Food Cravings During Chemo

Toasted PB & J sandwiches!

I lived on fresh cherries, coconut pops, salmon and baked pototes, and a lot of water.

The only things I could eat during chemo were mozzarella cheese, italian bread, fried eggs, chocolate milkshakes, and ice cream. I craved iced tea all the time. I lost 15 pounds in three months! I haven't been able to eat any of those things since my taste buds returned after chemo ended. The thought just turns my stomach. And those 15 pounds are coming back, unfortunately!

Couldn't drink water at all! Still have trouble with iced water (get infusion flashbacks)

Loved KFC - my mother came and stayed with us for 6 weeks to help with the kids, so my husband and I had a regular sunday Movie and KFC date!! 

I had different cravings for the different drugs.  During A/C all I could tolerate was homemade chicken noodle soup, mashed potatoes and white bread toast.  With the Taxol I craved foods with strong taste so that I could taste it.

I have been craving salted nuts (insert your own joke here) lol.  I'm at work right now and I just got back from the convenience store for a nut run and got frustrated and disappointed that they are out of my regular bag of Frito Lay salted mixed nuts.  I had to settle for a bag of salted almonds instead.  I just had my last AC on Thursday. I start Taxatere next and am wondering if my taste buds will change when I change drugs after reading Jenn3's post on this thread.  Let the games begin again!    

The day of chemo and the next couple days, I also had trouble getting water down....actually getting anything down was hard.  I ate carbs....bread and potatoes; fruit...apples, strawberries, watermelon; strawberry smoothies, chicken, peanut butter and toast.....I couldn't stand anything that smelled...I still don't drink anything really cold....acutally only really drink water, herbal tea and red wine...used to drink white wine, but switched to red as I don't like anything really cold.  No longer drink oj, eat anything spicey, soda (used to drink one can of diet coke.day...but gave it up soon after finishing chemo as it was ripping my stomach apart). Don't eat chocolate like I used to, but more than during chemo....go figure that a middle age lady gives up her chocolate...Now I use way too much salt...I even salt my potatoe chips!!!!!

I didn't crave anything. I had force myself to eat because food tasted so bad. Water tastted like sewer water smells.  I couldn't tolerate meat, salt, and could only eat bland food.  About all I ate was ramen soup with no salt or pepper, and drank propel. I didn't lose a pound.

NNN - hello dear friend....sending you ((((((((((HUGS)))))))))).....

For me it was also the cardboard but it got worse and it was more like cardboard paste.  Hard to describe.  Eating was a challenge.  Did it because I had to.  I was so ticked sitting on the couch trying to watch tv, get mind off of things and there was a gagillion food commercials.  On my worse days I could usually manage pancakes swimming in syrup (normally I hate that much syrup!).

But I was surprised how quickly the taste came back after the sutent/taxol.  On a friday 3 weeks later I came home from work and DH asked me if I wanted to go out to eat to enjoy my recovered taste buds.  Sure!  I had him take me to McDonald's for a Big Mac, fries and root beer.  It was heaven!  And I haven't eaten a Big Mac in years - don't know where the craving came from. 

AC hasn't given me any problems yet...

I didn't crave anything during chemo - everything tasted like DIRT.  ha ha   Well - it wasn't funny then.  I did find that I could eat potatoes and they tasted sort of normal and the only thing I could drink was gingerale and it had to be flat.   My husband would keep a glass of it poured up all the time so it would lose its fizz and that is what I drank the entire 4 months.  Lost 20 pounds during that process - nurses kept telling me - you are going to gain weight during all this - but I didn't - just kept losing.   I forced myself to eat.   So - I say all that to say this - be happy you are craving something and that it tastes good.   Wish I had been that way.

Good luck to all of you on chemo right now - take it day at a time.   It's been two years since I started chemo and sometimes it seems like 10 years ago and other times it seems like yesterday.

stephanie

I've had two cycles of Taxotere/Carboplatin/Herceptin.

I have been craving tomatoes, tomato juice, V8, gazpacho... I also crave LaChoy Chicken Chow Mein with extra soy sauce. And when I have a craving it is like URGENT. So weird, never had this during pregnancy.

The foods that I don't crave but are sitting ok with me are honeydew melon, apples, applesauce, and rotisserie chicken.

I usually love vegetables and salads but can't stand the thought of either since treatment began.

Drinking is really hard, all liquids are disgusting to me for about a week after chemo. For hydration I have been able to have lemon italian ice and freezy pops, and broth.