Need Tips to Encourage Eating and Dri... - Advanced Prostate...

Advanced Prostate Cancer

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Need Tips to Encourage Eating and Drinking

poppymom0211 profile image
21 Replies

My husband is currently in the hospital as he got very dehydrated. He is receiving no more treatment for his Advanced PC as our options are limited. I am having a very difficult time getting him to eat. Nothing appeals to him. Please give me any tips you might have. I am soooo frustrated.

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poppymom0211 profile image
poppymom0211
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21 Replies

🙏

ctarleton profile image
ctarleton

The "nurturing" habits of a lifetime are indeed hard to change.

Hopefully, you might get some ideas from this extended article:

bethcavenaugh.com/blog/eati...

Personally, and purely anecdotally, I had some rough final treatments for my own metastatic melanoma (on top of my advanced prostate cancer). I went from around 205 pounds to around only 162 pounds during the past 12 months. My appetite and tastes had already been trending downward during the final immuno & double chemo months before my systemic treatments were stopped.

I elected to enter in-home Hospice care on 10/1/2021.

I've definitely transitioned to smaller, simpler meals, myself. Easy prep is a plus. In the weeks/months ahead I am well aware that the side effects of having advancing cancers will likely cause further decreased appetite, taste changes, etc. I'm willing to "go with the flow".

So far I am still grateful to enjoy several types of foods in modest proportions.

We have agreed not to "force it", particularly nearer the end when the natural processes of dying may have more significant impacts on my appetite, tastes, and abilities to eat & drink. As someone else has mentioned here before, at the very end, trying to eat/drink more can eventually just be feeding the cancer more than sustaining one's body.

JimBarringer profile image
JimBarringer in reply to ctarleton

Not to hijack the thread but you and I are on a similar path. I, too, entered hospice right around 10/1/21. I pray that your experiences have mirrored mine. My pain has really been put under control and I am quite comfortable. Currently my appetite has remained fine but I do continue to lose weight. Today my wife and I had an appointment with funeral home to preplan for that. Very strange decisions but I’m glad we did it as this took one more stressor off my wife’s plate. God Bless you and good luck

MateoBeach profile image
MateoBeach in reply to JimBarringer

And God bless you and your wife too. 🙏

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to JimBarringer

Now I'm really depressed........

j-o-h-n Friday 11/05/2021 10:39 PM DST

Ahk1 profile image
Ahk1 in reply to j-o-h-n

Me too, although our dr. At MSK told me to leave the worring for him when I saw him last.

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to Ahk1

My "great" doctor at MSK is Dr. Michael Morris (in NYC)..... who is yours?

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 11/06/2021 7:26 PM DST

Ahk1 profile image
Ahk1 in reply to j-o-h-n

He is mine too :-)

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to Ahk1

Wow..... I like him...... he hates me.....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 11/06/2021 7:39 PM DST

Ahk1 profile image
Ahk1 in reply to j-o-h-n

Why does he? Lololol

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to Ahk1

Cause I break his chops....... I recently sent him two push button devices...... The first one is from Staples "THAT WAS EASY"........The second one was multiple ways of saying "BULLSHIT".......

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 11/06/2021 7:44 PM DST

Spyder54 profile image
Spyder54 in reply to ctarleton

CTarleton,Making the most of this final chapter in the book we call life. Enjoy those meals. Keep yourself comfortable, and pain free as much as is possible. Another post just came in how a 30 day fast had little impact on PSA or scans. So feeding or starving the Cancers seem to have little impact. Too bad we cant teach the cancer that if it doesnt slow down the dividing and multiplying, it will die with the host. We have a brain, it doesn’t. Yet all life trys to survive. Wish we could figure this out.

Travel well. This journey is bound to be a once in a lifetime experience.

I wish you well Sir.

All my best,

Mike

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen

Have you tried marijuana? A dietician who specializes in oncology explained to me that the cancer is so metabolically active that it hogs any nutrition taken in to feed itself. I know, from bitter experience, how hard it is to watch someone you love waste away from cachexia. But it seems to be a horrible trade-off. A healthy person can exist for 1-2 months without food as long as we have water.

meowlicious99 profile image
meowlicious99 in reply to Tall_Allen

Doctors in legal states are much more open to this now 🙏

noirhole profile image
noirhole

Ask your MO about Marinol it is given to aids and cancer patients to spur appetite worked for me. It is based on canibus so if you live in a medical marijuana state you can get some edible gummies or the marinol which is a prescription in non canibus states like where I live. Good luck!

blueseas45 profile image
blueseas45

Praying for both of you.

ArabianNights profile image
ArabianNights

Have you tried adding dexamethasone to his palliative care routine? It'll give him energy and appetite. There are negative side effects but the positive is that you will be to enjoy your husband.

It really helped my dad and I felt like we got to really enjoy him his last few months. He ate so much he gained lots of weight and so did we! We joked "You eat, we eat!".

CalBear74 profile image
CalBear74

Have you tried ice cream or milkshakes?

spencoid2 profile image
spencoid2

Trout Almandine made with fresh caught trout did it for me. I had lost my appetite and even the thought of food nauseated me. We went fishing caught a "mess o'" trout and made a great meal. I ate like a big and my appetite has remained.

ellie2211 profile image
ellie2211

Try switching out some snacks for ensure, my dad had lost weight and he started drinking 1 a day and managed to gain weight back . Also try THC as TA mentioned

Spyder54 profile image
Spyder54

I agree w TA (of course), as Marijuana, have worked with many to stimulate the hunger feeling. Some would call iit the munchies. Also relieves naseau, and for some, anxiety,Good luck on your journey,

Mike

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