Hi everyone, I have a friend who is 2/3's the way through 28 radiation treatments and she is pretty messed up. She's trying very hard to eat still and is having a difficult time of it. She doesn't have a feeding tube so is getting all of her nutrition orally. I had a PEG so don't know what to tell her other than ice cream, Ensure and cream of wheat. There are so many things she can't stand the taste of anymore, even vanilla ice cream. She hates the taste of water so they told her to drink as much flat 7-up as she can. Can anyone give me some ideas to give her? Thanks, Carol

Get her some Carnation Instant Breakfast VHC. It has 560 calories in the same 8 oz can as Ensure, etc but with 560 calories she won't have to drink as many to get the same calories and believe me less is much better when dealing with the pain. She should try for 3000 cals a day and 48ozs of water or more if her docs suggest. I also did it without the Peg and I'm glad I did but it was tough and the VHC helped me a lot. I drank it for about a year post Tx to supplement my appetite.

Buttercup, Hi-
One of the items I always had in the pantry was Pedialyte
[flavored or non-flavored] found in the "Children's" section of the gro store. This was not for calories, but we used it as a SAFETY measure against dehydration because it has lots of electrolytes. Liquid jello[ cooled to the degree she can tolerate] might also be soothing.
And for what's it's worth, I am a firm beliver in pegs. Hope she does well. Amy

Get her to go for pancakes , poached eggs,soups that she can put thru a blender. There are a lot of things if she uses her imagination. I do and so does Christine. There are some foods that can slide right on down. Soft cakes work good too.

Thank you all, I will pass this along to her and another friend who is just starting treatment. The Drs of the second friend haven't yet decided if they are going to give him a feeding tube or not. He's looking at 35 tx. I had one in '05 and wasn't given a choice in the matter. It looks like as time goes by, they are using them less and less. It probably depends on the individual I guess. I will say though, without the one I had, I would haved starved. I lost over 40 lbs even using it. Thanks again for you help, Carol

Yep, Jim is right, pancakes work with alot of butter and very little syrup. Canned peaches, soups, yogurt, pudding, mac and cheese, cherios soaked in milk, oatmeal, soft scrambled eggs with cheese, and french toast lightly cooked are all easy foods. The Carnation instant breakfast or VHC will help balance the diet. I drank alot of Yoohoos during treatment, it was soothing to my mouth and throat and thin like water so easy to swallow. Milkshakes are high calorie too, I make chocolate peanut butter milkshakes and throw in a scoop of the carnation instant breakfast. If done right the milkshake is about 3000 calories.

Even with the PEG tube I lost 65 pounds. You are correct that it is a lifesaver for alot of us. Eating isnt easy during and after tx. Best of luck.

[quote=ChristineB] I drank alot of Yoohoos during treatment, it was soothing to my mouth and throat and thin like water so easy to swallow. [/quote]

I had never tried one of these before seeing you post about them Christine. I like them and they are a good thing for me to have with my food. They are also really cheap.

Thanks
Patty

Yoohoo also has has some vitamins. Cherck out their label, anything that has calories and vitamins cant be beat.

I know I haven't gone through the stuff you guys had, but I do know the pain of eating to a certain extent. If you have a Wegmans grocery store near you, they have hot soups. They have a shrimp bisque that is think, filling and so good. It goes down pretty good. Just a thougth.

Suzanne

I'm glad I was reading posts this morning. It made me check my supplies in the fridge.I had grandkids yesterday and they sure liked the yahooo. LOL I better get a case after I house clean.

Christine

Anything that is chocolate contains vitamins

Patty

Correction...anything sweet or fatty contains lots of good vitamins. That's what I was told!!

Martin survived on Sweetened Rice pudding and i used to make him Semolina pudding. (sorry the recipe is in litres and gramms)
1 litre of heated milk, and 150 grs of sugar stir until disolved, add 100 gr of semolina and bring to the boil for about 7 minutes, stir continuaously, add vanilla extract. In the bottom of ramequins or cups add maple syrup to cover the bootm of the cup. Add the semolina mix, put in the fridge and wait for it to settle.
He did end up with the PEG because he couldn't swallow at all in the end but it did help for a while.
Otherwise custard with maple syrup.

Maple syrup works mixed with cream of wheat too as well as oatmeal and coco wheats.