My dad needs to gain weight fast in order to survive

[John Grogan]

Hi and thanks in advance for your replies,

I will try to make it super short, because there are a lot of information around it. My dad is dying. Simple as that, a mix of panic attacks, [ ]  heart problems and most of all Ankylosing spondylitis which affected his lungs stopped him from breathing. 

He was scheduled for a operation for pericarditis, but before that he was intubated and still is. The past week he had an incision into his neck to start breathing somehow and most of all eat. At the moment he has around 40 Kilograms.

I live in a second to third world, I am trying to hire some nutritionist to make a special regime for him, but the process is super slow, so I am trying to find food, vegetables, fruits that can help him put some weight and FAST. He needs to gain a few in order to push back the spondylitis.

He is in ICU, but the next month will be critical.

Any suggestions are welcome.

For now I know the following:

• Rice
• Bananas
• Bread.

 

Please keep in mind that some stuff are not accesible here and nothing that can include condiments and much salt. Any recipes will do.

Thank you.

Edited September 17, 2021 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
language

[Johnjohnson2017]

5 hours ago, John Grogan said:

Hi and thanks in advance for your replies,

I will try to make it super short, because there are a lot of information around it. My dad is dying. Simple as that, a mix of panic attacks, [ ]  heart problems and most of all Ankylosing spondylitis which affected his lungs stopped him from breathing. 

He was scheduled for a operation for pericarditis, but before that he was intubated and still is. The past week he had an incision into his neck to start breathing somehow and most of all eat. At the moment he has around 40 Kilograms.

I live in a second to third world, I am trying to hire some nutritionist to make a special regime for him, but the process is super slow, so I am trying to find food, vegetables, fruits that can help him put some weight and FAST. He needs to gain a few in order to push back the spondylitis.

He is in ICU, but the next month will be critical.

Any suggestions are welcome.

For now I know the following:

• Rice
• Bananas
• Bread.

 

Please keep in mind that some stuff are not accesible here and nothing that can include condiments and much salt. Any recipes will do.

Thank you.

is soup a possibility? Maybe a soup that contains different vegetable with some meat? Protein shakes if you have any? scrambled eggs, milk.

[John Grogan]

1 hour ago, Johnjohnson2017 said:

is soup a possibility? Maybe a soup that contains different vegetable with some meat? Protein shakes if you have any? scrambled eggs, milk.

Thank you, he is getting all of those from above from the hospital.

Protein shakes are the only ones not there. What's the best combo for that?

[Andy_K]

The problem here is foods which will help you gain weight are typically unhealthy ones, since you need a high calorie density in order to be able to eat enough to put on weight. And I don't know the details of his condition, so it's hard to know how unhealthy he can afford to be, so which foods to recommend is tricky. Here are some options for you to look at though:

Nuts are likely a good start. They're extremely calorific and still healthy. Obviously not salted ones, and the less processed the better. Bananas and honey are similarly calorie dense but sugary rather than containing fats. Then you have options like cheese, vegetable oils, and so forth. All healthy enough in moderation and very calorie dense. Fatty meats are an option too - sausages, bacon, etc - but I can't imagine those are a good choice for someone with a heart condition, so do your research carefully.

Edited September 18, 2021 by Andy_K

[stillafool]

Does he have an appetite?  It's hard to eat when you don't.  A friend of mine was losing a lot of weight and I bought him this stuff called Eatmore I read about where you take 1-2 capsules daily to increase your appetite.  He started eating everything in sight.  He gained 10 pounds in 2-1/2 weeks.  That stuff really works.

[Alpacalia]

Nuts and smoothies are a good idea.

With smoothies - foods like avocado, ground flaxseed, coconut oil, almond butter, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.

There's also meal replacement shakes like "soylent complete nutrition," "boost," "kate farms peptide 1.5" that are pretty high in calories and you can add in some of things mentioned above to add even more calories.

I would run everything by the dietician though or at the very least his medical care team.

Edited September 18, 2021 by Alpaca

[John Grogan]

Can't eat nuts, sadly. Loves them, but because of the wires and tubes, they will not allow him to eat that because they are scared he will not be able to digest them.

