A SPOHNC member recently recommended Juven (made by Abbott) to me. She said it helped her a lot during rads and had been recommended to her by her RO nurse.

I searched the forum for Juven and saw it mentioned quite a few times but nobody really said how well it worked for them (or didn't work) so I thought I'd ask those of you who have used it to please share your experiences with it. Did it help? How much did you take and for how long?

I asked my RO about it and he was neutral about it. He said to go ahead and try it if I wanted to but he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it.

A couple of guys I know are serious weightlifters (lots of no pain, no gain iron pumping several times a week) who use similar products such as whey, protein additives, etc. They're very particular about what they put in their bodies pre- and post-workout. After reading up on it, both of them said Juven sounded like it would make a great recovery (post-workout) drink. They're also healthcare workers and said they could see how Juven might be helpful for head/neck rads patients.

Can any of you guys recommend for or against it? Thanks for your input.

Thats difficult as there are hundreds of prescription nutritional formulas on the market. Juven is one of the more common ones which Ive heard of.

I havent personally tried it but have used several different ones and found them all to be very similar. Where Ive discovered differences is in how many calories each can has, how easy it is to tolerate and if it has fiber or not. Every persons tolerance is individualized so what works for one might not be so great for another.

Give it a try and if it doesnt work there are many alternatives available.

Glutamine was used by weightlifters for years for muscle tissue repair, I used it too, but more recently in 2012 I was given several boxes of Juven by my radiation oncologists staff, maybe the dietician, during chemoradiation treatment for tissue healing for mucocitis, neuropathy. It's main ingredients are Revigor, and amino acid's Arginine and Glutamine. It tasted pretty neutral, at least the punch flavor, comes in individual packets, and mixed easily with water, but it should not be used as a sole source of nutrition like Glucerna or Ensure, just supportive to a balanced diet. I have Glutamine powder alone also, there are many brands, and tastes pretty nasty. You can also use it for a mouth rinse and or swallow. I wouldn't say it's an answer or cure all for everything, just another product for your arsenal.

Hope this helps.

[quote=ChristineB]Thats difficult as there are hundreds of prescription nutritional formulas on the market. Juven is one of the more common ones which Ive heard of.

I havent personally tried it but have used several different ones and found them all to be very similar. Where Ive discovered differences is in how many calories each can has, how easy it is to tolerate and if it has fiber or not. Every persons tolerance is individualized so what works for one might not be so great for another.

Give it a try and if it doesnt work there are many alternatives available. [/quote]Thanks for your reply but Juven is not a prescription formula nor is it to be confused with most of the typical nutritional formulas on the market. According to the manufacturer's website, Juven supports tissue building and increases lean body mass in cancer cachexia, among other things. As Paul notes in his post, weightlifters have been using it for years for its tissue building properties. I've also read that in addition to tissue building it's also effective in tissue healing and repair, so it's definitely not simply another nutritional formula. Thanks again though.

[quote=PaulB]Glutamine was used by weightlifters for years for muscle tissue repair, I used it too, but more recently in 2012 I was given several boxes of Juven by my radiation oncologists staff, maybe the dietician, during chemoradiation treatment for tissue healing for mucocitis, neuropathy. It's main ingredients are Revigor, and amino acid's Arginine and Glutamine. It tasted pretty neutral, at least the punch flavor, comes in individual packets, and mixed easily with water, but it should not be used as a sole source of nutrition like Glucerna or Ensure, just supportive to a balanced diet. I have Glutamine powder alone also, there are many brands, and tastes pretty nasty. You can also use it for a mouth rinse and or swallow. I wouldn't say it's an answer or cure all for everything, just another product for your arsenal.

Hope this helps. [/quote]Thanks, Paul, that does indeed help. I was already aware of most of that - I was glad to hear that the punch flavor tastes OK. I had read somewhere else about it being effective against neuropathy so thanks for seconding that. Did you have neuropathy and did it help you?

The only thing I'm taking for my neuropathy is Gabapentin which doesn't do much other than take the edge off the pain and helps manage it/make it tolerable. If Juven can help with that, it'd be great.

One of my RO nurses gave me some samples that I'm using and I think I'll get more to use throughout my rads. It's not cheap but if it works it'll be well worth every penny.

Many thanks, I really appreciate your input.

Forgot to mention in last post... While I really appreciate Paul's report, I would still love to hear from more of you who have used Juven. Did it help you? If you had a do-over would you take it again? Pros and cons? Any other feedback (positive/negative/mixed) also appreciated.

