Not drinking or eating...and jaundice!

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Daddy's girl
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:21 pm

Not drinking or eating...and jaundice!

Postby Daddy's girl » Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:49 pm

Hi everyone! I'm back again for some advice for Dear Ol' Dad.... He's on his 8th treatment of the 48 hour 5-FU pump with Oxyliplatin. This time, it's been really rough for him... and my mother. Constant and explosive diarrhea and general overall feeling ill and now he's not eating or drinking due to vomiting. This morning the pump came off (it had actually malfunctioned last night...Thank you God...) he received fluids and goes back again tomorrow for more fluids. He actually is jaundice too. What is causing that?! I'm hoping this isn't an indication of pending kidney failure? He's also had some issues with proteins in his urine. I understand all these treatments have a cumulative effect. He's 79 years old and I think he needs a break, and I have been voicing my opinion about it at every appointment since round 4 and not until this morning did he get the break I think he so desperately needs from this crap. No more chemo until he has some strength and weight back on his bones. His last scan showed CEA down to 16 from 24 a couple months ago. So my question is this: What's the best thing for him to get some much needed weight and strength back? And fast! I'm been encouraging Mom to make him mashed potatoes for breakfast if he'll eat it. :) Lots of carbs and proteins. I've read a lot about supplements, powders, Ensure and others, but you all have such wonderful advice so I thought I'd pose this question to see what worked for you. I'll try anything for him. I thank you in advance.
Dad's bowel resection 4/10/15
Stage IIIC; Chemo "cocktail" to start 5/15
Canceled due to PET scan results 5/15
Lung Biopsy 5/21-lung surgery 6/4/15
Started Avastin 7/15 for lungs...ignore colon
Colon surgery 11/16 again.. :(
Clot in port..new port installed 2/17
5-FU pump, Avastin, Oxaliplatin started 2/17...and here we go again.

MissMolly
Posts: 645
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2015 4:33 pm
Location: Portland, Ore

Re: Not drinking or eating...and jaundice!

Postby MissMolly » Wed Jun 07, 2017 3:53 pm

Daddy's Girl:
While your intentions are well-meaning, I would encourage you to be gentle and suggestive and not over-bearing regarding food ideas and nutrition to your father.

When I am particularly unwell and struggling with ill health, the last thing I want is for my family to push food and eating. A gentle approach is best.

It is easier for me to drink calories than bite/chew/swallow calories when I am feeling "punk." Wafting smells of food can also be adversive.

Here are foods that are comfortable for me when I am "punk:"
Carnation Instant Breakfast with milk (lactose free milk is also a consideration to ease digestive woes) and Orgain (nutritional supplement available at Amazon and through the Orgain home web site).

Hummus with soft pita bread sliced into small, finger food sizes

Tapioca pudding and baked custard

Animal crackers and graham cracker sticks (finger foods)

Macaroni and cheese

Small balls of fresh honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon (refreshing and hydrating)

Frequent small snacks serve me best as opposed to designated larger meals. Serving the snack items on pleasant place settings/china with colored napkins can make for a nicer atmosphere. My mother will often have a small bunch of daffodils or Gerber daisies accompanying my tray. Give thought to making the meal setting pleasant and attractive.
- K -
Dear friend to Bella Piazza, former Colon Club member (NWGirl).
I have a permanent ileostomy and offer advice on living with an ostomy - in loving remembrance of Bella
I am on Palliative Care for broad endocrine failure + Addison's disease + osteonecrosis of both hips/jaw + immunosuppression. I live a simple life due to frail health.

mhf1986
Posts: 158
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 8:30 pm
Location: near DC

Re: Not drinking or eating...and jaundice!

Postby mhf1986 » Wed Jun 07, 2017 4:36 pm

If your father likes hot chocolate or coffee, try my mocha recipe: it helped DH thru the cold winter. He hated Ensure and such so I tried to improvise instead.

Large mug filled 1/4 way with decaf coffee (or just use more milk)
3/4 to 1 cup whole milk (regular or lactose-free), heated up
mix in package of chocolate Carnation instant breakfast
or mix in 1/3 cup powdered milk and a little chocolate syrup or hot chocolate mix
whipped cream sprayed on top
chocolate syrup drizzled over
(serve with favorite newspaper or crossword puzzle or ball game or friend)

I routinely added powdered milk to whole milk in every recipe. And I hid butter in everything.
What were his favorites to eat before? (Make a little and join him for supper. Discuss anything but his treatment.)
Pieces of nice soft cheese are good to nibble
Slider-size roll with butter looks easier to eat than hamburger size or sandwich
Stove top stuffing from the canister (soft and you can make just a little at a time)
Banana

Best wishes!! Melissa
Caregiver to DH, dx @ 50, mets to liver/lungs, MSS, wild
9/16 CEA 114, blockage, left hemi, perm. colostomy
11/16 port in, FOLFOX + Avastin
6/17 CEA 15, 5FU + A only due to neuropathy
11/17 CEA 38, CAPOX + A
1/18 CAPOX = hi bilirubin/bad hfs, back to FOLFOX + A
5/18 growth; Vectibex + 75% Irinotecan
7/18 CEA 23, shrinkage
10/18 CEA 28, growth of 2 liver tumors/shrinkage of few and lung nodes
11/18 Lonsurf, looking at spheres, proton, trials
11/19/18 Peace

User avatar
Maia
Posts: 2443
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 8:00 am

Re: Not drinking or eating...and jaundice!

