No appetite

• By firelady1968
• Posted June 30, 2009 at 9:34 am
• Report post

Good morning, my dad was diagnosed on 5-18-09 with extensive small cell cancer with mets to liver and spine...before he even started chemo he had severe nausea which was intensified with the first round of chemo....After the very first round of treatment my dad's appetite came back with a vengeance...they usually give them steroids too which also helps the appetite...I hope this helps you....for the back pain my dad had back and severe rib pain.....with oxycontin 20 mgs twice daily and 500 mgs of Naproxen twice daily, he has had complete relief.....but it took over a month to find the right mix of prescriptions to get to this point.....Good luck!!!! Michelle

• Reply

• By cuddles53
• Posted June 30, 2009 at 9:38 am
• Report post

Many people lose their appetite with radiation, I did just having cancer, feeling depressed and then when I had chemo, and this for me was highly unusual since I have always had an eating problem, I tend to overeat, and gain weight. the pain meds and the cancer and the treatments all have an effect, the best is to try and put small portions on a small plate, any overwhelming look of food on a plate will turn his stomach. I eventually got my appetite back, and then some, now once again I am fighting the battle of the bulge. All of these terrible things we must go through to help us live, almost kills us along the way. His throat may have been burned from radiation, and you know for sure many times the digestion system is part of the treatment area in the body, many parts to the digestive system, so much can be affected. I would try to do for him and save the worry for a later time, he will spring back slowly, it takes a long time to get all of this out of his system. so stick with only foods he likes, now is not the time to be introducing alot of new things that he has no taste for. I found small sim ple meals easier to tolerate, like a small poached egg, on one slice of buttered toast, maybe a 1/2 glass of cold juice and a cup of green tea, hold off on too much caffeine also. It is not always going to be milkshakes that he will like, sometimes it is a hot cup of cocoa, just try different things and please don't be pushy with it, or he will not want to eat at all, give him some control in his life, he has lost most of it already, if it is food he wants to control what goes in, and what comes out, so be it. I would say, be there to help him, not to trick him into eating, or force it, or even make a guilt trip for him over it. These are the wisest statements I can make.
this disorientation is most likely caused from his pain meds, you say he isn';t eating much, add this to pain medication and yes of course he will be disoriented and weak. A second opinion is always a good thing to have, hjowever this doctor is not taking this too serious because it is so common to have all of his symptoms, he is going to feel weak, ill and lose his apppetitre, it is a big part of treatment, it is the ones who are strong and able to keep on going who do well, but just because he is weak and not eating does not mean his treatments are not working, it can very well mean they are working asd planned. When you haer fromopthjers how grueling all of the cancer treatmwnts can be, this is it what you are now seeing. If the treatments are too harsh it is possible an oncologist can give a lighter dose, but the oncologist should be the judge of it, he has experience and knows how patients are usually going to respond. I say usually, if you see big differences othjer than the fatigue and loss of weight and appetite I would definitely have him seen right awaqy, if he has vomiting or diareah that persists, I would also seek help right away. but this is a common side effect of cancer treatments. Hold on, and tell him to hold on, even small meals are nutritious if he can keep them down. Take care and god bless you both.
Sandy
good luck, and my prayers are with you.
Sandy

• Reply

• By Jameswork
• Posted June 30, 2009 at 9:47 am
• Report post

Andrea,
Is is very important that your father eat a healthy diet to keep up his strength and fight this battle. My mother was also diagnosed with Stage VI NSCLC with mets to her spine in September 2008 and went through the same period of not wanting to eat. We found that five or six small meals was better than three large meals daily. We also found that low sugar Boost (liquid nutritional supplement), handfuls of nuts (no sodium almonds/cashews), yogurt and applesauce (again low sugar) seemed to help during that period. Stay strong and keep fighting! You, your father and your family are in my prayers.
Best,
James

• Reply

• By kq182
• Posted June 30, 2009 at 10:40 am
• Report post

Hi, all the others have given you some good advise, also if all else fails the doctor can prescribe a medication that is an appetite stimulant. Good luck, hope in time he feels better and stonger and his appetite comes back, Karen

• Reply

• By CancerKiller
• Posted June 30, 2009 at 11:04 am
• Report post

Hi Andrea,

Sorry to hear about your father. My father was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung & Brain Cancer 3 weeks ago. I too know how surreal it is.

My father didn't eat at first and had lost 10 lbs. Since starting treatment his appetite has returned and he is eating more than ever! This can be attributed to the steroids he is drinking and that he is now feeling better.

I've HEARD that Oxycontin suppresses appetite but don't know because I've never had to take it. Pills such as Marinol are extremely effective in returning appetite and help with nausea. I would definetly ask about Marinol and get a second opinion.

