HiI have a 5 yr cf child who is constantly eating but never gains any weight. He probably throw up at least 3 x a week, and constantly has a runny nose and coughing period here and there. I guess I should complain since he really hasnt been on any medications except for masking for his lungs. He really doesnt eat bread, potatoes, fries, and school is starting next week and I just dont know what to give him for lunch. He's alot like me protein and veggies. The other problem I have is my 8 yrs loves to eat and he can gain weight so trying to watch what he eats and other to gain weight I dont know what to feed my children. By the way my cf child is allergic to peanuts. Any ideas. One more thing, there is a possibly of going on medications and I am having a hard time dealing with that and I'm a single mom.Thanksmartini_sf@hotmail.com
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any ideas for food
- Thread starter anonymous
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Hi,the throwing up and coughing could be caused by reflux. an acid reducer and a med that helps empty the stomach could help with that. My daughter is on Reglan (to empty the stomach) and Zantac (to reduce the acid) they also help the enzymes to be more effective so it might also help with weight gain. has your son ever been on any antibiotics? my daughter is always on antibiotics, so we are pretty used to being on them. I hope all goes well. feel free to visit our site at http://groups.msn.com/TeamRachelJaneAndrea
I also have a 5 year old with CF who just started school. Does he eat lunch there or just a snack? Either way, it is a great way to really feed him without having to worry about his brother. Sean just eats a snack at school so I am trying to give him one salty/fattening item and one healthy item. Today he had corn chips and grapes. He also has had cookies and apples; cheese crackers and oranges; pudding and juice, etc. If you have or buy those blue ice things, you can pack almost anything in their lunch boxes/snack bags without them spoiling. Sean really loves ham and cheese rolls ups (ie. ham slices rolled up with American cheese which might appeal to your son if he doesn't like bread). Regarding his brother, Sean also has two younger sisters who I need to be careful of regarding portions and fat intake. We carefully have explained to my older daughter (who will be four on Sunday) that loving children means doing the best thing for them. We explain that with Sean's CF the best thing for him is to eat lots of fats, so he has to eat more chips, ice cream, pudding, etc. We do that for him because we love him and want him to be healthy. Then we explain that it is okay for people who don't have CF to eat a little bit of fats, but not alot. I tell her that I am just like her and also can not eat all the things that Sean does. We tell her that we would love to be able to eat all the ice cream, cookies, etc. that we want but it wouldn't be healthy. We love ourselves and we love her and we have to do what is best for her and us. It works better than we ever thought. I think Carolyn cried a little bit the first time she saw Sean with a larger bowl of ice cream, but now she understands and actually tells people. She will look friends directly in the eye and say "My brother Sean has CF and he needs enzymes before he eats and sometimes he has to eat more chips than me but thats because lots of chips are good for him and only a little bit of chips are good for me." Kids are A LOT smarter than we ever think - if you tell them honestly and with lots of love, you can pretty much talk to them about anything. We really felt that this was important b/c it will be a big part of the rest of our lives. We feel strongly that we don't want our children equating food with love. However, this is not to say that it is easy. Keeping our daughter feeling loved, happy and well-adjusted is defintely a huge unexpected struggle regarding CF in our lives. For this reason, I sneak in a few "extra things" into Sean's meals that they can't see. Sean gets a whole lot of butter on his veggies (ie. I'll give him two or three Tablespoons with each portion) b/c it is a great way for him to get vitamins and fat, plus you really can't see melted butter and I add half-and-half into his milk. I'll also add in things like more cheese and more. If they ask me, I'll tell them honestly what I did, but this way it isn't always "in my daughter's face" that Sean gets "more food/fat" than his sisters.Good luck with meals and food. I hope your son has a great year at school.Katrina --mother of Sean (5) w/cf and just started K, Carolyn (who will be 4 on Sunday) w/o cf, and Allison (2) w/o cf
Hi, my name is Alyssa, i am 14 years old and I have CF too... I have been through alot with my health, just two weeks ago was hospitalized for pneanemioa? lol anywho does your child take Digestive Enzymes? becuase CF patients are supposed to take pills before they eat, ask your doctor... or else your child will not make it very long. please e-mail me at frenchxfri@aol.com thanx!
My 10 year old was a good eater, but could not gain weight. We finally relented and got him the feeding tube. It has really been a blessing....He is gaining weight and can fight off infection more easily...his PFT's are back in the 60% range, was 40% before tube...January he turned 10, weighed 44 pounds....last month he was 58!
I would definetly suggest enzymes, if he's not on any. I was diagnosed at 11, and the first thing my doc did was say "you weigh 58 pounds and you're goin' on enzymes!" I was lucky, I only had to take two, which was good. But try that. If he's already on enzymes, he might just need to be pushed. I've been on lots of drug cocktails where I just could NOT eat anything, but my mom really had to force me. Drove me nuts then, but now I know it's necessary. As for other kids...we still have this problem! I'm 21, and I have an 18 year old brother and (soon to be) 14 year old sister. She wants to eat whatever I eat, and obviously she can't, so Mom tries to just tell her, and since she's older sometimes she's just blunt. But what I would say is try the enzymes, and as for your other kid(s), explain it as best you can, and just try to let the other child know that it has nothing to do with favoritism...it's just what's best for him. Also, have you tried ensures or things like that? Some kids really like them...I never did, but they are full of calories and nutrients and are great stuff. I think they even have kid formulas. My clinic keeps a bunch in stock, so maybe you can get some samples and see if he likes them, because they are kind of pricey. Good luck!
I also have a 5 yr old picky eater-only child I know that will not touch potatoes of any form! The only fruit he will eat is in the form of a fruit bar. No eggs, pancakes, waffles, cereal and definitely no vegetables! He too, would throw up often; He inherited his father's weak stomach. The best thing is Boost Plus Calories; It is a meal supplement shake that comes in a variety of flavours. My son drinks one after each meal (3 a day) and absolutely loves them. They are high in calories and contain all the nutrients your son might not be getting. As for food, some of my son's favourite lunches are cubed meat (i.e. ham, chicken, etc) and cheese, macaroni and cheese (cheese is his favourite food ), chicken noodle soup, tuna salad sandwiches "sans" bread but served with pretzels instead, etc. You can also try pasta salad with tuna or cubed chicken or ham and cheese. Whatever your son enjoys! But definitely look into the Boost; It also comes in pudding form.
What brand enzymes does your son use? If he uses Ultrase he can get free Scandishakes through the scandipharm company. These have tons of calories (I think 500) and come in dairy free or with dairy. They come in vanilla and chocolate (maybe strawberry too I can't remember) They taste good and they are free, can't get much better than that!! If any of you take Ultrase let me know I can give you the number to call. I think this is an awsome service for us CFers since ensure (which I also use) and other products can get expensive. I also get ADEK vitamins which are made for CFers through them. Oh and i think you can purchase them if you can't get them free through your enzyme brand. Sorry if this sounds like a sales pitch, but hey its free and who doesn't like free stuff<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">
I have a son like that. He also has CF. hey had to go in and put a feeding tube in him. because he could eat everythin in sight. now he gets sick while eating.asic acid reflucks disease. He loses weight. So nowthey hope this will work. Im going to give you my address Dianna Marcelle Box 472 Abilene Ks 67410