Suggestions on food?

[Dale_Ray]

Taste and appetite is completely gone. I keep this nickle taste in my mouth and nothing taste the same. In 12 weeks I've lost 10 lbs. We have looked at and tried many things. Water is about the only thing I enjoy anymore. Anything I eat with spice or garlic is really bad and causes indigestion. I could eat anything before stating treatments. Any ideas how I keep my intake up and get protein into my system? Dale

[marso]

hi to everybody!!! its my 1st time to post. my husband have hepa c & at the same time diabetis. We're getting hard time to find a healthy diet that would be better for him. Any body have the idea please! That would be a big help for us, thanks a lot

[kiltedguy]

Frosted Flakes, whole milk and a little vanilla coffee creamer, mmmmmmmmm! ;)

[GoofyDad]

I get a protein powder from Trader Joe's. Thay have a couple  seemingly good ones, one whey based, one Soy. Cheap too.

I'm not a fan on the Ensure, last I looked I thought it had quite a bit of sugar... I think I get enough from fruit, and yugurts, amd yes... a bit of the ice cream.

[beamishboy]

i love soymilk,esp chocolate,but i seem to recall some reason to avoid it while taking riba..i can't cite any study or sources,but i quit using early in trx cuz of some info,somewhere?.......now,don't i instill confidence ?

[harty29]

I quickly lost twenty pounds when I started treatment.  I think more than a loss of appetitie mine is due to fatigue.  Extreme fatigue.  I'm just too tired to eat.

[Mister beagle bailey]

I bought the drink Ensure, there are about 4 or 5 differnt kinds so I got the one to gain weight and it seems to work. I had the same taste in my mouth and told the Dr., he said it's from tx but also from anemia.  I never knew anemia can do that to my taste buds.

                 Beagle

[Snookmiester]

I agree with the protein!! I had trouble eating, and seemed to start just melting away. I dropped like 20lbs in one month, so I drastically had to do something.
Someone recommended Myoplex to me. It is a meal replacement, and high in protein and vitamins. There are different formulas, like Sport, lite, and original. The sport is higher in calories, somewhere around 500 per serving I think. I would drink one every morning, blended up with milk, ice, a bannana, and fresh strawberries or something. Always pop a bananna in there though, as it helps keep up the weight, and provides potassium. Myoplex is expensive, but well worth it in my opionion. I use to buy it in bulk off ebay. Cheapest prices I could find.
As far as peanut butter, I was advised AGAINST it. Too greasey, and can upset the stomach. The Riba causes GI problems in alot of us, and GERD and stomach acid become a factor. We are supposed to stay away from fatty, acidic, and GREASEY foods. As these CAN all aggrevate our bellies!
Wishing you the best, as I can remember the exact situation your in now.
Hey, also try those Power bars.. They are like 200 calories, and high in protein. I bought in bulk at BJ's wholesale, or Costco. Those bars are great to snack on, and you can just keep one in your pocket and nibble on it when you can.

[NYgirl]

OK I hate a tun sandwich on rye tonight instead of cereal. Believe it or not that's a big concession.  I was so fixated on not having cereal I missed up my shots but...at least I know there isn't a ton of sugar and dairy in there ;-)

I'm TRY-ING.  :)

[FlGuy]

I thought you were trying to kick Ben&Jerry's.

[Fisheress]

LOL!  I was wondering who was gonna go there!  I was going to send a private e-mail to Friole and let her know the meaning   hehehehe.  It was like the song "she wants a pearl necklace"!  someone had to tell me that one!  Duh!

ROFL!

[sindog]

I found if you chew an antacid, swish with water and swallow or spit out. Riba shouldn't be take with antacids, so spit out if your eating with pills. Helped me when I had the problem.

[dyce]

The cerial route in eating is good. I eat alot of cherrios and oatmeal but lately I've been nibbiling on the sweets a little. O well I'm only human. Thanks for the ? on job related problems while txing, sounds like the guy you work with don't really know how to respect sick people but I'm sure his day will come.

      Rocker I'm goning up to vitamin world tonite and buy some whey protien and some nac. I also started taking vitamin c 1000 milagram a day monday. I've used whey and nac before and I like them both. Again I'm happy for you on your 2 log drop.

      Dyce

[NYgirl]

I found that there are eventually a few foods that I do enjoy.  Once I find what they are I just enjoy them as much as possible (right now it's fudge pops...I could eat six a night really).  So I do.  It puts on calories and makes me feel happy LOL.  

If you can find food that DOES taste ok...nibble on it as often as possible.

I eat a LOT of cereal now.  The big meals do not interest me at all...and cereal has a lot of vitamins (unless I get Cap'N Crunch or LUcky Charms!) and is easy on my stomach. Plus the milk is good for the Riba (I use whole milk for all of the fat).

If you find something that doesn't annoy you that comes in tons of flavors (Ie: ice cream, cereals etc) try to eat whenever you can.  

I mean if I want a bowl of Fruity Pebbles...I'm gonna have it. Then I'm gonna wash it down with a couple fudge pops and a bowl of Ben and Jerrys.  

Put it whatever you can...it's one time we do NOT have to worry about dieting!  :)

[NYgirl]

My diet is horrible - the thing I worry about most is losing yet MORE weight you know?  If I give up the things with the sugar (which seems to be what I crave) I'm afraid I'll go back to how I was before.....and I can't afford to lose more weight really. I hardly really eat at all anymore.

