Cystic Fibrosis... - Cleveland,OH

Hi S.,
You may have received all the advise you wanted, but finally had time to research what a favorite Doctor of mine had to say and he has some specific things he recommends for CF. Please email me at ____@____.com if you're interested in the particulars. He (and I) strongly believe in keeping the environment aroung a person with a health challenge as clean and wholesome as possible. His advise follows this line.

There is a good website for recipes that I use all the time. It has reviews on most recipes and you can search for them by any keywords you want. www.allrecipes.com - I typed in HIGH CALORIE and about 775 recipes popped up to search thru. I hope this helps.
I can only imagine what your family has to deal with. You sound like a strong, proactive kind of girl, though. Keep your chin up and you'll keep your daughter (and yourself) in good health.
God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

For something healthy, whole foods, and quick that can be bought at the store and kept around if something fast is needed: Larabars. They come in a good variety of flavors, are all natural, whole, raw foods - not processed/cooked - and are made of things like dates, walnuts, dried fruits, coconut. Calorie dense, small, easy to eat, and (of course individual tastes vary!) and I really think they're tasty (but I love dates, almonds, walnuts, coconut, etc.)! More info about them at: https://www.larabar.com
From the website, each bar gives you:
1 1/2 SERVINGS OF FRUIT * NO ADDED SUGAR * UNPROCESSED
RAW * NON- GMO * GLUTEN FREE * DAIRY FREE * SOY FREE
VEGAN * KOSHER

I would keep these around when I was in my 1st/2nd trimester, losing weight from nausea/morning sickness, and would find myself getting ravenously hungry all of a sudden. Of course, CF is a very different, much more serious situation, so I don't know if that recommendation applies her, but thought I'd throw it out. :)

Hope you and your daughter get some really great suggestions and that she's able to put on some weight soon!

Maybe alot of carbohydrates, like noodles and rice. I think they turn to sugar in our system. Does she like spaghetti and pasta? Maybe you could consult with a dietician through her doctors' office. Good luck and God bless you both.

You could have her drink a protein shake 3x a day in addition to her regular meals. SciFit or Optimum brands taste like a milkshake and come in lots of different flavors. You could even add peanut butter to them for extra calories. They mix well in a blender with milk. They would add and addition 300-600 healthy calories per day. They also contain vitamins. You can purchase these at GNC or online.

When my husband was younger, he could gain weight no matter what he ate. His doctor had him cut out soft drinks and drink Ensures in between meals for caleries. He also made his milkshakes using ensure instead of milk.

Starches and breads are good high calerie foods to add to meals. Peanuts are also pretty high calerie. My husband also ate lots of little meals instead of trying to stuff himself at 3 main meals.

Hope this helps.

Hi S., I would ask a specialist. My cousin had CF. She could only eat certain things, and it has been a while and so much has changed since then. She was fed through a tube at one point. So, Ask someone who know. God Bless. Bren

I had a friend whose son had some sort of colon disease and was losing weight like mad. She started cooking for him using heavy cream, real butter, sour cream, etc. Does she like to eat? Or is that a difficulty too? Maybe fix her meal supliment shakes between meals as a snack to boost her caloric intake. Good luck!!

My cousin has CF and is doing amazingly well. One thing her parents ( my 1st cousin) did was they put her on very careful diet, no junk, as much organic and whole foods as possible. Very little processed high sugar foods. They have done tons of research and she gets many suplements and salts. My cousin is a bit of a "kook" and I rarely follow much of his rambelings but the proof is in the health of my little cousin. She is over 3 and is doing awesome. If you would be interested I could put you guys in contact... I know this is such a hard disease for you and your daughter.

Jess

I am sure as you know that with CF its hard for them to gain wt. anyway. does she have a g-tube? just wanting to know. I know that a lot of the times since CF patients have a hard time gaining wt. or if they do they loose it when they get the infection they have a g-tube placed. This g-tube is usually only used during the night and the have pediasure, ensure, or some formula of that kind running. this just maintain their weight. this is also do to the that they have to take the enzymes which breaks up their food because the pancrease is not working properly. also what i have seen from CF kids is that they have the appetite until their meal arrives and then they are no longer interested in eating. I am not sure what more you can do to make her gain weight, except encourage her to eat.

I am a 23 year old mother, work at a childrens' hospital, and is in nursing school.

S.,
Does your daughter see a nutritionist as part of her health care routine? I would think they could share some healthy, high-cal meal plans with you.

I don't really have any other advice for you, but I just wanted to say that we'll keep your daughter in our prayers. I'm sorry that your family has to deal with Cystic Fibrosis. I bet she's an amazing little girl.