Dietitian

[mac2015]

I had my first appointment with a dietitian today. I know exercise is going to play a big part in my nash getting but shouldn't he have gave me a diet plan?

[jojokarak]

We all generally know what to eat and what we shouldnt really. But if you need the advice did you ask the dietician about a plan?

[mac2015 in reply to jojokarak]

I did ask about a diet plan and he said to research it my self.

[nutrimar]

Wow, you got to see a dietician! The first and only time I saw one was during my transplant assessment week, despite constant requests before and post transplant.

In the end I decided to take responsibility for my own diet and studied nutrition myself.

Do you have to lose weight as well? That can be the hardest thing to do, but combining it with good nutrition will help.

My advice would be to stay away from man made foods, that is anything in a tin or a cardboard box that has been through a process, and stick to fresh food. If you can then go organic, as you don't get the pesticides or the atrificial stuff they spray on the food, but you do get food grown in good quality nutrient rich soil that hasn't been farmed to death.

Try and avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners. The liver stores sugar as fat, and sweeteners will be detrimental to your health. Aspartame rots the brain, as they say.

You will need to supplement your diet with a good quality protein powder, as this will help maintain muscle. I suggest hemp seed powder as it is 50 percent protein.

If you have been told to keep your bowles regular, then consuming half a papaya per day will help. I used papaya instead of lactulose, but always kept a bottle of it handy just in case.

Other than that, be sensible and think before you buy something in the supermarket. It will be difficult, but I am sure you can do it.

Best regards.

Martin.

[mac2015 in reply to nutrimar]

Thank you so much Martin for the advice! I have been losing weight but I still have quite a bit to lose.

[findasolution]

Hello Mac2015,

That all sounds a bit strange as most people go to see a Dietician for help and guidance specific to diet because that is their field of expertise. However like GP's they do not all know the finer aspects of advising patients who have liver disease and particularly if it has led to cirrhosis where a special individual diet plan is often required. I had no problem in getting an appointment with a dietician and although the advice was generalised and not specific it was helpful. As my own autoimmune hepatitis liver disease advanced to cirrhosis which then became decompensated my consultant said he would refer me to a liver specialist dietician if I thought it would help me but I didn't take up the offer as I found the general advice and information sheets already received from the first dietician seemed to be working quite well although I have supplemented it with additional advice from the British Liver Trust.

At the outset my doctors recommended I should avoid vitamins and herbal supplements unless specifically advised by them that they should be taken (I understand that people who have liver disease and especially cirrhosis do sometimes become deficient in potassium and or zinc and or magnesium in which event supplementation is sometimes recommended). Personally I have found that keeping the the level of sodium/salt intake to within recommended parameters and eating plenty of non animal based protein supplemented with Ensures milkshake type drinks ( I get them on presciption) produces good results ,at least it does for me.

If you go to the British Liver Trust web site britishlivertrust.org.uk and look under 'Publications' you will find one entitled 'Diet -Liver Disease' which you can either download or ask for a hard copy to be posted to you. If you follow the advice set out in that publication you should not go too far wrong in your choice of food etc.

I hope the publication together with my own experiences as set out above as well as advice that you will no doubt receive from other contributors to this forum will help you in some way with your dieting

Regards

[mac2015 in reply to findasolution]

Thank you so muffled chicken for all the information! I thought it was strange as well!