life during chemo?

Question

help during chemo don t want to eat have terrible tastes and don t want to eat but know i neeed to eat to keep strength anyone in same

Answer 1

Not wanting to eat is probably not just from nausea. It probably has to do with the deadening of your taste buds also. Things start to taste like sawdust and things you loved before now make your stomach turn. You could go the way of bland foods like some have suggested, but that might just perpetuate the urge not to eat. Bland food is no more enjoyable than food that tastes like saw dust. Try foods that have quaint taste but mix it up by adding in flavors that you are sure to love. Try chopping peaches, nectarines, or apples and pouring honey on them. The citrus is mild enough where it shouldn't upset your stomach, the honey gives you much needed energy packaged in the sugars it carries, it is mostly organic so you aren't polluting your body, and most people have an affinty towards the wonderful taste of honey.
Another trick is to try and eat some foods high in sodium so that your body will naturally dehydrate at a slower rate. And continue to drink water. A lot of times dehydration causes the unwelcomed taste disruptions that can accompany chemotherapy. Eating high sodium products can keep your natural salt levels high, thus retaining more water.
If nausea is the problem, then you are kind of in a tough place. Go for foods that won't upset your stomach. For instance, green vegetables are extremely bland, however, they tend to cause movements in your stomach and bowels these movements can often times upset your stomach by over working it. So it's a very delicate situation. Trial and error for personal preference is the only method that can truly help you.

Answer 2

I know too well what your going through. There are medicines (ask your doctor) that you can take to ease the nausea. The horrible tastes that your experiencing you kinda have to live with but, the times that I've had chemo, allot of the foods that I didn't care for in the first place I seemed to enjoy. Nevertheless, yes you do need to eat to keep up your strength and weight. When I didn't want to eat and my weight began to drop the doctors said that I would have to have an I.V. and that was enough for me to go right out to Mickey D's and eat a cheeseburger. The best thing for you to do is talk to your doctor and a nutritionist and see what would be best for you and your situation. The most important thing is to stay positive and be thankful.

Answer 3

You might want to talk to your doctor about getting some medication to help with the nausea (I assume the nausea is why you don't want to eat). Try small meals. When I was on chemo ( a very mild form of chemo) I could only eat once a day. I usually opted for a serving of mashed potatoes (comfort food). Anything else I couldn't hold down.
Hang in there and talk to your doctor. Some medications really help. Best wishes.

Answer 4

Yes, I felt that way. Eat very bland food. Keep strong odors down. Don't force yourself to eat something then you may not ever want to eat it again. You will be able to eat a little more just before the next chemo. That is how I planned going out. It was the only time I could do it, but I still went for the bland things. My doctor said to do the See Food diet, what ever you see and it appeals to you, eat it.

Answer 5

If you're actually throwing up, ask to have your meds changed urgently. Nausea is par for the course I'm afraid.

Ginger in any form - fresh ginger root, tea, biscuits (cookies), crystallised ginger - can help relieve nausea; so can cola - some people find it works better if allowed to go flat first.

I found bland foods the most palatable; mashed potatoes mostly.

For the horrible taste in your mouth, try pineapple; freeze pineapple chunks and suck them - this sometimes helps.

Eat whatever you can manage or feel will make you feel better - don't worry about healthy eating at this stage - you can put that right later.

Good luck with the rest of your treatment

Answer 6

Been there, done that.

Eat very small amounts, but frequently. Some things that worked for me:

Frozen fruit bars
Smoothies
Milk shakes
Beef broth
Pudding
Bananas
Melon
Chicken breast

And I did get down to Ensure for a while when nothing tasted good and I was just too worn out to want to eat.

Good luck, chemo is the pits - but it passes.

Answer 7

My wife underwent chemo therapy treatments twice and I know that a high spirit and good diet are very KEY to overcoming the cancer.. Be strong...

Answer 8

I am not in the same boat as you but my mom was. She had no desire for food at all. The nurses urged her to at least drink boost to help get her nutrients. You can try that and see if it helps keep your strength up.