posted
HI everyone....Does anyone here choose to eat a small amount every few hours rather than 3 "full meals" a day? If so, does that seem to help your symptoms or have no impact at all?
I have been eating about twice a day for the past few weeks but I am thinking of breaking things up and eating a tiny amount of food every couple of hours, no matter how sick I feel.
What are your eating schedules/routines like? Thanks. Jess
Posts: 870 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2012
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- It doesn't matter what anyone else does, YOUR body may have different requirements.
What is advised for gastroparesis? It's really important to find expert advice for your situation.
Two meals a day is not enough. Even 3 feeding times may not be enough to treat when malnourished. You may need to take in nutrients every couple hours when you are awake.
Normally, for many, it's best to have 3 medium to smaller meals and 2-3 balanced snacks. But, with gastroparesis, that requires more detail. though.
How often do you administer the TPN?
Have you found a gastroparesis nutritional counselor?
What does your doctor guiding the TPN suggest?
If eating makes you feel ill, there are things that can help. Ginger capsules may be one thing but, again, a counselor educated in your diagnosis is best to consult.
It may not be wise to actually eat certain foods if your body can't accept them. A counseler could help you figure out which solid foods, which PUREED, steamed, etc.
Soups can be fabulous. Books:
The Cure is in the Kitchen
A Spoonful of Ginger -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Powdered greens like chorella, spirulina.
Powdered Hibiscus Flowers. All encellent nutrients. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Keebler, no I have not seen a gastroparesis counselor.
In terms of the TPN, I am now infusing it for 3 hrs a day.
My dr has no real advice about this other than "eat a lot, as much as you can stand."
Jess.
Posts: 870 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2012
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Oh, my. I'm sorry you have not received the kind of counsel that I think you should be getting.
You said you ordered the book below but I'm not sure if it was just to stop me from posting it so often for you or if you were really able to get it. It does not sound like you've read it, based upon your posting history.
It just seems that this author has so much detail that could be of such help to you. Her book, her BLOG . . . This does not address lyme / gut causes / effects but in terms of how to get nutrients into your body, I'd start here:
Living (Well!) with Gastroparesis: Answers, Advice, Tips & Recipes for a Healthier, Happier Life
December 2011 - About the Author:
. . . currently the only Certified Health Counselor specializing in gastroparesis management and one of very few health professionals with both personal and professional experience with the condition. . . .
posted
Keebler, I did read the book actually. I have tried to apply several of the suggestions but they have yet to produce the desired effect in my case.
I am infusing for an hr and a half two times a day. Jess
Posts: 870 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2012
| IP: Logged |
Providing all that support for digestion really helped. At one point I could eat only pureed cooked vegetables, but now my diet is pretty much back to normal.
Posts: 922 | From Philadelphia | Registered: Sep 2012
| IP: Logged |
posted
THANKS VW!! I appreciate it, and am encouraged to know that you are back to a fairly normal diet. Jess
Posts: 870 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2012
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Check out her blog. You may find some of answers there if you aren't getting the results expected.
And I know we've talked about gluten effects before. Avoiding it can be an important key to help your gut be able to absorb nutrients. With it being so hard, it might just be the key to get things working again - and less pain in your stomach.
Take care. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Keebler, I haven't had gluten in the past 2 weeks..I also was gluten free for many months in 2012 with (sadly) no appreciable difference in symptoms. I am gluten free and vegan but still cannot eat much. Jess.
Posts: 870 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2012
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- You can add boiling water to these flakes in a mug, cover for a minute or two and you have food.
Can be seasoned with a drop of stevia & sweet spices (cinnamom, cardamom, nutmeg) -- or savory herbs (thyme, etc. but some of the woodier herbs need more soaking time - or to be put in a pan on stovetop).
I wonder if you might be able to contact that author and see if she can counsel by phone - or suggest someone near you.
