How do you get enough calories?

I went into my esophagectomy weighing 108 and I came out later weighing 108 because I supported my food intake by using liquidHope which you can get on Amazon and I actually appealed three times and got my insurance company to pay for it it comes in bags that are about 470 cal. You can put it through your feeding tube and you can eat it like a soup. It taste like squash soup. It has no chemicals no onions no milk products in it. It's all vegan. the manufacturere is functional formularies and your doctor can call the company and get free samples, they also make a product called nourish, I would not eat for 3 or 4 hours before going to sleep as you will reflux and possibly aspirate. You can use coconut oil but your cholesterol will go up Maybe this will be good for you. I grind Hemp Hearts and make a mixture with it including pecans and pumpkin seeds and hemp powder for breakfast and this is high calorie and healthy. Talk to a nutritionist doctor for help with a mixture formula that will work for you. I order from Getchia.com in colorado in 3 pound bags for the hemp hearts and hemp powder. Hope this helps,

I’m my husbands caregiver and getting enough calories throughout his journey has been an ongoing concern. After radiation therapy he simply had no appetite. He “ grazed” on high calorie nuts throughout the day, and high cal protein drinks the hospital provided. We tried to focus on the calorie count, but realized that the drinks would get him there along with the meals he could eat. He has sustained his currents 195 lb weight within 2 pounds.

I'm my fiance's caregiver and when he was on the feeding tube we used Kate's farm products which were organic and that kept his weight up. to 190 Now when he's back to eating without the feeding tube. He says he's not hungry and says he doesn't want to eat unless he's hungry. His beginning weight before cancer, treatments, surgery and aftercare was 255 now 160 and his doctor wants him to gain 15 pounds and so do I. Dr. said eat the fat on the chicken and the fat on the steak and cream soups. He hates all the ensures, boosts and all the drinks like that I have bought him. We ended up giving boxes away. So we struggle with keeping weight on him. Each person is different. All his life he was heavy and he ate salads and took the skin off the chicken and I think a lot of it is mentally programmed into our brains from years of eating that way. Old habits hard to break. I do bake lots of desserts but he never has had a sweet tooth. Good luck everyone.

Don’t be terrified. It’s a new lifestyle but you will adapt.

Don’t take the “every two hours” schedule too literally. I snack/graze all day long, maybe on trail mix, snack bars, or a couple of cookies. Usually I can eat snacks an hour apart.

Restaurants are a challenge. Rich foods are generally off limits, and typical portions are twice as big as I can handle. We end up splitting portions and/or taking home leftovers.

My surgery was last fall. I lost 20 lbs by the first of the year and maybe another 5 since then. In my case, weight loss is a silver lining. If I were worried about my weight I feel confident I could step up the snacking to compensate.

Concentrate on what’s best for your cancer treatment. Eating will never be what it was before the operation but eventually it becomes less important. Everything will be starting at square one. Tackle each issue as it happens try not to project too far into the future. Meet with a nutritionist if needed. See how it goes it might not be as bad as you’re anticipating. I never had a feeding tube. Some days I can eat some days I don’t feel like it. Take it one baby step at a time. Everyone is different but there is a lot of helpful information on this site and others.

I think most people had similar concerns as you do prior their Ivor Lewis. I see some very good suggestions in your thread (not sure about eating the fat on chicken or steak though). Oily fish like salmon, shrimp, tuna and more are heart healthy and high in protein and calories. It's hard to stay away from added sugar, but I'll treat myself to ice cream if I need some extra calories. Two years ago, I weighed 168lbs and now I'm 155lbs. At 5'6", that's a healthy BMI. I'm 68 and working out 2.5 hours per day, 5 days a week. I've built up good muscle, but getting enough protein is a challenge.

Everyone is different, but I appreciate how you can be fearful since its a major life change. As best you can, recognize that your new normal is exactly that and will take adjustments. Attack it with a positive attitude and you'll succeed. Best to you and your family.

I just found out, 5 days before surgery, surgeon called me to tell me it's likely going to be a full gastrectomy as well.

Trying to think and stay positive.

Thank you for the responses thus far. I'm very actively trying to keep a positive attitude and thinking positive. Tough ask of me though as up till now I've been quite the cynic in life, but I'm doing my best to stay and think positively.

I know that's what I have to do to survive this. Terrified or not.

Do you have a sense of what is usually done in performing a typical esophagectomy?

During a standard esophagectomy utilizing a gastric pull-up, roughly 40% to 50% (and up to 60% in very narrow designs) of the stomach's lateral portion—primarily along the lesser curvature—is cut out, stapled, and discarded. The remaining 50% to 60% along the greater curvature is fashioned into a narrow tube.What is Removed and DiscardedLesser curvature: The inner curve of the stomach is excised using a surgical stapler.Left gastric vessels: The tissue and lymph nodes along this path are divided and removed.A portion of the fundus/cardia: The top area near the original gastroesophageal junction is often resected to ensure clear margins if disease is present or to properly shape the conduit.What is Kept for the Tube (Conduit)Greater curvature: The larger outer curve of the stomach is preserved.Right gastroepiploic artery: This blood vessel is carefully kept intact to supply vital blood flow to the newly formed gastric tube

I hear ya my friend, had surgery April 25,doing pretty good with calories, I need about 2500 a day I do single piece toast in morning, with heavy peanut butter and real butter,with couple chips and hoy cookies dunked in my coffee,followed by banana hr later,then pop open a 350 cal protein drink 8 oz,and take 4 drinks approx every 45 min and by 11 am have 900 cal....lots Hunter sticks,cheese sticks,heavy whipping cream in coffee great calories, whole yogurt, fatty as I can get it,olive oil like you said,love dry roasted peanuts, great cal and protein, my chemo doc says I should sip on another protein drink throughout day...best of luck...