While my initial interest in Juven was for oral tissue recovery/repair/healing, I am now also especially interested in hearing from those with neuropathy who have used Juven. Many thanks in advance to all of you Juven users for your input.

Hope everyone has a GREAT day today!

I wouldn't say it helped through treatment in 2012 being I had neuropathy since 2009, and severe enough to cause muscle paralysis, atrophy. I would take it again, maybe for weight lifting if I go back or for mucocitis being it's an OTC product, and is like drinking Gatorade.

As far as other things helping neuropathy, I tried some vitamins like alpha lipoic acid, coenzyme Q-10, Evening Primorose, L-Arginine, B6, B12, Zinc, vitamin E and C with no noted change. I also use light dose Gapatentin to take the edge off, lyrica helps the same, Oxycodone, but that makes me sick, and ambiem to help sleep, and relax legs.

Other activities, foods, medicines, weather seems to worsen neuropathy like when snowing or raining, taking antibiotics, eating Chinese food, drinking a few ounces of beer, and I'm talking once every few months, even NyQuil, a long day of dr visits or even walking a longer short distance than I normally do. I find a hot shower seems to help relax the legs, so I take them often, especially before bed.

Very informative, thanks again, Paul.

Wow, you have a pretty bad case of neuropathy - quite a bit worse than mine. I take 600 mg Gabapentin tid and the doctor said he can bump the prescription both for a higher dose and also for more times per day but I'd rather keep it where it is for now. Not worried so much about dependence but rather I really don't like having to rely on pain meds. I am told I have a high pain tolerance and I don't mind having some pain as long as it's manageable.

One thing I've found that helps me is compression stockings. Soaking my feet in warm water with Epsom salts helps some. I've also learned to walk with my weight on my heels with my toes off the ground which takes the weight off the balls of the feet.

I'm thinking about getting some special shoes made. There's a certified pedorthist with a shoe store nearby. He does custom orthodics and orthopedic shoes. Maybe that will help too.

Anyway, my main reason for asking about Juven was for oral tissue healing/recovery/repair. If it also helps some with neuropathy then that's just a bonus.

Thanks again for your input; you've been very helpful and I really appreciate it.

I used Juven following a partial mandibulectomy. My oral surgeon was pleased, as was I, with my healing. He was rather amazed at how quickly and successfully I healed given that I had osteoradionecrosis with fistulas brought on by radiation in 2005 for my SCC. The orange flavor smells like Tang, but I can't address the taste as I use a PEG tube. It is expensive, about $20 for 8 packets, and the recommended dose is two packets per day.

I have used glutamine over the past ten years when I have had mouth ulcers from radiation or radiation recall, and I have found it to be quite helpful.

All the best to you.

Zenda, thank you so much for sharing your experiences with Juven. It's great to hear that it was helpful to you with your healing. That's very encouraging, as is your experience with glutamine alone.

I hear you about the cost; it's not cheap is it, lol. It's about $75-$80 for 30 on Amazon or eBay. 30 packets is only a 15 day supply so we are looking at about $150 a month. The RO nurse who gave me the samples said if I liked it she had some coupons I could have to buy more with so it might be cheaper to get it at Walgreens with a coupon than it is to order online.

Glad to hear that it helped you and thanks again for sharing that info. Congrats on your NED, I hope you're continuing to do well.

Andrew,

Here are some reimbursement pathways from Abbott for its products, which I believe includes Juven. I received Glucerna, 8 cases, for free, through medicare during treatment with the help of the centers cancer dietician being I was deemed "tube dependant." Another way may be for weight gain for cacheixia or its prevention, even if no tube is used, but I haven't looked into that. There may be other private insurers that have similar discounts, and or coupons mentioned. I haven't read it's entirety, but Abbott may offer a patient discount for those underinsured or on financial need basis.

http://abbottnutrition.com/reimbursement/pathway

Thanks, Paul, I doubt if I'll qualify for any of the things you mentioned but I'll definitely check into that anyway. Who knows, maybe something will save me a few bucks, it's worth looking into.

The nutritionist at the hospital said I qualified for some kind of supplement. I'm not sure why, because I'm not underweight, don't have nausea, cachexia, or any other disorder that would cause me to lose weight at this time. My weight is remaining stable. Maybe she's just talking about something everyone gets for rads regardless of their needs. Who knows, but I was going to ask my doctor on Tuesday to get her to order that stuff for me.

I doubt if it's Juven she's talking about. Maybe Glucerna, like you got.

Thanks again, I appreciate it.