You should be able to sit down with a counselor who has the necessary education and outline foods you like and foods that work for you and then devise a visual page for you. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
Eating for Gastroparesis: Guidelines, Tips & Recipes - by Crystal Zaborowski Saltrelli CHC
[You can look inside the book online to get a hint of how this could help you. For instance, things that it seems you've have absolutely zero professional counsel about:]
Guidelines of a Gastroparesis-Friendly Diet
How to MODIFY for YOUR symptoms
Several SMALL thoughtful meals throughout the day . . .
with 12 five-star reviews, this seems to be a very good book.
The reviews might also help you figure out the KIND of professional to seek out.
Your doctor's advice to (in addition to the TPN nutrient infusions) "eat a lot, as much as you can stand" seems void of practical support and against some of the basic "rules" of gastroparesis management. -
[ 02-02-2013, 01:25 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
FAQ -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- From that:
Why do you post all of these recipes?
Because, as I mentioned above, there are wide variety of experiences with gastroparesis. In fact, the majority of people can tolerate �real food,� so long as they find ways
1. to lower the fat,
2. cut back on fiber,
3. remove anything that�s indigestible, and
4. reduce portion sizes.
That�s what my recipes are for. Plus, I post a lot of recipes for things I do eat, like smoothies and soups. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- FRESH VEGETABLE JUICING - you could drink a little juice every hour.
PROTEIN - have you calculated out how much you are getting? -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
THE REQUIREMENTS OF PROTEIN & AMINO ACID DURING ACUTE & CHRONIC INFECTIONS
Indian J Med Res 124, August 2006, pp 129-148
- by Anura V. Kurpad
Fifteen pages of text.
Excerpt from abstract on page one:
. . . In general, the amount of extra protein that would appear to be needed is of the order of 20-25 per cent of the recommended intake, for most infections. . . . -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Razzle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 30398
posted
I've tried the gastroparesis suggestion to eat more frequent, smaller meals...in my case, it backfires because I get full after 2-3 meals and cannot eat anything else the rest of the day until quite late at night, and then I spend the whole night too hungry to sleep.
So in my case, 2-3 distinct meals works better. I just have to space them farther apart than the average person (I need about 6 hours between meals instead of the usual 3-4).
That said, everyone's experience with Gastroparesis may be different to some extent...
I also find some fiber is ok, and some is not. For example, I'm fine with cooked zucchini but not raw. And I'm fine with pureed pumpkin but not freshly cooked pumpkin that has not been run through a blender.
And oddly enough, raw vegetable juices sit in my stomach forever...really strange. But I can eat the same veggies cooked with little trouble (as long as I don't eat too many of them at once).
I do fine with cheese...some with Gastroparesis cannot handle cheese because of the fat.
I don't do as well with vegetable oils...probably because of the vitamin E used to preserve them...
I used to peel tomatoes, green peppers, grapes, etc. as a child, and after getting diagnosed with Gastroparesis, I finally realized I was peeling off the tough fiber part of those foods because they bothered my stomach.
Cooked yams (the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes) are another food that feel like they sit in my stomach forever...no idea why. But regular potatoes are fine.
Brown rice sits a lot longer in my stomach than white rice. But I'm ok with brown rice flour, because the fiber part is ground up fine.
I avoid meat, fish and eggs due to allergies and intolerances to these foods. Sulfur content is high in these foods, and also gastroparesis causes us to have difficulty digesting animal proteins.
Beans (dried) used to be easier to tolerate than now, but this may be more due to my sulfur intolerance than gastroparesis.
But I do know kidney beans are tougher than most other beans to digest, and I also found canned beans to be easier to eat than beans I soaked and cooked myself because the skins are a lot softer in canned beans.
Email me if you want to chat more about all of this. And if you have a recipe you want to try but aren't sure how to adapt it to make it more gastroparesis friendly, email me the recipe and I'll see what I can do to convert it or make suggestions to help.
Take care,
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
| IP: Logged |
Why WHEY best alone, in water, not blended -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- WARM SOUPS can be excellent for the stomach.