Thank you so much for your lovely words.....boy did I need them today. I am so GLAD it's a LONG WEEKEND - not only another day away from the boss but...a day after treatment I might feel like doin something!!  :)

PS NO no angel here...that's why I've got this disease...penance for all my hard core rock star days.  Why I sound like Pam Anderson there hahahha.  (Never was quite THAT wild).

I am SO happy for you.  I really can't say how happy I am.

PS I'll try to cut down on SOME of the sugar and dairy...just for you.  I promise. :)

[imbetternow]

Dale-This is my first post. I am on week 46/52 of my 2nd tx. You need to eat. What worked for me was Oatmeal, bananas, yogurt smooties(hi protien-low fat), peanutbutter sandwiches. Start your day with the oatmeal or smoothie-eat a half or whole peanut butter sandwich at mid morning. Stay with this diet as much as you can each morning. I was able to eat a grilled chicken or other sandwich for lunch. It's hard because it's almosts taste like putting cotton in your mouth. Do a smootie at lunch or when you just can't eat. This loss of appitite came and went for me. Try to keep the protien up and the fat down.

Me? Yes, I went thru 26 weeks of tx in 2004. From 1,500,000 to 32,000 at 12wks then back to 400,000. That was Pegasys and 1200 riba. Roche has a nice kit with safety needles, very sharp and lots of info in the Pegassist kit. It was easy but the virus mutated so I stopped tx at 26 weeks. I never got really sick, just cranky and wierd and my joints hurt. I was able to work through the entire 26 wk course.

I went to Infergen. That stuff is incredible. Oh yeah, lost my appetite but then started doing the above diet. Some days I could eat and others I was back to peanut butter and smooties.
I was able to work but used all 3 weeks af vacation and as much lost attendance as job could tolerate. My family drug me thru! I cleared Oct 7 and hope to stop tx end of March or Early april.

Good luck Dale and Hello all!

[OnAPrettyPoison]

Try Edamame. You can buy it at Sam's in a bag frozen.  Looks like a frozen butter bean.  It is soy beans frozen in their pod.  You can cook it in a little water, and it kind of tastes like a boiled peanut.  It is really great for you, full of protein.  Also, LOVE Silk Soy Milk, especially the vanilla.  Peanut butter and cereal are also good.  And Chocolate Yogart - my doctor said eat it with the riba to coat the stomach.

[can-do-man]

Jim says... Frankly, if I wasn't convinced they do exist, I'd treat even longer
________________________________________________________________

You just can't stand giving up that love affair you have with riba. Maybe if you get you a bag of jelly beans, pick your color of choice and take 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening, Just make sure you take them with some fat. And enjoy.

[GoofyDad]

Sort of like Michael Jackson's face, you know?

P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

[GoofyDad]

Bean Lady asks: <i>okay - what am I missing -- there has got to be a secret meaning to hummer that I'm not picking up on...</i>

Well, I hesitate to post this, but in the interest of maintianing the best informed Hep group on the net...

<a href="http://hummer.urbanup.com/258751">What is a hummer (rated R)</a>

<small>BTW, I'm a big fan of <i>Battle Hymn of the Republic</i>, but perhaps that's more information than you needed?</small>

[Califia]

Actually my non-hep doctors _have_ been sympathetic when I presented my situation to them, and immediatley concurred that these new physical problems derived from tx.  The question is what to do about them.   Personally I am loathe to pile up new side effects over old ones, so it's back to looking for alternatives to chemical medicine.   Admittedly I might be taking an overly cautious stance, but so be it.   A recovering body post-tx is at a delicate juncture.   We can try to exercise patience(!) and let the body recover its own homeostasis, or we can continue performing alteration upon alteration.  Sort of like Michael Jackson's face, you know?   (Oh, sorry.  Maybe that was a little too graphic.)

[GoofyDad]

Maybe my doctors are in the minority - but they are forthright in their acknowledgement of long term issues. That is the biggest disccussion point we have - identifying the dose and duration that gives me the best chance at clearing while minimizing exposure to long term or permanent sides.

Many of us here believe this is not an eradicate the virus no matter what proposition - others obviously see it differently.

Hey, if my eyesight starts to fail, will my physical appearance improve commensurately?

[beamishboy]

i custom-mix a granola,raisin,dried cranberry,mixed nuts, cereal and eat w/ fullfat french vanilla yogurt..delivers fat for riba&lots of nut based proteins;also use it over bananas&ice cream......the one thing i discovered that alleviates nausea(i first used durin radiation- now for this nasty combo-trx) is a little bit of herbal heaven;also helps w headaches&such-Side effects:you may develop an illegal smile that is highly contagious&irrepressible!!!-GOODLUCK

[jmjm530]

Good to see you posting again DD. Agree with lots of your points.

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I'd just add that at my tx nears its end, permanent sides from the tx drugs are on my mind. Frankly, if I wasn't convinced they do exist, I'd treat even longer -- I mean, why wouldn't we all treat longer then? Quality of Life? Can't even remember what QoL is anymore :)

That said, like DD and others, as a geno 1, stage 3, I didn't see much choice but treat. Had my biopsy showed minimal damage, personally I would have made a different decision.

Kalio,

I do agree that we all should be gentle with each other here, especially with those on treatment. My remarks are solely directed to the speculation put forth regarding permament sides from tx, so those trying to make a tx decision can benefit from all points of view.

-- Jim

[felinesrme]

I have the same bad taste in my mouth.  Lemon drops, and dark chocolate help with getting rid of the taste.  With the food, each day is a new thing.  I do eat smaller portions but more frequently during the day.  Have you tried some of the protien drinks, they help too.

Kalio:  as to the meat, the nurse recommended adding terriaky (spelled wrong) and that has seemed to help.

Take Care