Questions Re: Lid

Hi everyone.  I've just recently found this site, and I'm hoping you can give me some information from the patient's point of view.  My DH is supposed to start the LID in about 4 weeks.  I've done a lot of reading, and, from MY point of view - as cook - it doesn't sound too difficult.  Except for avoiding dairy and seafood we do much of what is recommended already.  But I'm hoping some of you who have done this can help me put together something palatable for the patient.  I understand that the taste buds undergo changes, and that he will be feeling lousy from being hypo.  I should also add, maybe, that he has just undergone treatment for head/neck cancer (in May/June), and his many issues from the radiation to the neck are only just coming back to something like normal - he was having severe problems swallowing, and his taste buds were totally shot for awhile.  Thanks a lot for any help/advice you can give me.  I really wish I had found this site earlier, when he was undergoing the first bout of treatment.

I don't know if you've gone to the www.thyca.org site, but they have a whole cookbook that you can download.  I'm getting ready to the the LID beginnning October 11. So far I have everything planned out,  and am planning on cooking some things over the weekend to get ready.  A friend lent me his breadmaker, as I understand homemade bread is a better option.

Just out of curiosity, what is a DH?

Good luck with everything.

 

On 10/3/2007 Sharpshiv wrote:

I don't know if you've gone to the www.thyca.org site, but they have a whole cookbook that you can download.  I'm getting ready to the the LID beginnning October 11. So far I have everything planned out,  and am planning on cooking some things over the weekend to get ready.  A friend lent me his breadmaker, as I understand homemade bread is a better option.

Just out of curiosity, what is a DH?

Good luck with everything.

DH = Dear Husband

Yes, I have been to thyca.org, and found it very informative.  The cookbook looks like a good reference.  As I mentioned though, my concerns are not for what or how to cook appropriately, but for some idea of how he will be feeling, and reacting to being hypo.  He's been kind of a picky eater anyway lately because of the recent neck radiation for tonsil cancer.  So, while I know I can cook things that will fit the guidelines, I'd like some prior knowledge of how he will be feeling, so that I can fine tune the menu.  Does that make any sense?
Nice friend you have, to loan you a bread machine.  Homemade bread is so much nicer in any case, and for the LID its so important to be able to know exactly what the ingredients are.  Best of luck with your progress.

 

I have been on the LID for 12 days - my treatment is this Friday. I have found the worst side effects from being off the medication and on the diet are fatigue and loss of concentration. I dont feel motivated to do much of anything. So be patient with your patient- he may be frustrated and tired and may not feel like eating much of what you make anyways. I feel the foods I want most are comfort foods, and with all the recipes out there you can modify alot of the recipes you already like to fit the diet. 

Thank you Molly.  This is what I wanted.  I was already beginning to think that he would be feeling so "off" that it won't really matter what I cook,  But I am a good cook, so I will do what I can to make the diet as appetizing as possible.  Comfort food is what I need to concentrate on.  Thanks for the advice

The hardest part about being hypo was being exhausted, constipated, and foggy in the brain.  So many things didn't seem "worth the trouble".  Being a cook makes a world of difference in the LID arena.  I cook as well and it is pretty easy to make good food, but as the patient trying to cook and be hypo was really hard.  Good thing you are the caregiver.  I feel really bad for people who don't cook attempting to be on a LID since it would be very difficult to eat anything interesting.  You've been to thyca.org so I won't give any "tips" but watch out for poultry injected with "broth" as you don't know the salt type.  Toward the end of my last stretch of LID I started cooking potatoes (no skins) in olive oil with diced jalepenos and a generous dose of non-iodized salt...it almost seemed like cheating.  If you are trying to keep weight on your picky eater, a little extra potatoes and oil wouldn't be a bad thing!  Homemade french fries...yum...If you have fresh fruit and veggies in a prepared and edible form, easy to find, it would help a lot, with fiber and convenience.