Hope it helps... Hope your father feels better soon

• Reply

• By nancydoodle
• Posted June 30, 2009 at 1:32 pm
• Report post

i lost appetite during radiation-ate a lot of tapioca, rice pudding, cottage cheese, jello and berries-had no appetite for meat. lost 20 lbs which i gained back during and after chemo . tell your rad.dr. to give him a perscription for something for stomach-this helped me with nausia ( ? can't remember name) Nancy

• Reply

• By Granny888
• Posted June 30, 2009 at 10:03 pm
• Report post

Another quite common complaint. There are a lot of medications the doctor can prescribe. Some find anxi-anxiety drugs, such as ativan, helpful in that respect.

The advice ranges from eat well to eat whatever the hecht he'll keep down even if it's milkshakes. My own advice tends toward the latter -- and an attempt toward the previous but do eat something. The nurse can help you with ideas on possibly what to add to the milkshake to make it more nutritious.

Eat frequently and in small portions and don't be afraid to encourage him to eat, if he seems to balk find his favorite thing and encourage him with a bite here and there. It's a battle but it's actually an important one, more people go from malnutrition than from cancer directly.

• Reply

• By sunshine2gal
• Posted June 30, 2009 at 10:34 pm
• Report post

My mom has stage IV and difficulties with nausea and swallowing. She finds smoothies to be soothing and easy to get down. She also drinks Ensures (and likes them). We usually get her smoothies from a chain called Smoothie King. They have a strawberry smoothie called The Hulk that has around 950 calories for 20 oz., so that is good for her. They fortifiy it was protein and some weight gain ingredients. It tastes good. I sneak some sips! hehe

• Reply

• By dwareham
• Posted July 1, 2009 at 11:01 am
• Report post

Ask your doctor about Magace. It worked wonders for us (and was the only thing that did).
Good luck.

• Reply

• By blujonny
• Posted July 3, 2009 at 9:41 am
• Report post

I would try not be overly concerned about his eating right now unless he hasn't eaten anything for a week to two weeks. The key is nutrients and such. I would see if he would be up to drinking any kind of fruit as a juice, maybe watermelon, as this can help settle the body down a bit. Maybe even pomegranate juice too. Another thing is maybe something like rice milk. Our bodies can go quite a while without eating whole foods even more than two weeks. Fluids and nutrients are another matter. Historically when man has been inflicted with illness the body's instinct is to take in fluids and nutrients as whole foods bog down the digestive and other systems which force the body's energy away from focusing on the problem. If he is willing I would progress from juice to something like rice milk and then on to a simple whey protein drink. Then I would repeat that process. So long as fluids are constantly going through his body. I would also check into something called Pectasol and see if this is okay to take while taking Oxycontin. This will help flush any badness out of his system before he goes in for chemo which can definitely help with the recovery process. Good luck and God bless.

• Reply

• By Kelly_P
• Posted August 2, 2009 at 10:52 pm
• Report post

Hi. This response is a little dated & I hope your Dad is now doing better. I was a little taken aback when I first read your post - I could have been reading about my husband - identical diagnosis, situation & symptoms !!

Is your Dad still on the oxycontin? We were in an ever-deepening downward spiral when Bil was on the oxycontin ... nausea, no relief from the pain, increasing angst & depression, etc. The pain in his lower spine from the tumor was so intense he could hardly walk & he became very weak and was just downright sick.

We switched him to ms-contin with percoset for break-through pain and it has made all the difference in the world. (The leftover oxycontin got mixed with used cat litter, bagged up and thrown out.)

As one nurse told me - there are lots and lots of different pain medications available - don't quit trying until you find one (or a combination) that works.

Good luck to you & your family !!

Kelly

• Reply

• By jupiter027
• Posted August 2, 2009 at 11:23 pm
• Report post

Hi...I hope your Dad is doing better, I know that it's been a month since your post. I just wanted to let you know that my mom has mets to her T11 vertebral body and was also in intense pain which ended up being from a fracture on this vertebrae (which the Rad. Onc. caught, but not our regular Med. Onc.). She was prescribed pain meds, and her pain in that area is now subsiding, not sure if it was due to finding the right comb./amt. of pain meds, radiation (she had 10 treatments to spine since she was in so much pain at time of diagnosis) or what?? Anyway, I notice that she is definitely not eating as much (I would say about half of what she was used to eating). Could be from the combination of things. Radiation has this side effect and also she is taking Oxycontin (I think this is the long acting one that she takes twice a day) and I think 2 pills of 15 mg Oxycodone (which is the short acting or what they call breakthrough) maybe about 6 times a day. What she really likes though is her pill that has 5 mg of Oxycodone along with 325 mg of acetaminophen which she'll take in place of the 15 mg oxycodone pills sometimes. Anyway, my dad also juices for her everyday (just a wine glass full of juice - which she can muster getting down) which I think gives her lots of good nutrients. I've had the veggie juice he makes, not too bad when it's sweetened up a bit with some grapes.

Hope that your doctor is cooperating now or that you've found a new one you like.

Prayers for all of you!

Jen

By the way, I work in King of Prussia.

• Reply

Add to the discussion