← Return to Living life after treatment and surgery for Esophageal Cancer.

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@stever1

Colleen, thanks for reaching out. Yes. The dietitians at the hospital where I had my surgery were useless. I'm not using the word lightly either. They had me drink 5 Boosts per day as a criteria for discharge. Ugh! The dietitian that works with my oncology group offers the same generic advice that the Physicians did. Eat frequent small meals. Get at least 80 grams of protein per day. Brat diet for diarrhea. Stay away from sugar and limit fat. None of these people have had an gastroesophagectomy with pylormyoectomy. And, they just don't get it. If I don't eat carbs or fat, that leaves protein and at 4 calories per gram, I would need 500 grams of protein for 2,000 calories. I'm done with the dietitians that I have consulted with in the past.

I find that a protein bar in the morning will trigger dumping syndrome. A protein bar in the afternoon or evening is fine. Drinking fluids after a meal (even a small one) will trigger. Fried foods are a no no. Rich foods with butter and cream sometimes trigger it. then of course there is quantity. Anything over a 6-8 ounce portion will be a trigger. Besides being extremely distasteful, protein shakes are a trigger. If i drink one, and have an episode, I can't eat for 3 hours, so they don't do any good towards my goal of 2000 calories per day. Also, sweets after a meal are bad, but sweets alone I do fine with. I am still very much figuring all of this out. I really do not like eating, but force myself. I also don't like losing weight every day, so I eat what I can when I can and hope for the best.

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Replies to "Colleen, thanks for reaching out. Yes. The dietitians at the hospital where I had my surgery..."

How are y’all doing now? Two years postop and post-immunotherapy I’m essentially about the same physically as post-diagnosis, except still feeling my way nutritionally. My experience with advice from nutritionists was essentially the same as yours. My advantage was having done doctoral studies in nutritional biochemistry in the 1970s. Found it best to ascertain what was needed on my own, based on the effects of chemo and surgery. Just found this Mayo Clinic site, which has been somewhat helpful. Example: Not the only one, who doesn't experience hunger anymore. That means being aware of time between eating and pushing myself to eat, even though no longer caring for about 85% of prediagnosis liked foods, as a consequence of chemo.