him to read. If he is they type who wouldnt want to read it then you can 'accidently' leave it lying some place where he will be sure to 'find' it and read it. Of course it would be an accident that you left it lying around. LOL! Give it a try, let me know how you make out.

I dont know what SMART water is. I do know that he needs plain old H2O, just regular water (bottled or tap is fine). I was told iced tea, coffee, sodas, etc do not count that it must be plain old regular water. I know 2500 calories sounds like a lot but in reality its the bare minimum. He must take in enough every single day, trying isnt enough he MUST do it. I was one who learned the hard way, after becoming dehydrated and malnourished landed me in the hospital a couple times, I cant warn others enough about this. If he is dropping weight while he is taking in 2500 calories, then he needs alot more, maybe 3000 or 3500. His body is burning up calories at a tremendous pace fighting the cancer and the effects of treatment. While I was recovering many days a week I would drink very fattening 2000-3000 calorie chocolate peanut butter milkshakes. Some days I would drink 2 or 3 of them and I never gained an ounce. Think of it like a professional athlete who required 7000 calories daily during training. What your husband closely, he may not always be honest with telling you what he took in. Ive seen it many times before on the forum, its easier to just go to sleep then to get up and make something to eat or drink.

Hang in there. It gets difficult but it can be done.

Coffee and tea are diuretics and are not absorbed as fully as plain water. I think soda would count if it did not contain caffeine or whatever makes it diuretic. But plain water and fructose seem like it should count.

There is a new class of waters known as smart water that have high PH and electrolytes that are supposed to rid the free radicals better.

i have no clue if that is the case but I can attest that they are far more drinkable to me than ordinary bottled water. Maybe the high PH has a lot more buffering and that makes the water taste "smoother".

[quote=bjlral]You folks are amazingly supportive to strangers[/quote] Strangers - No!

We are all connected, we are a big family.

Eshwar said it perfectly! Though I only joined the forums a few days ago, I already feel so connected to everyone. You look at the media and see so much negativity and just horrible things that people do, and sometimes I personally can't help but feel the world is just a horrible place to be. But there are people and moments that just so heavily outweigh any terrible thing that happens. Finding this forum and all of these amazing people really restores any and all faith I've ever lost in humanity. I didn't mean for my statement to sound morbid or like I have a horrible view of the world, I've just spent the greater part of my life helping people through so many different problems it seems something has always been wrong. I'm very happy to have found so many wonderful people, and I'm proud to be a part of this family. No matter where my life takes me, I plan on staying connected and involved here as much as I can.

Am wondering about uploading pictures. I noticed about a week ago a photo. Is there a "step by step" to do this? And is it okay to do this?
Barbara CG of Richard

Please do not add photos. Im sorry but this site is not the place to share that type of thing. Photos slow down page loading and take a great amount of space so they are discouraged.

If you want to share photos, you can do so thru emails or on other websites.

Got it. Thanks for your response, Christine.

I drink bottled water. Some I like better than others, mostly spring water, and others that are just purified water taste different, but could be my mental perception. Although our tap water is amongst the best, and say its better than most bottled water.

I drank smart water, comes in a variety of lightly flavors, added vitamins. After treatment my taste changed, don't like the fake coloring, flavors, so I rarely drink them. I doubt they do much health wise, and more gimmicky.

I have had a reverse osmosis drinking water system since the 80's. I drink a lot and it isn't cost effective to buy the stuff! When they told me how much I needed to take in during treatment I smiled and asked why I had to cut back. Our water stinks literally like fungus and tastes horrible even before treatment. Then they super chlorinate it to get the zebra muscles out of the supply side. I used to take 2 half gallon jugs to work every day. I was told that is why I have skin as soft as a baby's rear! Just believe me, please. O.o