I need a supplement to gain weight

[hifi]

my dad has lung cancer and has lost a lot of weight. Do i just get him the protein powders that body builders use, or any other suggestions?

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Ask his doctor to prescribe complan. My grandad lived on it for 2 years.

thanks so much

sorry to hear about your dad, the GP can prescribe fortisip.

Body builder protein powders taste awful, no a good idea if your Father is finding food difficult, Complan tastes far better and the hospital / GP should be able to prescribe for him. Warm thoughts for you all x

Another option is what I recall being called ensure 2 cal or something, maybe just ensure?
My mum had them when very unwell on a restricted diet to add calories, she also had a 'calorie' powder which you could add to hit drinks, both can be prescribed

His Gp won't prescribe it as they say the hospital recommended it so they should provide it. Thanks everyone.

GPs don't prescribe on demand - huge abuse of these very expensive supplements - but they should refer him to a dietician who will do a proper assessment and recommend a supplement if appropriate. Hospitals just stick everyone on Ensure which is often not the best thing. Please ask youfr GP for a dietician referral and sorry to hear of your troubles

PS I'm a GP

Thanks 3, my mum has called the dietician, non committal when they will visit. It's so bloody hard trying to get the support he needs. He was in hospital for a week and
His bedding wasn't changed, he wasn't washed either. He couldn't even walk to a bathroom. God knows what happens to people who have no family/friends to look after them in hospital or after care.

My mum has pro-cal shots, pro-cal powder (add to food) and peptamin drinks (these also contain vitamins and iron as well as calories). Yes, you will need these recommending by a dietician obviously as soon as possible so keep pushing for that appointment. You can buy complan from the chemist in the short term. My mum also has lots of Heinz cream of chicken soup and adds extra cream, Cornish ice-cream, mash potato with lots of butter added ....and things like that. It is also important to make sure your dad eats protein to stop muscle wastage and has a multivitamin tablet.
The last thing you need at a time like this is an unhelpful GP

I am sorry to hear about your dad. Does he have a Macmillan or Palliative Care Nurse you can talk this over with?

It is very difficult not to lose weight when you have lung cancer, even when you boost with supplement drinks. The cancer changes your whole metabolism so making you lose weight and not want to eat.

If he likes Complan that's great - many of the supplements are not very popular in my experience. They aren't better than normal food for him. He may find it easier to eat in very small portions frequently through the day than meals.

Macmillan has a very helpful page on 'the building up diet' - which is basically cooking everything in butter, adding cream or spoons of powdered milk to everything. I think it works better as you are eating the food you want to, but with the calories and protein maximized.

www.macmillan.org.uk/information-and-support/coping/maintaining-a-healthy-lifestyle/preventing-weight-loss

It is incredibly hard and you may not be able to prevent him losing weight whatever you do. I hope you have some real life support soon

Fortisip or Fortijuice. Ask GP to prescribe a starter pack of each which will have one of each flavour so he can see which one he likes or dislikes.I agree not everyone is keen on them but it's worth seeing if there's a flavour he does like as they're high in calories. The fortijuice ones can be frozen and eaten as lollies if preferred. Sorry to hear about your Dad

A lot of people don't like the supplements or sometimes it can actually put them off eating proper food. I hope this is not patronising but advice I have had from dietician so is to try things like eating little and often, eating calorie dense food ie everything full fat, unlimited chocolate and biscuits (the opposite of what you'd do if trying to lose weight) and adding things like cream to custard and porridge or olive oil to pasta sauces to boost calories.

When my mum was in a similar situation the oncologist prescribed a low dose steroid to stimulate appetite which seemed to work.

Technically the steroid can help you put on fat but not lean muscle mass - and it's lean muscle mass you need to feel better. However many people psychologically feel better as they eat a bit more and maybe put on a bit of weight but steroids don't help the underlying process. I would only recommend steroids for appetite for people who are very poorly as they waste muscle so can actually make fatigue and mobility worse.

Get the hospital to prescribe Ensure TwoCal. 400 cals a small bottle. Like a milk shake. Flavours plain, strawberry, banana and vanilla. Easy to get down.

Thanks everyone, the district nurse came and gave him helpful advice on diet. the dietician is due on tuesday. ive sent him some complan, see how he gets on with it.