3 replies to this topic

[pinkangel]

i havent been around for a while, as still coming to terms with becoming paraplegic from hemiplegia of 5yrs as a result of degerative spinal disease which got diagnosed in feb/march

since my collapse which led to me being in hospital ive had major problems with eating, this was put down to the spasms by body was suffering, i went for 4 days without food or drink in hospital, was only a passing dietitian who actually stopped and noticed.

this has remained the problem, and its getting me even more distressed by the day and i dont know who to turn to. i am on a soft food/liquidised diet, but even that now is a struggle, after every mouthful i feel full, and i just cant take anymore.

i am on build up drinks from the dr, but i personally dont think its enough, im exhasted everyday, becuase of finding it hard to drink im getting UTI's all the time and finding it hard to pass water - i already suffer with incontinance

its now affecting me day to day, i cant go out for meals bcuase i cant eat the food, im not interested in food. i am losing weight, i cant find out who much atm as i need ones that you sit in.
i just feel like its controlling me now and i dont know what else to do, my dietitans refered me to a speech & language therapist to assess my swallowing but how long that will be i dont know.

medication wise im on painkillers: amitriptyline, codiene phosphate, oxynorm,oxycontin, baclofen along side my epilepsy meds & asthma so im fully drugged up. ive now had it all switched to liquid form.

just feel like by bodys shutting down & i guess also without food intake meds dont work as well as they should either! i just dont know anymore

cat.x

[kiwiquad]

I know .. you're on a slippery slope towards anorexia! You HAVE to eat & you know it. You need to alert as many people to tell about your eating disorder as you can, for encouragement. Your mind will kill you if not reprogrammed, & I strongly suggest counseling. If you are a wheelchair user, the bones on your butt will start poking through the skin, resulting in death as a worse case scenario. And that's if you survive renal failure which could happen first, another worse case scenario. What you're doing is powerful, controlling & self & soul destructing. You can't expect just drinks to be enough, you need a good meal also. Only you, can yell at yourself to SWOLLOW! (because you feed yourself lol) so do so, don't chew - just swollow.
Take a sip of water after or before every mouthful to start with. Scoop the moments of hunger up, & binge. Eat everything delectable that you lay your eyes on. Extend your BR to no more than once every 3 days if you can. Educate your dr/dietitian about giving too much calcium in your drinks, as they lead to bladder stones easily. PROTEIN & CARBS should be primary in your diet.
Watch the Food Channel all day.
Don't delay getting help, it's a huge black hole you're going down, & much harder getting out of.
EATEATEAT! Good luck.

[Tetracyclone]

Pinkangel,

listen to Kiwigirl. Once you get chronically undernourished the appetite disappears, and this makes it 100 times more difficult. Once you have forced food and water in for a while the problem WILL abate. You have to trust that your body really does want to live, but has only gotten stuck in the trough of a bad wave.

Eat and drink anything that appeals even slightly, failing that eat and drink the unappealing. Hungry people get listless and don't want to eat. You just have to break the cycle, but carefully, with simple stuff that is easy to digest.

I'm watching my 89 year old Dad struggle with this right now. He has lived to eat and drink for so long and now has lost his appetite. So his steam of conciousness monologue is now, "Eat dammit, eat. Chew. Take another bite. " It takes him an hour to down the mystery meat they give him at this home, but he does it. if he can, you can.

Edited by Tetracyclone, 25 April 2010 - 03:17 PM.

[Trinity]

If appetite is a real problem ask your doctor about trying Megace, it's a drug that can really increase your appetite