Postby Maia » Wed Jun 07, 2017 5:24 pm

Daddy's girl wrote: He actually is jaundice too. What is causing that?! I'm hoping this isn't an indication of pending kidney failure? .


Jaundice is usually a sign of troubles with the liver function, not kidney. It's caused by the build up of bilirubin. Please, check with his doc before trying any change in diet or supplements --gaining weight is important but taking the jaundice in consideration may be more urgent. Some foods that might be great to gaining weight --like chocolate, cream, hamburgeurs, etc.-- are heavy for a liver in a troublesome situation. His doctor probably is trying to determine the cause of the jaundice or trying to treat it.

User avatar
CRguy
Posts: 10473
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:00 pm

Re: Not drinking or eating...and jaundice!

Postby CRguy » Wed Jun 07, 2017 10:11 pm

Just to add on here, as you have some good feedback so far .... BUTT
cancer cachexia is a well known phenomenon and a vicious cycle :
don't want to eat ... lose condition ... SO don't want to eat ... etc.

and food avoidance/intolerance/inappetance etc., as mentioned ... ALL play into this
especially when a patient is nauseous and dehydrated = FLUIDS FLUIDS FLUIDS !!!!!!

MY lesson learned as a vet of many years :
feline patients CAN literally starve themselves to death because of food avoidances.
Complex problem, no easy answer BUTT many of the issues MissMolly mentioned play into this, as in ...
feeding site, sight !, feel, smell, taste, location, association with other events ( getting meds in foods ), presence of others ... etc etc etc.
(( feeding rehab felines in the hospital often involves using a "sacrificial food " i.e. one fed in hosp to get them going again BUTT NOT their regular food, because if we feed THAT ... they associate it with the hospital and then go home and WON'T EAT !!! ))
these patients literally kill themselves despite all best efforts
we have had to resort to gastro / PEG tubes to " feed them through their disease " so starvation did not kill them.

My take is : IF oral nutrition is becoming a NON-option ... then adjunct feeding techniques may need to be considered
AND that does not mean someone sitting down and trying to "force feed"

You need expert advice and backup on this if it persists.... AND the liver / jaundice are involved .. see next info please

NEXT : :shock: :oops:

regarding the "jaundice" / icterus issue :

again as a vet of many years, icterus is generally one of 3 types ... prehepatic, posthepatic or hepatic.

The Kidneys may actually be involved, as human renal processes are actively involved in conjugating and eliminating the toxic wastes which produce jaundice ( bilirubins ) and kidney function must be adequate to excrete what is produced. An overload of "bilirubins" presented to the liver itself, may overwhelm it even if it is functioning normally, and finally the actual liver itself may not be functioning normally even in the absence of the other 2 situations, and unable to process bilirubin for excretion..... ALL leading to the build up of the toxins and clinical jaundice

This is a VERY simplified explanation.... BUTT
This is a complex problem.
ALL the answers should be in the blood tests and imaging.
IF the Docs don't have that answer, then kick their BUTTS to keep doing more tests and FIND THE ANSWER !!!!! :twisted:

PM me if you need more info / input / or backup

HARMONY
CRguy on the Journey
Caregiver x 4
Stage IV A rectal cancer/lung met
17 Year survivor
my life is an ongoing totally randomized UNcontrolled experiment with N=1 !
Review of my Journey so far

Daddy's girl
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:21 pm

Re: Not drinking or eating...and jaundice!

Postby Daddy's girl » Thu Jun 08, 2017 9:25 am

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I will pass them on to my mother who is the primary caregiver at their house. I'm on the sidelines doing research and asking questions. Please understand, we never push food on him...Mom will take a large dinner plate with maybe 3 cheese and crackers on it and set it next to his chair and leave it. It doesn't look like so much to eat on that large plate and so not overwhelming to him. She says he does nibble on it for a couple hours. Hoping the second round of fluids this morning help him tremendously. As for now, he's getting a break from the chemo until he's strong enough to finish the cycle. Thanks again!
Dad's bowel resection 4/10/15
Stage IIIC; Chemo "cocktail" to start 5/15
Canceled due to PET scan results 5/15
Lung Biopsy 5/21-lung surgery 6/4/15
Started Avastin 7/15 for lungs...ignore colon
Colon surgery 11/16 again.. :(
Clot in port..new port installed 2/17
5-FU pump, Avastin, Oxaliplatin started 2/17...and here we go again.


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