BONE BROTHS can add essential nutrients, too. (I know you are vegan but thinking that is more for digestion. Regarding humane issues, broth from chickens that have been well cared for is best for many reasons.)
Never put hot food into a plastic blender, though.
You recently said you do not have an infusion blender. If you have friends / family who are strong and can "do" this, it can be a fabulous investment.
Go for the most solidly made as they are also quieter. Still, hearing protection is vital for all nearby during operation.
Stainless steel that touches the food is best, not plastic. A start:
posted
Thank you Razzle...I will email you...so sorry things have been crazy on my end, but I def will email you and soon. I appreciate your help always so much. xoxo Jess
Posts: 870 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2012
| IP: Logged |
sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
I am very similar to Razzle, I can only eat 2 medium sized meals per day spaced out about 6-8 hrs. Then sometimes I can have a small light snack a couple hours after my last meal if I'm feeling hungry and digesting well that day.
I don't tolerate raw veggies well, they fill me up fast and sit like a brick all day but can eat all kinds of cooked veggies.
Beans and Beef are too heavy, too hard to digest. I usually end up getting sick if I try to eat them. I tolerate modest amounts of other meats and seafood.
Fats actually help me feel better, help hold my blood sugar longer. I also feel better with carbs.
I do take Reglan before I eat which has helped me tolerate more food. I also take ginger and digestive enzymes (Now brand "Digest Platinum") with every meal. I also have RX zofran dissolving tablets to take when needed.
Sometimes/often I don't feel like eating but I do anyways because I know my body needs the nutrients to heal. Nothing, no food sounds good but my medicine needs to be taken with food to be absorbed well. So it is very important to try to eat regularly.
What also helped me was treating active infections (Lyme+Babesia) and treating symptoms (nausea/vomiting). These things alone can hold you back and keep you from gaining. If you can get them treated it will really help you.
These things have recently helped me so I thought that I would share.
You can do it Jess.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
It took me a while to figure out an eating pattern that worked for me..I used to eat the 3 meals a day when healthy but when I got sick whatever/whenever I wanted to eat I did...sadly over time and treating appetite went quickly...there was even one point I would just have a bowl of rice and a few cheddar crackers.
I worked on healing my gut (thanks to many here and their advice) and slowly could eat more foods again. Still dont have the hunger I used to..you know that Im hungry feeling but I also dont burn as many calories as I used to.
So i played around with the six small meals a day..that wasnt fun for me...then did some research and more experimenting and nothing really stuck/helped me out then when I read the warrior diet.
Now again we are all different and everyones body wants something else but adapting to this I felt helped me and its my lifestyle now and have noticed a lighter load on my system.
Basically you eat how humans used to eat back in the day...the warriors. They would be outdoors all day and would pick at what was available in the fields...berries, veggies, nuts and then when theyd come home from being out all day theyd prepare a large meal and have that..
Again, not saying this is the answer this works, etc but just putting out tere whats worked best for me and if it can help anyone else why not...again took me a while to figure out what worked best but I got there...oh and of course no processed foods...
Check it out if youre intersted at all...good read..and as with anything takes time to figure out what works best for you..
Posts: 183 | From ... | Registered: Oct 2011
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thank you gaga and Sammy!!! Jess
Posts: 870 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2012
| IP: Logged |
Pocono Lyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5939
posted
Ensure? There are different flavors. Full of nutrition.
-------------------- 2 Corinthians 12:9-11
9 But he said to me, �My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.� Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ�s power may rest on me. Posts: 1445 | From Poconos, PA | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
MichaelTampa
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 24868
posted
Don't know about gastroparesis, but the reference above to vegetable juices sitting in the stomach forever reminded me of stretches of time I had where even assimilating water took forever, and food digestion was also very slow. I found out that mixing the right amount of Willard Water in with water helped a lot with that, both with the water and the food.
Posts: 1927 | From se usa | Registered: Mar 2010
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic