To answer that question about eating, I lost 40 pounds while on chemo. So yes, I had a lot of trouble eating. I knew it was important so I tried to eat but it was a challenge for me and my husband! Drinking anything was also an issue. Switching to room temp water really helped me get more down.

I lost my taste buds so everything had a horrible mouth feel, I was nauseated and no appetite whatsoever. My sweet husband jumped through hoops trying to find foods that tempted me. He would make little bite-sized pieces of food for me on a plate. Looked like doll food! LOL
PJB bites, pieces of plain broiled chicken breast, pieces of Swanson canned Chicken breast, bites of string cheese, crackers, bites of banana, apple, applesauce, canned peaches. Sometimes pudding would work or a smoothie. Lactaid ice cream was a winner!! But even then, sometimes I could only eat something once and then it turned me off again. So it’s hit and miss, I’m afraid.

There are hints such as adding a tiny dribble of maple syrup on foods. It tricks the tastebuds. There are Cooking for Chemo recipes online too. I couldn’t for the life of me tolerate the ‘taste’ of protein powder. Sometimes I could drink Ensure fruit juice. But I couldn’t handle the taste of the shakes. They are a good source of protein though.

There can be a little backlash with anti-nausea meds because they disrupt the normal gut action. The zofran tongue melt tabs were my favorites. Your husband also has the added difficulty of having a sore mouth which further complicates things, I’d imagine.

All I can say is that this will pass. Little by little his ability to eat will return. He may not have an appetite but he’ll be able to at least hold down the food. Best bet is to have very little portions and, grazing throughout the day helped the most. Don’t even bother having him try to eat a meal. It won’t work right now. My dietitian and transplant team didn’t care what I ate at one point, as long I got calories down! That’s where the Lactaid ice cream came into play…in a dish or a smoothie.

If he can handle the taste there are candies or lozenges for anti nausea such as Ginger candy or Queasy-pops. Sometimes they can give a little extra relief right before a meal.
Wishing you both the best of luck over this rough patch! It will get better!!

I had the same thing as your husband. Just finished in Nov 23.
Definitely trouble eating. Not just appetite but everything tastes and feels like "crap". it's really indescribable.
It is difficult especially when it first hits you. Is he getting the Chemo? Cisplatin? Do they also give him dexamethasone with chemo?
Did he get the feeding tube?
Jeff