What do I eat when I’m dying?

[Okitsme]

I’ve just been given weeks to live.
I’ve found it very hard to eat for the last couple of weeks and am forcing myself to eat a certain number of mouthfuls while in hospital.
If you have looked after anyone in this situation what things did they like?
I loved food and cooking

i think you eat whatever you want or fancy at any given moment. Much love to you Op ❤️

I'm so sorry OP.
My DH ate watermelon slices and other fresh fruits. But not really much. I'm soo sorry you're facing this.
Sending hand holds & comfort at this undoubtedly difficult time. x

So sorry OP.

In my experience, custard and rice pudding. And ice cream.

Reading all these posts has made me realise how common this is and how popular these easy, soft foods were at this time.

Very much wishing I had allowed him to just eat custard and creamed rice as opposed to making stuff to try and tempt him.

He even had a feeding tube put in towards the end. I wish that hadn’t been allowed. But nobody told us he was dying and it wouldn’t help, and we were obviously in denial.

I hope you are coping ok OP, you sound very calm and accepting x

Okitsme do you have anyone with you to help you adapt to eating some of your most favourite comfort foods, I hope so.
I used to work in an AIDS hospice, there were lots of unconventional treats that people wanted, and relished.
Champagne sipped through a straw with a few puffs on a cigarette inbetween
Ice cream-every possible combination-sorbet seems to be really refreshing
Ice pops, ice cubes made with favourite fruits/cordial/flavoured vodka
Ginger beer is lovely and can help with nausea
Sometimes favourite food flavours, if a full meal or chewing is too much, can be used in creative ways-caramel, chocolate,coconut etc can easily be added to fruit mousse or yogurt or custard etc. and lollipops or ice lollies are refreshing
Same with mashed potato and savoury flavours, if eating boiled or baked potato is tiring
Do you have any pain or discomfort in your mouth? Quite often thrush can really spoil taste and appetite, a lot of the people were prescribed nystatin oral drops, and experimenting with texture and temperature seemed to help, too.
Let us know how you are doing, we're here for you 🍨

My ex passed away from cancer and I was looking after him during the last month when he became bed bound.

He ate everything he could possibly want, it’s just that he never managed more than the odd bite here and there. I’m not exaggerating, I used to go to 6-8 different supermarkets per day.

I’m sorry. I wish you the best.

My aunt smuggled gin and tonics into hospital for my granny. It’s All she wanted and she enjoyed them too. And I’m pleased she had them because she died slightly drunk and as well as drugged too! Nurses never knew.

I'm so sorry.

Maybe tiny amounts of your favorite foods?

I'm really sorry to hear this.

When you are unable to eat you can buy a device called something like air with flavour which allows you to still experience the taste of foods in your mouth. I don't think it has any nutritional value, but can give you the taste sensation.

Hi OP,

So sorry to hear of your situation. I remember my mum wa recommended pineapple juice, as there was an enzyme in it that helped to soothe a sore mouth. Mentioning just in case it’s useful.

Other than that, as you sound like a keen cook, blackberries and apples are in plentiful sippy at the moment - if someone was able to make you a smooth sauce with these, it would tick the seasonal cuisine box and probably go down a treat on some ice cream! Sending love xx

Ice cream, yoghurt, the hospital should have some of the drinks you can have in the little bottles, coffee or chocolate flavour.

So sorry OP.

My grandpa liked to eat those Rolo yoghurts and pots of chocolate mousse when he was dying.

@Okitsme that's rubbish and so hard to deal with.

I would have a think about smell, taste and texture. Eating is so much more than swallowing. You don't have to swallow everything you taste and it's ok to put things in your mouth just for the taste, or the texture, without any nutritional benefit. A small taste of a nice food might be more pleasant than a bowl full of it.

Thoughts are with you . I hope you get a peaceful ending . Is there someone who can get you outside for a few moments if you are somewhere that you would bring peace and comfort in ?
In the last few weeks my mum are very little and her last meal was ice cream and pineapple and she managed to say she really enjoyed it .

I'm so sorry
My grancha was given 2 weeks to live. Nearer the end he could manage jelly and rice pudding.
He also enjoyed a tot of whiskey after being told to avoid alcohol the last few years. He tried to put a positive spin by having the things he had been restricting

Things my dad liked

ice cold fizzy water
single portion jelly cups
bon mammon chocolate mousse
clotted cream bread and butter pudding with golden syrup. (Only a very small amount)
water melon
fresh cold pineapple
Duck liver parfait (agian only a small amount) on fresh sour dough

was a combination of canapés and nursery food. All small small and delicious.

Things my dad liked

ice cold fizzy water
single portion jelly cups
bon mammon chocolate mousse
clotted cream bread and butter pudding with golden syrup. (Only a very small amount)
water melon
fresh cold pineapple
Duck liver parfait (again only a small amount) on fresh sour dough

was a combination of canapés and nursery food. All small small and delicious.

I’m so sorry.

My MIL asked for a lot of milkshakes. We had a fridge full of them.

If there’s someone in the family that smokes the wacky baccy, have a couple of puffs. It did her wonders for comfort and helped her have some appetite.

Could you get them to prescribe you some fortisip? If needs be it can go down an ng tube. There's a lot of flavours to try. Could you manage custard? You can get tiny pots of ambrosia if you won't manage much.

I’m so sorry bless you small amounts of what you enjoy most I wish you all the best

I've no advice but didn't want to just read and run
You've lots of good ideas here, hope one of them takes your fancy x

You have no idea the OP's relationship with any deity or God.
She doesn't need 'spiritual food' fgs she has asked for practical advice.

OP, my dear friend like custard and yoghurt and I smuggled Baileys into the hospice.

💕

Echo everyone else's expressions of sympathy and a hand hold.
I'm obviously still here but when I was last in hospital I tried easy to eat stuff like ready made Mousse, Creme Caramel etc. I did crave fruit juice, even though could be a tad acidic. I didn't think about good or bad food, just anything I could tolerate. Medical personnel will ensure you're hydrated and your electrolyte levels are steady. The olde and goodie, Lucozade helped me. I got someone else to open and took the odd sip when it had gone flat!

God bless you.

I’d suggest small amounts of calorie-dense/ sweet things - little and often:
Some Greek yoghurt with raisins and almond butter
A banana sandwich
A fruit scone and jam
Some cubes of cheddar, some cucumber sticks and cherry tomatoes
Mashed avocado on a small slice of toast
A soft boiled egg and soldiers
Hot chocolate
Glass of milk
Flapjacks

I am so sorry. You’ll be in my prayers. X

So sorry OP sending you hugs and a prayer or two.
Literally have anything you fancy even if you only suck on a Butterworths Original sweet for ten minutes or a nibble or two of your favorite crisps. It really doesn't matter except that you have what you want whenever you want.
Have you any family who can bring in tastes of food and nibbles? We fell into a routine with my DBro in law of picking up a slushy when we went to visit him and froze cartons of fruit juice as it was so hot in hospital that it was the only way he could have a really cold drink.