Dealing with the Weight Loss Issue

[buchanaj]

As I mentioned before, my daughter has lost a significant amount of weight. Is there anything I should be doing between now and when we have definitive results that might help her bulk up a bit. I realize that she's got a malabsorption issue so we are fighting a bit of an uphill battle until that is under control. Just thought there might be a product that might help her have a better chance at actually absorbing some of what she's eating.

Jennifer

 

[crohnsinct]

Have you tried Boost and Ensure? My daughter's use those as their exclusive enteral nutrition so they are pretty well balanced nutrition wise and have about 250 calories per 8 ounces.

 

[buchanaj]

We are trying Boost now but DD is not fond of the flavor so it's an uphill battle trying to get her to drink it regularly. We've tried the vanilla and chocolate. I think the vanilla tastes like cake batter . . . she doesn't agree.

Any way to make the stuff more palatable? Are there particular flavors they seems to like best?

 

[crohnsinct]

Haha define like! O liked Ensure chocolate Boost Vanilla. T opposite way around.

If you are just going for calories and not using it for EEN to induce remission I think the brand sites have various recipes. One of those brands I think had a dark chocolate favor that some of the moms on here rather liked.

CVS has a similar line and they have a mocha flavor and a peanut butter smores flavor.

Carnation Instant Breakfast is always a hit with the kids...I love it!

 

[buchanaj]

I'll have to get some of that Carnation Instant Breakfast. I loved that as a kid . . . . so maybe DD will too.

 

[pdx]

My daughter was really underweight at diagnosis, but she just couldn't drink any of the shakes. Of all of them, though, she liked Pediasure chocolate the best. I should have her try the Carnation Instant Breakfast; we never tried that one.

 

[Maya142]

There are many different shakes she can try: Boost, Ensure, Pediasure, Orgain, Carnation Instant Breakfast. Those would be the most palatable shakes. Boost also has shakes that are more like juice (I think they're called Boost Breeze or something like that?).
Both Boost and Ensure have high calories versions of their shakes - that way, she'd have to drink less.

Some tricks to get kids to drink shakes that they don't like:
Use a straw, so they taste less
Make it cold (but don't freeze it!)
Use a cup with a lid, so that they don't smell it

If she has trouble tolerating the shakes, then you may need more broken down shakes like Peptamen Jr or Pediasure Peptide.

Good luck!

 

[Mehita]

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but one time while making muffins, I didn't have any milk...so I used Ensure. They turned out just fine. Like someone else mentioned, many of the brands have recipes on their websites.

I also sneak in protein powder or shredded veggies into many of the things I make for DS since he can be picky. Shhh!

 

[CarolinAlaska]

We are trying Boost now but DD is not fond of the flavor so it's an uphill battle trying to get her to drink it regularly. We've tried the vanilla and chocolate. I think the vanilla tastes like cake batter . . . she doesn't agree.

Any way to make the stuff more palatable? Are there particular flavors they seems to like best?

My daughter likes dark chocolate ensure (not regular chocolate). She will only drink it at room temp. You could also try blending a banana or Hershey syrup into one. It is a lot of trial and error...

 

[ronroush7]

There is also a brand called Svelte.

2

 

[buchanaj]

I went and purchased some of the Boost Compact as well as a few individual bottles of the CVS brand. Going to get some Carnation today.

Thanks all!