Connect← Return to Esophagectomy: What is life like Afterwards?
Discussion
Esophagectomy: What is life like Afterwards?
Esophageal Cancer | Last Active: Aug 24 6:09am | Replies (133)Comment receiving replies
@cutbet I too am petite. What I was advised to do was eat high calorie, easy to swallow food to try to gain a bit of weight prior to surgery. I pureed most of my food, and I ate lots of ice cream shakes with protein powder. I gained a few pounds that way. Also, once you are on the feeding tube it won’t be any problem gaining a few pounds because it goes directly into your small intestine without swallowing, and you can adjust the amount of formula pretty easily. I would highly recommend consulting with a nutritionist who has experience with these issues. Sending positive thoughts for your successful surgery.
Replies to "@cutbet I too am petite. What I was advised to do was eat high calorie, easy..."
Connect
@lindainca Thanks for the tips! My challenge right now is that I have high sensitivity to the cold due to oxaliplatin...so ice cream isn't as viable (yet). I'm hoping that in my post-chemo, pre-surgery weeks that the sensitivity goes down so that I can in fact eat ice cream. I've missed it!
That's really encouraging that the feeding tube will help me to not lose weight. I've been worried about that. What's it like to not be able to swallow water when initially on a feeding tube? Do you know? I'm having a hard time imagining what my mouth/tongue will feel like. How about as you adjust off of the feeding tube? Is it hard to keep weight then?