Food Aversion and Anorexia

During chemo they warn of nausea and/or taste changes and that some foods may be particularly aversive. That I expected but I never thought that I'd be turned off to all food! They say this is not unusual because of the unpleasant experience of chemo. One way to avoid food aversion is to prevent the nausea from developing or relieve it as soon as possible. Yeah, that didn't work. Another way is to eat a variety of different foods and flavors, especially when feeling nauseated. Say what? That makes no sense to me at all. Apparently the foods should be bland, easily digested and leave no lingering taste or smell.

Now I am officially anorexic! What a hoot! Whoever would have thought that I of all people wouldn't want to eat? Anorexia is a problem for many people who are getting cancer treatment. It's hard to have an appetite when experiencing nausea, taste changes, constipation and fatigue. My problem is that food has become tasteless. I've been trying to "spice" it up whenever possible but that just adds to the constant heartburn I seem to have. They say to try stronger flavors like spicy, sweet or sour but all contribute to the heartburn. At least I am now approaching my "ideal" body weight although the doctor would prefer I not drop any lower than that. But this morning I woke up and I was actually hungry! I guess that's a good sign although I'm not complaining about reaching my ideal weight!

Although I felt a little drained today, I felt pretty good overall. I'm hoping to have turned the corner until the next round. My friend Kristen made me some delicious soup. I'm happy to report that I was actually able to taste the broccoli and celery in the soup. If you only knew how excited that made me. Hopefully that means my taste buds are coming back on line! Thanks so much, Kristen! Also, several people have suggested I add Ensure to my diet to stay nourished. Thanks to all for the suggestion. I'll pick some up to have on hand when I lay in my stock of Gatorade!