[mmyk16]

Mother diagnosed with multiple myeloma late last year

by mmyk16 on Wed May 25, 2016 2:36 pm

Hello forum members,

I have been reading quite a bit on the forum, trying to educate myself about this illness.

My dear mother was diagnosed in late 2015, and wow, it's been quite the journey for her since! She has just completed an outpatient auto stem cell transplant and is on day 20 post transplant. She's a big fighter and has shown immense strength through the process and continues to.

What we are dealing with right now is severe fatigue, bitter after taste of food, and a struggle to find foods she enjoys. It seems that even the food she requests is causing a bitter after taste and she cannot eat full meals because she feels full quickly. My sister and I being her caregivers, are trying our best but are worried about possible lack of nutrition and this preventing her from gaining energy.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to meeting other members.

[JPC]

Re: Mother diagnosed with multiple myeloma late last year

by JPC on Wed May 25, 2016 5:06 pm

Hello mmyk:

The melphalan affects the taste buds and the whole GI tract. At this point, the type of side effects you describe are one of the most common reported for an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). You are correct that one of the potential issues is that this could lead to lack of nutrition, weight loss, and associated issues that could delay her recovery. In many cases, there will be a food that she can start to tolerate more easily. In the case of my wife, she could not drink water due to its "bad taste", however, she found that she could tolerate fruit juices first.

It takes some time (and that varies from person to person), but taste bud issues and GI issues do eventually subside. Good luck

[SlimMoe]

Re: Mother diagnosed with multiple myeloma late last year

by SlimMoe on Wed May 25, 2016 11:16 pm

I had the same problem while undergoing chemo for breast cancer. The only things that tasted half way decent were bananas and Campbell's cream of chicken soup. Go figure. Everything else tasted metallic.

I sometimes added extra rotisserie chicken, potatoes, and peas.

[Music box lady]

Re: Mother diagnosed with multiple myeloma late last year

by Music box lady on Thu May 26, 2016 7:54 pm

Eating is one of the hard issues after transplant. I used the instant breakfast drink, mixed whole milk and ice cream to make a shake, That gave me calories and I enjoyed the coldness of the drink. I preferred chocolate and they make other flavors also.

I did tandem transplants and my food taste were completely different for each. My first one I ate macaroni salad and watermelon for two weeks, nothing else except the shakes held any appeal. My second transplant I craved spaghetti. Go figure.

I hope each day get better for her.

[NStewart]

Re: Mother diagnosed with multiple myeloma late last year

by NStewart on Fri May 27, 2016 4:32 pm

The first 14 days post transplant for me I could only tolerate plain yogurt, water and plain broth. Once I was discharged from the hospital I found that good sweet watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew melon were the things that tasted best and stayed down. Sweet things seemed to work wonders. But, of course not a lot of nutrition.

Gradually over the next few weeks and months I was able to add more foods until I was eating almost a normal diet. Citrus fruit and pesto were no-no's until more than 6 years later.

Give your mother time and let her direct what she thinks that she might be able to eat. Don't give her things that have super strong smells or tastes. Her system is adjusting to all that it's going through with the transplant. She is still very early post transplant.

All the best to your mother and to your family,
Nancy in Phila