One of my bigger issues with being Lyme sick revolves around food. Even if I could cook (which I can't due to fatigue), I'd still have this food problem. I can't follow an anti-candida diet because I'm lucky to be able to eat at all.
Half the time I can't eat due to food aversion (I smell something & it makes me nauseous, or look at an item on the menu & inwardly cringe at the thought of it in my mouth).
The other half of the time, I can eat, but not enough to be a "normal" meal. For instance, today I ate:
1 cup of chocolate milk 1 apple 1 yogurt 1/2 Cheesesteak 12 chinese pork dumplings 3 slices pineapple
I know I'm not getting the nutrition I need. I'm chronically underweight, despite gaining 10-15 pounds back after my 6 week vomiting episode.
So, does anyone have any ideas on how to bump up my appetite & quit being so danged picky?
One of my doctors prescribed me Reglan, but I stopped after a couple weeks because the neurologist said it can wreak havoc with my nerves over the long run.
I am in desperate need of suggestions. (Yes, I have a GI doc visit scheduled to rule out serious issues.)
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
What about a med that addresses nausea?
If you are going to drink milk, add a breakfast mix to it.
It comes sugar-free now.
Others I've seen here have used ginger for nausea too.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by Amanda (Member # 14107) on :
Hi, Manda again
I feel for you, this was one of my first sympoms before I started treatment.
Mostly what I did was kept a variety of high calorie foods around and snack on them when I could.
You can get unsweatened peanut butter, 2 tables spoons is a decent amount of calories. Also, try macadamea nuts, brazil nuts, both these are really high in calories.
I used to add cream to my yogurt (also high in calories, low in sugar). And if you want something that is SO INCREDIBLY YUMMY, make your chocolate milk with cream!
Also, IF it doesn't turn you off, try olives. salty foods can sometimes help reduce nausea.
Hummus (make sure its the full fat kind).
There are several other antinausea drugs. The GI specilist will know them, zofran (they give it to cancer patients, WAY expensive though if you don't have good insurance), also something called compazine.
Hugs and Hang in - Amanda
Posted by ByronSBell 2007 (Member # 11496) on :
Give Ativan a try and see if it calms yur nausea, alot of nausea is due to anxiety even though you may not feel anxious. This drug could help, it helps me when no other drug helps.
Posted by bunnyfluff (Member # 14117) on :
Wow!
You eat more than I do and I'm a big, fat pig! How unfair is that??? LOL!
Sorry, to get back to your problem.....
Try to keep nuts and hard-boiled eggs around, stuff like that. I also like apples w/ p-nut butter.
Milkshakes are awesome, and you could add some protein powder. I was buying the Bolthouse Farms vanilla tai-chi protein drink for awhile, but it made me gain too much weight, but it is low sugar and really tasty.
I also keep the Jimmy Dean pre-cooked sausage patties around, b/c I can pop one in the M/W for 30 secs, and have a little something. The steam-veggies in the single serve packs are good, as well.
Good luck! I know it's hard to muster up the energy to eat sometimes. I have 2 words of advice for that~ Haagen Daz!
Bunny
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
Try Nuts --
not pea nuts tho -they have mold-
Posted by sparkle7 (Member # 10397) on :
Try some frozen veggies. They are pretty easy to deal with & it seems that you don't have that in your diet. It won't necessarily help you gain weight but they have alot of good nutrients.
I like organic frozen peas with some butter. Butternut squash is also a big fav. They also have frozen mashed potatoes & other potato varieties.
Almond butter is good, too.
Posted by Lily (Member # 13158) on :
How about a tasty protein shake with lots of vitamins in it!
There are so many formulas out there...you may just find one you like. Mine is high in calories and tastes great.
Also, sometimes drinking causes less aversion...at least that is what I have found in the past.
Posted by sparkle7 (Member # 10397) on :
I used to drink those protein drinks but they became too hard to digest to me. I think they cram too many ingredients into some of them.
You have to be careful with that sort of thing & make an assessment of the ingredients.
Is there any particular brand, Lily?
Green Vibrance is pretty good. You can mix it with some juice rather than dairy or soy milk.
Posted by InADaze (Member # 7711) on :
I have hemp protein to add to drinks, but it can't be added to dairy, and I find fruit juices give me too much gas from the sugars. I've tried fruit smoothies (when I can con my husband into making them).
I do have a prescription for Zofran from my vomiting episode. No other anti-nausea drugs even touched my nausea then. I just can't see taking it on a daily basis.
Peanut butter and/or nuts sound like a good option to try. I've done the hard boiled egg thing. Unfortunately, I'm picky and can't eat them cold, so I have to find the energy to boil them each time I want one.
I appreciate the ideas. Please keep them coming. Hopefully, some combination will help me out. I do force myself to eat as much as I can, but it's hard to push through the upset stomach much of the time.
Posted by JudyEric (Member # 4070) on :
My son had unrelenting nausea when he was first treated for Lyme (5 years ago). We learned he was gluten intolerant and once we removed all gluten from his diet his nausea subsided.
Several years later all his GI symptoms returned (despite being on a GF diet). We did delayed food allergy testing (IgG based) and learned he was also reacting to dairy, eggs, soy, legumes, citrus and pineapple. Once we removed these additional foods his nausea was gone once again.
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