Hi,
My SIL has asked me to post. Her husband is 56 years old and has been in a NH a couple years. The last few months he has been losing a tremdous amount of weight. He is on no medications.

A blood test was ran a couple weeks ago for thyroid problems and at first she was told there was a thyroid problem. The NH ran it again using anotherdr, etc. and was told there was an error made the first time - there is no thyroid problem. Her husband has lost 2-3 lb a week and I saw him a few weeks ago and he was deathly thin at that time.

She said he will only eat the meat they serve him - he will not eat potatoes, vegetables, etc. She said he will drink milkshakes.

She wonders if anyone else with HD has had the same problem and what solution they found to increase the weight. She wonders if anyone has problem with someone with HD only eating the meat.


I told her maybe an antidepressant would be good as he is very possibly depressed. The NH is 3 hours away and I know he is not visited much due to the distance.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you.

Can only speak from experience with my dad. When he started losing weight we reluctantly got a feeding tube (peg) and that has worked wonders.

Matt.

[www.hdyo.org]

There is a "kitchen" link on the bars to the left. Weight loss through various reasons in HD is pretty much expected.

I believe that they should be feeding him a lot of in-between snacks to keep him going and gain weight. If he has a doctor there at the NH, you should ask him.

But there are a lot of ideas here

[www.hdac.org]

I posted these shakes I found on the internet a earlier this year....

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Shake,1070 Calories
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp chocolate syrup
1 1/2 c. chocolate ice cream
Blend in blender.


Strawberry Crush, 640 Calories
2 c. frozen strawberries
1/2 c. crushed pineapple
1/2 c. water
1/2 medium banana
6 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 Tbsp Honey
Blend in blender.


Peaches and Cream, 630 Calories
1 c. milk
1 c. canned peaches
1 c. vanilla ice cream
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
Blend in blender.

Apple Pie a la Mode,525 Calories
1 c. apple pie filling
1/2 c. milk
1 c. vanilla ice cream
dash of cinnamon
Blend in blender.

High-Calorie Breakfast Shake, 505 Calories
1 c. half & half
1 packet Instant Breakfast
3/4 c. ice cream
Blend in blender.

Grape Slush, 493 Calories
2 grape juice bars
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 c. grape juice or 7-Up
1 Tbsp corn oil
Blend in blender.

Orange Sherbet Shake, 480 Calories
3/4 c. orange sherbet
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 c. 7-Up
2 Tbsp corn oil
Blend in blender.

Old-fashioned Milkshake, 420 Calories
1 c. whole milk
1 c. ice cream
Blend in blender.

Hot Chocolate, 416 Calories
3 oz. milk chocolate
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp butter
1 c. half & half
Melt chocolate and butter. Add vanilla and slowly stir in half & half, small amounts at a time. Reheat to desired temperature.

Carnation Instant Breakfast? 280 Calories
1 packet
1 c. whole milk

High-Calorie Breakfast Shake
1 cup Half and Half
1 packet Carnation Instant Breakfast
3/4 cup ice cream

Blend in blender. Calories per serving: 505

High Protein Milkshake, 530 calories
1 cup high protein milk
? cup ice cream
? cup processed liquid egg
Flavoring as desired
Add scoop of ice cream to milk
Mix well
Add flavoring as desired
Refrigerate

Other high-calorie drinks come ready-made and are available in most grocery stores and pharmacies, including the following:

Ready-made high-calorie drinks:
Ensure Plus?, 8 oz 360 Calories
Resource Plus? 355 calories
Boost Plus? 355 calories
Carnation Instant Breakfast? 280 calories
Kindercal? 240 calories
Pediasure? 240 calories
Fast Food Shake 340 to 400 calories

Shar,

Generally, here in Canada, when someone presents like this, we would do thorough blood work (to check the thyroid TSH and T4), CBC, albumin, corrected calcium and possibly more, depending on the history. We would then have a speech language pathologist (SLP) consult to assess swallowing (as perhaps he is having difficulty swallowing some of the food and the not eating is fear driven. He may need a different texture - like minced food at this point). After the SLP consult, we would then have a dietitian consult, to assess for preferences as well as assess for need of extra supplements (such as Boost) etc.

In terms of his mood/depression, a physician should be able to do an assessment for that. In the hospital we have easy access to a psychiatist, but in a NH, this might not be as easy - but his regular physician should be able to assess.

Hope this helps some.

(-:

MRO, Thank you for posting these shakes

Klever1 makes a good point. Just because he has HD doesn't mean it isn't some other illness.

Thank you all for your information. It is greatly appreciated. I have
passed it all on to my SIL.
I know she is thankful for it.
Have a great day!