Food after Chemo

[Chubby42]

Hi all it maybe just a coincidence but since I finished my Chemo I can no longer eat sausages without feeling and been sick.

Has this happened to anyone else with any food ?

Cheers

Gary

[Hazard]

Hi Chubby, I went vegan about 15 months ago. In truth it did nothing to stop my cancer progtressing but it has had a lot of other significant benefits for me so I persist with this diet. Cholesteroland triglcerides are down significantly, weighr is down 20kg and blood pressure is down.

The biggest benefit of this diet is that I have I have suffered 11 months of ADT and 4 rounds of chemo with really minimal side effects (except of course 100% ED). I have not had any nausea or loss of appetite - in fact I put on 5 kilos after every chemo session! The MO says thats its probably the prednisone. Luckiily I have been following a fasting regime immediately prior to chemo (refer to Randy Kam for more info). I usually fast 2 days before chemo, and day of chemo. This week I pushed myself harder - 3 days of fasting before chemo and fasting the day of chemo. So yesterday was my 4th round of chemo, my 4th day of no food and I have lost all 5kg I put on after last round and also walked 12km during the day (in 3 separate walking sessions).

So this story is just a round about way of me asking - why the heck do you want sausages? If you are gonna eat meat, then get some lean beef into you, leave out the sausages, not because of cancer itself but for your general health.

I hope I dont sound like a wowser. My kids still eat meat and when I make a big salad they cook up some steaks or sausages to go with their salad. And I can tell you that the smell of cooking meat is the now he most delicious smell on the world. I HATE being vegan. To be honest I cheated last week. I ate about 1/2 inch of chicken sausage and it was heavenly. My wife said it looked like I was having a food orgasm (after 11 months of ADT, any orgasm is welcome). But I persist, because I think PCa is enough motivation for anything. If I can give up sex, well anything else is easy.

Keep fighting, Chubby.

[YostConner]

I haven't had chemo, but I've had similar food experiences on Xofigo.

[Hidden]

Funny you should ask. I'm just noticing right now that I seem to be more sensitive to high-fat foods. I was wondering if it had anything to do with chemo. Maybe it does.

[Chubby42]

Hi guys thanks for the replies, it doesn't bother me that I can't eat sausages anymore to be honest I just thought it really strange that they now have this effect on me straight after Chemo it could be just the high fat or it could be pork not sure I'll try some other pork like ribs and see how I go, I have the occasional steak as well but mostly eat chicken.

Cheers & thanks

Gary

[Hidden in reply to Chubby42]

Good idea, I'll need to try some ribs too just to make sure

[Hidden in reply to Chubby42]

I think we need to prove if the ribs are a cause with a larger group of people. In the interest of science, I've decided to begin the first trial of its kind. Pork After Chemotherapy Meta Analysis of Nausea (PACMAN) study will recruit 300 chemotherapy patients to take part in a double-blind randomized trial. Half the patients be treated to a rack of pork ribs and the other half, a placebo There will be several side effects (beans, potato salad, corn bread). Additional treatment arms include barbeque sauce and dry rub. Recruitment will start in my backyard today.

[Chubby42 in reply to Hidden]

Count me in

[charmander in reply to Chubby42]

are you still recruiting??!

[Chiquis in reply to Hidden]

😂👍

[Hazard]

In addition to my rant in my first reply ... there is nothing that affects me in the way that sausage affect you. Rather, I find that I can't taste much of anything anymore so I can eat whatever I want. However, everytime I make a curry (vegetarian of course) I am adding in more hot chillies (fresh) in an attempt to get some flavour. I am testing the boundaries of my family's patience - we all love hot food, but for everyone who still has taste buds there are limits ...

After my first chemo, my mouth tasted like a dead dingo's donga for a few days as the cells on the inside of my mouth and tounge died and sloughed off. My tounge looked white and furry. I was rinsing with salt water every few hours to get the taste out (I was told to expect a metallic taste. Dead cells do not taste metallic!).

On subsequent sessions there has been a similar but lesser effect. I guess most of the damage has been done on the first round, there has been some regrowth between sessions and this dies off each time but its not as bad as the first time. Still, as far as side effects go, its relatively benign.

[JimVanHorn]

Hello, I also can not eat everything. I can have turkey sausage. The total amount of fat in the meal must be low, or I have indigestion. Also, not a lot of simple carbs (sugar, starch) but I do enjoy foods I used to think were weird, like steamed squash and broccoli. I eat mostly skinless chicken and salmon. I do not eat the top of a bun, too many calories, so I eat it open face with a knife and fork.

[Chubby42]

Hi guys gee lol Hazard Im not sure Ive tasted a dead dingo's donga before well I hope I haven't. Still I did get pretty drunk with some of the locals at Ayers Rock & the Alice Springs a few years back.

My taste buds were pretty horrible too and Im not sure that it was a metalic taste either maybe thats just to closest thing to describe it to.

Cheers

Gaz

[Litlerny]

Good morning, Gary,

I’m heading toward my final (6 of 6) chemo treatments in a week. Over the course of my chemo treatments I have experienced several changes in both taste and digestion. Many things that I used to enjoy just don’t taste the same. Other things wreak havoc on my G-I system. Carbonated soft drinks have a bitter, metallic taste. I avoid them and drink a lot more water. Several foods that used to have a pleasing flavor are now bland and tasteless. Foods that are spicy, deep fat fried, breaded, use tomato sauce or thick sauce or gravy, milk and ice cream, all make me gassy, and crampy. I have had bouts of acid reflux and diarrhea.

To risk a very bad pun, it will all pass. I’ve been able to minimize the crappiness (another unintended bad pun) by avoiding foods I know will make me suffer. I use OTC products for the acidity, cramping, and gas. My MO gave me an Rx for Ondansetron for nausea.

The longer I’m away from them, the less I miss the offending foods. Just roll with the flow, learn what works for you, and expect that you’ll pay the price for eating foods that are going to mess with your system.

😎

[Poscan4]

Not necessarily sausage, but during Chemo a lot of foods lost their flavor. Might as well have been eating cardboard. I did lose my taste for some foods which I understand is common. But not to the point of vomiting. I did lose my taste for Steak, I eat a lot of Chicken and Sea foods now. Hang in there and good luck. Poscan4

[j-o-h-n]

Sauseach his own...

Good Luck and Good Health.

j-o-h-n Saturday 03/03/2018 12:49 PM EST

[Chubby42]

Hi guys thanks for the replies I had the same problems during Chemo as most but 3 months after Chemo I can't eat sausages without fiscally feeling & been sick.

Anyway I'm sure I can live without sausages

Cheers

[MelaniePaul]

Hi Gary.

The same thing has happened to my husband with bananas. He used to love bananas and have one or two each day. But since he started Chemo he can't have them, they don't taste of anything but actually make him sick as well.

Best wishes

Mel.