His appetite is so and so, can't eat much because of how thin he became.

[poppyfields]

On 9/19/2021 at 2:04 AM, John Grogan said:

Can't eat nuts, sadly. Loves them, but because of the wires and tubes, they will not allow him to eat that because they are scared he will not be able to digest them.

His appetite is so and so, can't eat much because of how thin he became.

Oh wow sorry to hear, hugs to your dad, and you. 

Suggestion:  A VitaMix blender or Nutriblender (1/4 the cost of VitaMix) wherein nuts (lots of healthy nuts unsalted), fruits (with skins) including bananas, veggies can be blended raw to make a shake.

Add high caloric protein powder and coconut water or juice. .

Easily digested, 600-800 calories per shake = 3 times a day plus regular meals- steak, meat, chicken, baked potato. Buttered roll.

My appetite isn't that high either but I can live on those shakes.l and they are delish! 

Good luck to your dad, hope he feels and gets better soon. 💛

Edited September 25, 2021 by poppyfields

[John Grogan]

thank you. So far we managed to get around 4kg on him. 

He is more lively and according to the doctors he eats really well, but still half of time is ventilated by the machines.

[Noproblem]

Do you remember cerelac from nestle

it's for baby and kids, but very delicious

it's full of nutritious value and even adult still love them

Nestle cerelac , Wheat and Honey ( they have other flavor, but honey and wheat is the best)

add warm water or warm milk to them and they are very soft and can be easily eaten. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Nestle-Cerelac-Honey-Months-14-11-Ounce/dp/B001EPPBXG/ref=sr_1_30?dchild=1&keywords=nestle+cerelac&qid=1632860655&s=grocery&sr=1-30

 

I hope your dad get well soon and survive this! You are a good son/daughter!

Edited September 28, 2021 by Noproblem

[John Grogan]

Thank you.

55 now.  

[xxcazaxx]

I dont understand how he can eat if he is intubated (breathing tube going down his throat via the mouth) or does he now have a tracheostomy (going directly into the throat).  I would take guidance from the hospital about feeding.  There is something called refeeding syndrome which can be fatal on your heart if you go from eating very little to suddenly eating normally (this can fatally affect anorexics).  Hoping that things get better soon!

[John Grogan]

On 9/30/2021 at 10:43 PM, xxcazaxx said:

I dont understand how he can eat if he is intubated (breathing tube going down his throat via the mouth) or does he now have a tracheostomy (going directly into the throat).  I would take guidance from the hospital about feeding.  There is something called refeeding syndrome which can be fatal on your heart if you go from eating very little to suddenly eating normally (this can fatally affect anorexics).  Hoping that things get better soon!

He was intubated for one month. Finally, they decided to do a tracheostomy, but sadly he gets tired very quickly without the ventilation he receives from that.

The situation is quite odd, one year ago, he was very healthy, took care of himself, did not have COVID, but he had a big, big shock. Grandma, his mother in law, 95, super healthy and independent woman, broke her hand and in 10 hours, from normal, she tried to break his skull. Her hidden dementia kicked in so it was terrible for my parents. That night something snapped in my dad. The next day he had fever and chills and from that on until august I had him in and out of the hospital, losing weight and started losing his ability to breath alone and had constant liquids in his lungs.

He was diagnosed with pericarditis so surgery was needed. They day he went for the operation, because of some mistakes, they couldn't operate him because there were no places in the ICU for him so he had to wait in the hospital. 5 days later he had a panic attack and was intubated.

Since then he was operated, but it seems that his pericarditis was not the issue, the major issue, but something called pleurisy. This thing is stopping him from breathing right and puts pressure on his lungs, lungs that are not in excellent condition because he used to smoke and had tuberculosis as a youth. But again, before that night had no issues

Sorry for the long description, but had to get into the history of this situation. So anyway, we spoke with the doctors to help him put weight and fight back the pleurisy, but it looks like it is not working.

The problem is he is dying for something you usually do not die ...

According to them, the tracheostomy was the last chance.

 

Edited October 3, 2021 by John Grogan