› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Has Anyone Come Back from Drastic Weight Loss?
- This topic has 18 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by
ecc26.
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- May 19, 2014 at 7:44 am
My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma 2/27/2014 when his horrible back pain proved to be a tumor on his spine, with active cells in brain and lungs. At 6 ft and 160 lbs, he has always been a health nut, eating right and daily trips to the gym. After two separate week long hospital stays for pain management with concurrent radiation treatments he has dropped to 122 lbs. With so little fat, the loss is muscle and he can walk only short distances with his walker. Has anyone out there come back from a weight loss like his? If so, please tell us how.
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- May 20, 2014 at 3:22 am
Everyone's situation is different but I lost over 50 lbs (183 to 130) in a matter of a few weeks secondary to severe colitis from being on ipi. I ended up perforating my bowel but survived and regained the majority of my weight. I also could only walk with a walker. I was dependent on my wife to physically lift me up from sitting to standing. I was scary thin, extremely weak and malnourished. Once my medical condition stabilized however, I steadily regained my weight and strength. I was actually able to resume running in a couple of months. I think it's very important that your husband has been health conscious and has kept himself physically fit. Once his situation stabilizes he will instinctively know how to gradually increase his activity and his strength will return. His body remembers being strong and fit. You may want to try Ensure or other similar nutrition supplement. They don't taste good but were helpful to me initially. At the very least it helps motivate you to eat more regular food. I will keep you & your husband in my prayers. Tom
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- May 20, 2014 at 3:22 am
Everyone's situation is different but I lost over 50 lbs (183 to 130) in a matter of a few weeks secondary to severe colitis from being on ipi. I ended up perforating my bowel but survived and regained the majority of my weight. I also could only walk with a walker. I was dependent on my wife to physically lift me up from sitting to standing. I was scary thin, extremely weak and malnourished. Once my medical condition stabilized however, I steadily regained my weight and strength. I was actually able to resume running in a couple of months. I think it's very important that your husband has been health conscious and has kept himself physically fit. Once his situation stabilizes he will instinctively know how to gradually increase his activity and his strength will return. His body remembers being strong and fit. You may want to try Ensure or other similar nutrition supplement. They don't taste good but were helpful to me initially. At the very least it helps motivate you to eat more regular food. I will keep you & your husband in my prayers. Tom
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- May 20, 2014 at 12:33 pm
If possible, consult with a nuitrionist who is on staff at your treatment facility. You want your doctor to be consulted. Our goal was to at least stem the weight and muscle loss. The nuitrionist developed a liquid plan to ensure a calorie intake that would meet and/or exceed the daily calorie requirements. We made a high calorie cocktail 5x's a day that used Boost VHC (very high calorie). This is a similar product to Ensure and has all the nutrional value but also has 150 additional calories per serving which is huge when every calorie counts. Using a blender or cocktail mixer, we added a high protein powder, chocolate syrup and whole milk or heavy cream. It may be unconventional but it worked wonders. Of course this will never replace a well balanced diet but when chewing and swallowing is challanged or not possible it fills the gap. Sent with positive thoughts. M
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- May 20, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Thanks M. Along with the 3 meals we are trying to get 2 shakes a day in w/ high protein and/or high calorie additions that won't add too much volume. He just can't fit a lot in. Today the RN from Home Health suggested marijuana tablets to increase appetite. Hey, if it works without drug interactions I'm all for it. I asked my husband if he ever imagined that he'd be on methadone and marijuana at the direction of medical professionals.
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- May 20, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Thanks M. Along with the 3 meals we are trying to get 2 shakes a day in w/ high protein and/or high calorie additions that won't add too much volume. He just can't fit a lot in. Today the RN from Home Health suggested marijuana tablets to increase appetite. Hey, if it works without drug interactions I'm all for it. I asked my husband if he ever imagined that he'd be on methadone and marijuana at the direction of medical professionals.
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- May 20, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Thanks M. Along with the 3 meals we are trying to get 2 shakes a day in w/ high protein and/or high calorie additions that won't add too much volume. He just can't fit a lot in. Today the RN from Home Health suggested marijuana tablets to increase appetite. Hey, if it works without drug interactions I'm all for it. I asked my husband if he ever imagined that he'd be on methadone and marijuana at the direction of medical professionals.
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- May 21, 2014 at 7:30 pm
I had a similar experience where I dropped down to less than 115 (though being small and female, the loss was only about 25-30 lb on the scale) 115 is really too thin and like your husband I lost a lot of muscle mass, though again, as a female I definitely had some fat tissue to utilize as well. I think if I hadn't I would have been in real trouble. I also distinctly remember the apetite loss. It wasn't so much that I didn't get hungry- I would, but I would make myself what I thought I should be eating, then only be able to eat 1/4 or 1/3 or sometimes less. Like your husband I couldn't tolerate any volume. I utilized "Boost" shakes to try and increase my protein intake without increasing my volume of intake by much. I tried to eat 3 "meals" per day and 2 shakes in between. It definitely helped. Small amounts more frequently is definitely the way to go, but he shouldn't try to force more if he can't take it- I was trying to do that for a while and just ended up feeling like I really wanted to throw it all back up. I would end up very uncomfortable and bloated as well. It's taken about 5-6 months, but I'm back to a much more acceptable 130 lb now, much of that was building my muscle back up by walking and very light running. I agree with the poster who indicated that he would know how to slowly get himself back in shape, etc, but just remember not to push too hard to fast if you're goal is weight gain. It's going to take a while to be able to increase his intake enough to not only offset the calories burned by exercise but also to re-build the muscle and gain any weight. I speak from experience when I say it's frustrating to feel better and want to exercise but not be able to as much as you want because you can't eat the way you need to, but you have to be patient or the whole process takes longer.
