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No appetite

SusM
  • By SusM
  • Posted September 14, 2009 at 1:27 pm · 3 replies
  • In Nutrition
  • Shared with the public
0 Recommendations

My Mom has lung cancer. It was removed, she had chemo, and everything seemed great. Unfortunately, they found it had metastized to her brain. 3 spots for sure, a fourth possible. She went thru radiation, and a recent CT scan showed there was no change in the of the spots (within 2-3 weeks). She has been doing pretty well until about 10 days ago. She lost her appetite. Went to the doctor, then to the hospital. She had fluid in her abdomen caused by an old hernia surgery. She is home, and has a drain in. Her liver is fine (that was the initial fear). She had a scope of her stomach. Everything seems good, but she says she still has no appetite. Is this possibly depression?

Explore topics in this discussion:

Cancer Surgery Hernia Prednisone Decadron Depression Lung cancer

3 replies

cards7up

Hi there, sorry to hear about your mother. There is a prescription her doctor can give to help with appetite. As long as she stays well hydrated, food can come second. Try some Ensure, or shakes, watermelon. You would know if it's depression, this I think is just part of the treatment. Call her doctor and find out about that prescription. Good luck and take care, JC

GutsyCheryl

The prescription is called Megace .... it's a liquid that you drink. It works great, I've used it and I've seen many posts from members that say the same thing about it.

Please get some, it really does help A LOT. Not only did it bring back my appetite, but it helped to put weight back on, and fairly quickly. You didn't mention whether or not she was too thin right now.

The other thing that will really help with appetite are very low doses of steroids like prednisone or decadron. Those also work great on the appetite. They tend to interfere with sleep but I don't think that would be too much of a problem when taken in low doses.

Good luck!

Cheryl

SusM

Thank you guys. She is trying to eat still which is good. We are now thinking it maybe a touch of something, or she may need an antibiotic for the fluid they drained from her stomach. We have a visiting nurse coming today, so she can help. We figure, at least if she is trying, that is a great sign. Her lung cancer is completely gone, but she has 3-4 brain mets. Largest was 2cm. We have just been so frightened.

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