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80 yr old Mom can't get over post esophagectomy surgery NAUSEA

Posted by sarapaul85 @sarapaul85, Aug 27 5:47pm

My Mom was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and received 8 sessions of immunotherapy. She had an esophagectomy in March and she has been soo sick since then. She is nauseous all the time and has lost 50 lbs. She's down to 95 lbs. She is weak, tired and depressed and has recently begun having anxiety attacks. She also had a collapsed lung and fluid on the lung drained. She is feeling alone and sad (also recently widowed). Any advice is appreciated.

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michaelaaustria | @michaelaaustria | Aug 28 8:48am

Dear Sara, so sad to hear that. Depression and nusea is common, unfortunately. My husband (now 5 years past surgery) felt that way for about 2 years until he agreed on taking supplements and gut bacteria. His problem and cause of all this was reflux due to a histamine intolerance. That's why he could not take any liquid meals or anything else for gaining weight. But when your mom does not have a histamine problem, try liquid meals, they are high-calorie so that she at least will gain weight again. Or you cook her thick soups with olive oil and other healthy oils and oats, just mix them with the cooked vegetables (and meat, provided she is no vegetarian), so this makes a lot of calories, too. And is healthy. If she has the same problem as my husband, i.e. no hunger and no appetite, I hope that she nevertheless will eat, because healthy meals will also help with her depression. It is totally normal that she feels depressed, frustrated... and when currently she lost her husband - especially sad. If you need some advice on supplements: get medical advice based on her latest blood test, so that you know what your mom lacks, and if it is magnesium and zinc then buy a magensiumbisglycinate and a zincbisglycinate, they are better tolerable and more effective. My husband also takes butyric acid, this helped him a lot. And there are several bacteria your mom can take which help against depression and against inflammationm, there are several products on the market like capsules or powder you disolve in liquid, they should contain:
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
Lactobacillus helveticus
Bifidobacterium longum
Bifidobacterium breve
Lactobacillus plantarum ...so overall, gut bacteria helping the psyche. Oats and lime seeds are really good foods. Ashwanganda and vitamin B are also very helpful against anxiety, my husband just reminded me. Vitamin D is essential, especially when you had cancer, so also keep that vitamine in your mind.
And, of course, listening to her favorite music, reading books on the right/ a positive mindset like "The Secret" or any book by Dr. Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, or Oprah Winfrey (just finished one: The Path Made Clear, and the other one is Wisdom on Sundays, easy to read and uplifting your mind) provided that she loves reading and that her eye-sight is good, but there are audio book, as well, of course. I witnessed this myself for several years in my husband, the anxiety is not yet gone, hopefully it will soon, but his depressions, frustration, bad mood phases are gone, but it will take time. Usually, as you may know, supplements and food need a couple of weeks until they become effective.
I really do hope that this helps a bit, the thing is, your mom is the one who needs to be willing to take the supplements, as I said, it took my husband 2 years before he was willing to take anything. Now he sees the difference and knows that he should have started much earlier, especially with the gut bacteria.
I want to stress that everything I write here is personal experience and no medical advice.
If you need any recommendations regarding products, just dm me. All the best and never give up! Big hug

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Profile picture for sarapaul85
sarapaul85 | @sarapaul85 | Aug 29 12:42pm
In reply to @michaelaaustria "Dear Sara, so sad to hear that. Depression and nusea is common, unfortunately. My husband (now..." + (show)
Profile picture for michaelaaustria @michaelaaustria

Dear Sara, so sad to hear that. Depression and nusea is common, unfortunately. My husband (now 5 years past surgery) felt that way for about 2 years until he agreed on taking supplements and gut bacteria. His problem and cause of all this was reflux due to a histamine intolerance. That's why he could not take any liquid meals or anything else for gaining weight. But when your mom does not have a histamine problem, try liquid meals, they are high-calorie so that she at least will gain weight again. Or you cook her thick soups with olive oil and other healthy oils and oats, just mix them with the cooked vegetables (and meat, provided she is no vegetarian), so this makes a lot of calories, too. And is healthy. If she has the same problem as my husband, i.e. no hunger and no appetite, I hope that she nevertheless will eat, because healthy meals will also help with her depression. It is totally normal that she feels depressed, frustrated... and when currently she lost her husband - especially sad. If you need some advice on supplements: get medical advice based on her latest blood test, so that you know what your mom lacks, and if it is magnesium and zinc then buy a magensiumbisglycinate and a zincbisglycinate, they are better tolerable and more effective. My husband also takes butyric acid, this helped him a lot. And there are several bacteria your mom can take which help against depression and against inflammationm, there are several products on the market like capsules or powder you disolve in liquid, they should contain:
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
Lactobacillus helveticus
Bifidobacterium longum
Bifidobacterium breve
Lactobacillus plantarum ...so overall, gut bacteria helping the psyche. Oats and lime seeds are really good foods. Ashwanganda and vitamin B are also very helpful against anxiety, my husband just reminded me. Vitamin D is essential, especially when you had cancer, so also keep that vitamine in your mind.
And, of course, listening to her favorite music, reading books on the right/ a positive mindset like "The Secret" or any book by Dr. Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, or Oprah Winfrey (just finished one: The Path Made Clear, and the other one is Wisdom on Sundays, easy to read and uplifting your mind) provided that she loves reading and that her eye-sight is good, but there are audio book, as well, of course. I witnessed this myself for several years in my husband, the anxiety is not yet gone, hopefully it will soon, but his depressions, frustration, bad mood phases are gone, but it will take time. Usually, as you may know, supplements and food need a couple of weeks until they become effective.
I really do hope that this helps a bit, the thing is, your mom is the one who needs to be willing to take the supplements, as I said, it took my husband 2 years before he was willing to take anything. Now he sees the difference and knows that he should have started much earlier, especially with the gut bacteria.
I want to stress that everything I write here is personal experience and no medical advice.
If you need any recommendations regarding products, just dm me. All the best and never give up! Big hug

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@michaelaaustria thanks so much for this. I will look into all of this. I truly appreciate your thoughtful response!

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michaelaaustria | @michaelaaustria | Aug 29 1:28pm

You are more than welcome. Any time, really. One addition: my husband reminded me that the butyric acid helps him with his histamine intolerance, so it is very likely that it won't help your mom. The most important first step are the gut bacteria to revive her bioma. Find a good nutritionist ( we had to go through 3 until we found a good one ) and ask them before your mom takes any supplement. All the best!!!!🩷

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hardtoswallow | @hardtoswallow | Aug 31 6:05pm

I am really sorry your mom is going through this. I am now 9 years post-surgery but I had a very difficult time the first 4-5 years. Lost lots of weight, developed malabsorption issues, bone loss, anemia, etc.
So... here are some suggestions on what I learned from all of that:
1. have her B12 checked regularly along with ferritin labs - hemoglobin scores can be fine and she can still be iron deficient which could result in fatigue and depression
2. get a good easy to digest protein powder to mix into food, liquids, etc. I use Drink wholesome which is egg whites and you can get it in flavors. it's expensive but very easy to digest and mix into things.
3. tell her it takes a lot of time for the body to adjust but it will.
Sending you and your mom very positive vibes!

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