Best of luck to both you and your husband
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- May 21, 2014 at 7:30 pm
I had a similar experience where I dropped down to less than 115 (though being small and female, the loss was only about 25-30 lb on the scale) 115 is really too thin and like your husband I lost a lot of muscle mass, though again, as a female I definitely had some fat tissue to utilize as well. I think if I hadn't I would have been in real trouble. I also distinctly remember the apetite loss. It wasn't so much that I didn't get hungry- I would, but I would make myself what I thought I should be eating, then only be able to eat 1/4 or 1/3 or sometimes less. Like your husband I couldn't tolerate any volume. I utilized "Boost" shakes to try and increase my protein intake without increasing my volume of intake by much. I tried to eat 3 "meals" per day and 2 shakes in between. It definitely helped. Small amounts more frequently is definitely the way to go, but he shouldn't try to force more if he can't take it- I was trying to do that for a while and just ended up feeling like I really wanted to throw it all back up. I would end up very uncomfortable and bloated as well. It's taken about 5-6 months, but I'm back to a much more acceptable 130 lb now, much of that was building my muscle back up by walking and very light running. I agree with the poster who indicated that he would know how to slowly get himself back in shape, etc, but just remember not to push too hard to fast if you're goal is weight gain. It's going to take a while to be able to increase his intake enough to not only offset the calories burned by exercise but also to re-build the muscle and gain any weight. I speak from experience when I say it's frustrating to feel better and want to exercise but not be able to as much as you want because you can't eat the way you need to, but you have to be patient or the whole process takes longer.
Best of luck to both you and your husband
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- May 21, 2014 at 7:30 pm
I had a similar experience where I dropped down to less than 115 (though being small and female, the loss was only about 25-30 lb on the scale) 115 is really too thin and like your husband I lost a lot of muscle mass, though again, as a female I definitely had some fat tissue to utilize as well. I think if I hadn't I would have been in real trouble. I also distinctly remember the apetite loss. It wasn't so much that I didn't get hungry- I would, but I would make myself what I thought I should be eating, then only be able to eat 1/4 or 1/3 or sometimes less. Like your husband I couldn't tolerate any volume. I utilized "Boost" shakes to try and increase my protein intake without increasing my volume of intake by much. I tried to eat 3 "meals" per day and 2 shakes in between. It definitely helped. Small amounts more frequently is definitely the way to go, but he shouldn't try to force more if he can't take it- I was trying to do that for a while and just ended up feeling like I really wanted to throw it all back up. I would end up very uncomfortable and bloated as well. It's taken about 5-6 months, but I'm back to a much more acceptable 130 lb now, much of that was building my muscle back up by walking and very light running. I agree with the poster who indicated that he would know how to slowly get himself back in shape, etc, but just remember not to push too hard to fast if you're goal is weight gain. It's going to take a while to be able to increase his intake enough to not only offset the calories burned by exercise but also to re-build the muscle and gain any weight. I speak from experience when I say it's frustrating to feel better and want to exercise but not be able to as much as you want because you can't eat the way you need to, but you have to be patient or the whole process takes longer.
Best of luck to both you and your husband
-
- May 20, 2014 at 12:33 pm
If possible, consult with a nuitrionist who is on staff at your treatment facility. You want your doctor to be consulted. Our goal was to at least stem the weight and muscle loss. The nuitrionist developed a liquid plan to ensure a calorie intake that would meet and/or exceed the daily calorie requirements. We made a high calorie cocktail 5x's a day that used Boost VHC (very high calorie). This is a similar product to Ensure and has all the nutrional value but also has 150 additional calories per serving which is huge when every calorie counts. Using a blender or cocktail mixer, we added a high protein powder, chocolate syrup and whole milk or heavy cream. It may be unconventional but it worked wonders. Of course this will never replace a well balanced diet but when chewing and swallowing is challanged or not possible it fills the gap. Sent with positive thoughts. M
-
- May 20, 2014 at 12:33 pm
If possible, consult with a nuitrionist who is on staff at your treatment facility. You want your doctor to be consulted. Our goal was to at least stem the weight and muscle loss. The nuitrionist developed a liquid plan to ensure a calorie intake that would meet and/or exceed the daily calorie requirements. We made a high calorie cocktail 5x's a day that used Boost VHC (very high calorie). This is a similar product to Ensure and has all the nutrional value but also has 150 additional calories per serving which is huge when every calorie counts. Using a blender or cocktail mixer, we added a high protein powder, chocolate syrup and whole milk or heavy cream. It may be unconventional but it worked wonders. Of course this will never replace a well balanced diet but when chewing and swallowing is challanged or not possible it fills the gap. Sent with positive thoughts. M
-
- May 20, 2014 at 3:22 am
Everyone's situation is different but I lost over 50 lbs (183 to 130) in a matter of a few weeks secondary to severe colitis from being on ipi. I ended up perforating my bowel but survived and regained the majority of my weight. I also could only walk with a walker. I was dependent on my wife to physically lift me up from sitting to standing. I was scary thin, extremely weak and malnourished. Once my medical condition stabilized however, I steadily regained my weight and strength. I was actually able to resume running in a couple of months. I think it's very important that your husband has been health conscious and has kept himself physically fit. Once his situation stabilizes he will instinctively know how to gradually increase his activity and his strength will return. His body remembers being strong and fit. You may want to try Ensure or other similar nutrition supplement. They don't taste good but were helpful to me initially. At the very least it helps motivate you to eat more regular food. I will keep you & your husband in my prayers. Tom
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