What has worked best for you guys for weight gain?

[kate.flx]

Well I thought my first flare was finally coming to an end...but past two days were bad, unfortunately. I lost 2 pounds in the past 2 days and it is crucial for me to gain weight, I was still 5 pounds under normal and now I'm afraid my GI is going to put me back in the hospital on TPN. I have an appointment next Thursday so tomorrow I need to do get right on this. In the hospital I was on 3 Carnation Instant Breakfast a day but a case is $60! I can't afford that now since my medicine is $200 a month and my mom will refuse to pay that : ( is there anything cheaper you guys have had luck with? Even maybe the Special K shakes? I noticed those in the store, they are cheap. But I am also very particular about taste!!! Ensure is definitely a no in the taste factor. Muscle Milk taste any good? Whey protein? What should I just stock up on fast food this week even though I HATE fast food?


- Kate

 

[Bloom]

Hi Kate,

I too am very underweight and am struggling. I do drink ensure plus and find they are very good the only flavour i like are the strawberry ones. Have you tried all the flavours?? Also i went to a health food shop and bought a big container of Weight Gain its full of calories, i drink one a day along with my ensure. Do not buy those Special K shakes they are for people trying to loose weight and god only knows whats in them that might make you worse. Muscle Milk i would ask in the shop would they do any harm and if they dont maybe try that. Alot of the time us crohnies have to try alot of things to see what works for us so i would say give it a shot. If you hate fast dont eat it try find something else that you like lets say some cakes ( with out cream ) or just the chips with some mayo sauce. Theres lots of high calorie foods that you can try and if they upset you then you know to stay away. I hope that helps you x

 

[braveheart]

You have many options for that. I use Ensure Plus from time to time.
Now I am taking a can on breakfast.


Then you also have Ensure Powder; I think this is cheaper but makes me have lot of gas. I think it works for other people. You could try it.

There is something else called Jevity Plus, this is what they use in hospitals here for enteral nutrition, they use a catheter. You can actualy drink it as same as Ensure. It is less expensive and healthier, because it has no sugar. The bad think is it tastes really bad. It is a kind of smelly tasteless paste.

My choice is Ensure Plus I prefer the Vanilla one and I serve it cold.

 

[BloodDrama]

I have a bad case of underweight and was told to consume Alitraq.
It comes as a powder and you mix it with water... 75 mg with a cup of water(250 ml)...
So such a cup has 300 calories and is very rich with vitamins minerals and so on.
So i eat ordinary food, and in addition i drink this food replacer (4-5 cups a day), all together i consume about 3000+ calories per day!!
Prednisone helps with the appetite!

Its not cheap, but my insurance pays most of the price...

Its also very efficient in improving nutrition... Try it.

 

[BigUglyCat]

When I was trying to build back up I had Ensure shakes mixed with ice cream (if you can take the dairy). I liked them a lot!

 

[kate.flx]

I actually ended up buying some Muscle Milk. It doesn't taste bad at all, and I've been drinking one right before I go to sleep then one in the morning. Hopefully this will do the trick Oh and BloodDrama- I don't think they have that in the US, at least I didn't see it anywhere, but I'm going to check and see if my insurance will pay for a supplement. Thanks guys

 

[Manzyb]

My grandpa didn't have Crohn's but he wasn't eating much before he died and they were trying to get lots of calories in hime, they actually gave him a prescription for Ensure or one of those with extra protein and it made it a lot cheaper for him. You could maybe ask about that!

Also, I've been pretty sick lately and have been putting protein powder in milkshakes and things like that, its been helping me keep weight on.

 

[Mr Bedfordshire]

ive started on having a bowl of porridge in the mornings, using full fat milk and a scoop of whey protein powder, so we'll see how that goes.

saw consultant last week and my weight is pretty much bang on for my age and height, but i look and feel skinny so i want to up it.

its hard to eat healthy given that most fruit and veg upset my gut and then i pay for it through the night, but bananas seem the best fruit for me.

i eat alot of pasta, rice, cous cous, chicken and bread, but in a way think i almost keep 'too' closer an eye on my weight and worry about it too much:ybatty:

 

[Misty-Eyed]

Once, a very long time ago when they were trying to make me put on weight, I got given a sheet on having a high fat diet. It doesn't sound at all healthy but it wasn't so much about eating fry ups all day, but more trying to get as much fat into your diet as possible. Ie, eating full fat yoghurts etc.

 

[kate.flx]

Really, yeah I am just beginning to learn what kind of food I can eat during a flare since it's my first and I'm finding healthier food doesn't hurt much. Which doesn't help the weight gain process. I've been living off cheerios, soy milk, salmon/white fish, cantaloupe and some turkey. Nothing else really. I try to eat a lot but it doesn't seem to be helping, I guess I just need to test some stuff out and if I have to resort to making trips for fast food often then I'll just have to do it. I did eat some chicken nuggets the other day and they were okay so maybe I could do that. I think those are pretty fattening. At least compared to my current melon, fish and soy milk diet lol

 

[kate.flx]

Yogurt, pudding, whole milk and ice cream I can't have right now. Lactose seems to really make pain horrible. Oh and pasta or bread is excruciating! I love pasta. It has been a nightmare not being able to eat it especially when my family eats so much Italian it's so not fair.

 

[kildare crohnie]

is ensure not full of sugar?

 

[Outpatient]

Muscle Milk and Ensure work best for me.

 

[kate.flx]

Yeah I think Ensure has a lot of sugar but I hate the taste

 

[Crohns08]

My doctor recommended whey protein drinks for me. I'd find a good quality powder that'll last you awhile and make protein shakes with your favorite fruits and juice. If you're nervous about whether you'll be able to digest it, use softer fruits, and take a digestive enzyme. It's healthier for you than the processed sugars.

 

[RachLG]

You mentioned bread and pasta making things worse - are you gluten intolerant? I was trying a gluten-free diet for a while and was surprised at how muchh is available that not only takes out lactose, but also gluten. They make gluten-free pasta now and ice cream out of soy and almond milk, perhaps you could try that? Also, I assume you're talking about deli turkey when you mentioned turkey? Perhaps try gound turkey - it tends to be higher calorie than deli. Can you eat peanut butter? Talk about high calorie but it would also give you some protein...although that may be a hard one to eat...

 

[kate.flx]

I was tested for Celiacs, it was negative, but yeah I guess I could have an intolerance and I'm going to try that when I go to the store tomorrow, good idea thanks
I was actually eating just normal, full turkey. I have not tried eating peanut butter yet, I seldom eat it but I guess I could test out a sandwich on potato bread and see how that is.

Crohns08- Whey is going to be my next choice, I hear that works good. So far I've managed to keep on 2 extra pounds from the muscle milk! It does cause a little more activeness feeling when I drink it though, not pain, but those annoying super loud growling noises I think we all know!

 

[outlier]

My grandpa didn't have Crohn's but he wasn't eating much before he died and they were trying to get lots of calories in hime, they actually gave him a prescription for Ensure or one of those with extra protein and it made it a lot cheaper for him.

When my brother and I were young we swore to each other we never want to have to drink Ensure because our grandparents and older relatives would be give it at the very end of there lives. I think we and i still associate it with misery and death, so i get upset with it.
I try slimfast shakes, but my body doesn't like high amounts of milk fat (lactose?) so i've had issues. and I am "allergic" to soy (it's a long story).

 

[Manimation]

I've found that Boost is really easy to get down, and you can get the protein plus ones. Also, eggs are natures perfect food and easy to eat as well.