Appetite

[Joannerogers]

I need my appetite back since my surgery on the 30 nov. everything either tastes or smells awful. I'm hungry and my stomach growls but I can't force myself to eat or if I can , it's just a very small amount because it feels like it's expanding my stomach.
Please any suggestions? Doc says to increase my protein....

[Lee]

If you don't think you are eating right, get some Ensure. It will give you the vitamins and minerals your body needs to recover at this time. If you can eat, eat protein. Very important following this type of a major surgery.

Lee

[JDinNC]

My saving grace was Ensure and Instant breakfast...food just made my stomach turn. The only food I could eat was refried beans.. Try eating small meals...even if its a spoon and a jar of peanut butter.

[Sharon Brent]

Hi,
Ok this might sound strange but one thing my husband could always eat and enjoy was home made chicken or beef kebabs with a satay sauce made from peanut butter, honey and chilly.

He said that te combination of the crunchy peanut butter, sweet honey and hot spicy chillies always tasted good

Not sure if its your cup of tea but its worth a try

[fwang910]

Hi Joanne,

I tried lots of fresh ginger/turmeric broth and soup, also you might want to try some fresh chilli if you like it. Apple cider vinegar hot drinks also helps me.

Hope you are having a speedy recovery!

Leo

[SweetViolet]

I need my appetite back since my surgery on the 30 nov. everything either tastes or smells awful. I'm hungry and my stomach growls but I can't force myself to eat or if I can , it's just a very small amount because it feels like it's expanding my stomach.
Please any suggestions? Doc says to increase my protein....

I had the same problem after my resection in 2012 . I did ensure but I also made carrot juice and smoothies depending on how I felt.

[OrchardWriting]

I agree with other posters. Ensure and anything high in protein that's easily digestible. Fish is great (sardines if you can handle them are a very good option) as is broth or soups that don't have a cream base. Also try to drink enough water as that will help too. Perhaps try a ginger or licorice herb tea with a little honey.

[Sams wife]

Yogurt is protien too I think. Get a few single cups of that & add peanut butter too.
Tuna salad. If you make it, you can just grab a cracker & tuna every time you go by. Will be easy & already made.
We should have tried the carnation breakfast.
Chicken salad. Anything easy that you can just grab bites of. Some cheeses
Eggs have alot of protien. You can boil a few up & grab one of them. Or half. I think oatmeal was good protien too

[JudeD59]

I find this whole thing the strangest phenomenon. I've had plenty of times in my life when I was nauseated and didn't eat, but this is so different. I'm usually not nauseated and cooking the food doesn't bother me, but I just have zero appetite. I understand not wanting to eat when you are queasy or food tastes bad, but it's not that with me. Since April, I just haven't been hungry and the thought of putting food in my mouth just doesn't appeal to me. The process of actually chewing it seems exhausting somehow. It's so weird.

I started out thinking bland food would be safest and go down the easiest, but I've found that I do better with things that have more flavor and a bit more spice. I have no idea why. During the day, I live on peach and pear fruit cups, ritz crackers with either a little peanut butter or a slice of sharp cheese, and mini bagels. I've also started having Rice Krispies with a banana sliced up on it for breakfast since my potassium is low. I sometimes can eat a hard-boiled egg or a vanilla pudding cup, but I don't enjoy any of it. It doesn't taste bad, just have no desire to eat. If I couldn't drink Ensure, I would be in bad shape. I drink at least two a day.

Some things really don't taste right and I avoid those. They just taste off somehow. I'm always asking my family, "Does this taste right to you?" and when they say yes, I know it's the cancer/chemo making it taste wrong to me. I find I do better if I eat just a little bit every two hours or so instead of trying to eat full meals three times a day. Even a handful of pretzels or a little applesauce will help. Pasta works well for me. And pretty much any kind of potatoes except fried--usually love fried potatoes but they taste awful now. Because of my ileostomy, I cut my food into very small pieces and chew it well and that makes it a little easier to get down. Pork tenderloin is one of the easier meats for me to eat. I usually love beef, but not so much now.

I hope things go better for you and you can find something with protein that you can handle.

Judy

[Joannerogers]

Thanks for all the great ideas! I'm going to send my hubby to the store with a list....chicken salad sounds pretty good right now . It's good knowing I can always get some good ideas from you guys!

[Tarsal69]

Try an get some weed or thc oil it will help get u hungry

[Sams wife]

Hope the protein helps. I didn't think about liver surgery. Do you need easily digestible foods? I was just thinking protein for healing.
I hope you find something to munch on every few hours.

Jude. Not much tastes good to hubby either. Then he just craves weird things. Well weird for him.
"Chewing seems exhausting".
It did for hubby too. I think it's getting better now tho. Maybe it's just worse being dehydrated & wiped out. Idk.
His was worse on the first chemo/rad. And after surgery. I think it's getting better.

[chrisca]

When I had my temporary ileostomy, food didn't satisfy me either, especially at the beginning. The colon is where most of the salts and water are absorbed from our food. With it disconnected, you need to increase fluids, sodium, potassium, and other minerals to compensate. I took a magnesium supplement and ate salty foods such as Fritos. They are not as bad for you now as they took out the trans fat. Dates and bananas are good potassium sources. I also drank Gatorade and other sports drinks. When I got my electrolytes back into balance things improved a lot. Food tasted better and I had more appetite. I also used tincture of cannabis and Marinol, and these improved appetite and reduced nausea. Nuts are a good electrolyte source if they are salted and also have protein, but stick to nut butters. Whole nuts can cause a blockage near the stoma and an ER visit. Always drink lots of fluids with meals as it helps with keeping everything moving. Soups and fruit or vegetable juices are very good, also tomato juice such as V8. The low-sodium version has added potassium in it. Like others, I also had Ensure around.

Dehydration is common with ileostomy even in colder weather. Two ways to check are if urine is darker yellow that's a problem. Keep it almost clear if you can. Also pinch the loose skin on the back of your hand and let it go. If it doesn't snap back instantly, you're dehydrated. To gauge how fast the snap back should be, ask a friend without an ostomy to drink lots of water until the need to urinate is strong and watch how their skin snaps back. It will be really fast, less than a split second. When dehydrated, it will also reduce appetite.

Hope these things help.