I read that appetite changes.. What all ways?

[sweetsouthernrose]

Heres my question, in all the reading Ive done I see that it can change your appetite.  Well it seems like I'm barely eaten these days and when I try to cook at times I feel sick just smelling the food or preparing it, also even water taste weird to me now... Is this normal of this disease?

[Romona]

This is normal. Nausea and even vomitting.

[paris]

It is exactly what has happened to me.  Lose of appetite - just don't want to eat anything and have to remind myself to eat some protein.  Also, many things just don't taste the same. Some things have a metallic taste.  And then there is the nausea and vomiting.     All the fun things no one really prepares you for.   That is why this site is so important to me.  Real people giving real answers.     I am sorry you are having these symptoms. Try to eat a little protein everyday.   I can't stand meat now, so look for other sources , like eggs or peanut butter.    So, I guess the answer to your question is, for me, it is normal of this disease.

[Bajanne]

In my experience, it was the early days of dialysis when I experienced this.  Now, after nearly three years, things have gone back to approximately normal.  Your body takes a time to kind of settle itself into this, I think.
Take Paris's advice.  Make sure you get your protein (and take your phosphorus binders)

[jbeany]

Yes, predialysis, I had the same thing.  It tasted like I was chewing on pennies all the time, and a lot of the food I loved just didn't taste right anymore.  The only thing I wanted was sweet stuff.  I ate a lot of fruit.  Once you start dialysis, it will go away.  About a month and a half into it, I got my appetite back.

[2_DallasCowboys]

My husband was the same as Bajanne.  In the beginning
nothing and I mean nothing tasted good to him, and
after apprx. 3 mos. he began to like the way food tasted.
He also had very severe diaherria and slight vomitting.
Now, he is an eating machine once again- even when he
first walks thru the door after a treatment!
tell the dialysis nurse you are experiencing the metal taste-
they may be able to help- also talk to the dietician in your
unit

Anne

[KICKSTART]

Sometimes the tablets you are on can affect how food tastes. Even while on dialysis your appetite changes, i found days i didnt eat , but now a new tablet im on is making me snack all day long ! The sickness can also come and go even on dialysis , but one thing i have found common is the lack of interest in red meat , i now eat mainly chicken.

[migaguiar]

If your getting enough dialysis you shouldnt be getting a metallic taste right?
what is your kt/v level?

[monrein]

What you describe is normal for me too and I'm just about to start dialysis.  The metallic taste or "ammonia " breath as I describe it and the huge loss of appetite.  Nothing appeals to me and nausea is a constant companion.  Meat really turns me off but I don't too much crave sweets either.  I just force myself to eat small amounts of what the wretched renal diet allows paying attention to the protein, phosphorous and potassium. 

[stauffenberg]

Keep in mind that the 'right' amount of dialysis is always hugely inadequate compared to normal renal function.  Thrice-weekly hemodialysis of four hours per session only replicates about 10 to 14% of normal renal function, so it makes sense that appetite is off, nausea and vomiting persist, and taste remains abnormal.

I found I lost my appetite at the beginning of dialysis and never regained it.  Eating became an irritating but necessary duty, a mere mechanical process of chewing up organic matter to provide me with enough 'anti-starvation medicine' to keep functioning.  I sometimes would go as much as four days without eating anything and I did not feel in the least bit hungry. 

Interestingly, three years after my transplant, I have still not regained my appetite, and I eat only out of a sense of duty. If it were not for the weakness and difficulty concentrating that results from going more than a day or two without eating, I simply would not eat.

[monrein]

That's interesting Stauffenberg and I wonder if there is some other underlying or at least contributing factor for your lack of appetite.  Depression can cause lack of appetite also and maybe some other things also.
My experience during my last 5 year long round of dialysis was very different.  I struggled to follow the renal diet and often felt very hungry.  After my transplant I had to work hard not to gain weight and I loved being able to eat a wider variety of foods.  Like you I still watched my salt intake but wasn't salt free by any means.  It truly is amazing how different each of us is.

[Sunny]

I have completely lost my appetite. Although my appetite is better now than it has been when my numbers were really bad.
I don't like meat and force myself to eat the bare minimum protein because I know I must. I am careful about what I eat to get maximum benefits
One thing that has helped me immensely is eating dinner with my family. I do the cooking, even though it doesn't
look good to me, and then sit with my family while eating. Having others around makes eating more enjoyable.

[kitkatz]

I would eat everything in sight lately.  Especially after a dialysis treatment I want protein and fast!

[BigSky]

I have completely lost my appetite. Although my appetite is better now than it has been when my numbers were really bad.
I don't like meat and force myself to eat the bare minimum protein because I know I must. I am careful about what I eat to get maximum benefits
One thing that has helped me immensely is eating dinner with my family. I do the cooking, even though it doesn't
look good to me, and then sit with my family while eating. Having others around makes eating more enjoyable.

Try supplementing your protein needs with protein powder drinks. 

[del]

Hubby loss his appetite and had a huge problem with nausea pre dialysis.  He ate hardly anything for about a year.  Once he started dialysis that all disappeared until pd stopped working and he got sick again. Once he started hemo 3 times a week he could eat like a horse!!!  Now that he is on nocturnal home hemo his appetite is even better. he has gained at least 15 lbs in the last 2 years and has to watch what he is eating so that he won't gain too much!!!  He will eat things now that he never ate before!!

[stauffenberg]

A problem for hemodialysis patients is that the staff at dialysis units always idiotically and dogmatically insist on regarding all weight gain between dialysis sessions as due to fluid gain, and so they will increase the amount of fluid withdrawn during dialysis even if the added weight is in fact due to extra calories having been consumed.  This produces cramping, nausea, hypotension, and fainting, for which the patient is then blamed for having gained too much fluid between sessions.

The only way I could deal with this issue was always to eat exactly the same amount and kind of food every single day of my life for all eight years I spent on dialysis.

[twirl]

everything to me tastes like a breathing treatment

[Zach]

The only way I could deal with this issue was always to eat exactly the same amount and kind of food every single day of my life for all eight years I spent on dialysis.

There is no need for a person on hemodialysis to eat the same thing day in and day out.

For those who may need a little help in meal planning, here's a good site:
http://www.davita.com/diethelper/

 

[KICKSTART]

The only way I could deal with this issue was always to eat exactly the same amount and kind of food every single day of my life for all eight years I spent on dialysis.

There is no need for a person on hemodialysis to eat the same thing day in and day out.

For those who may need a little help in meal planning, here's a good site:
http://www.davita.com/diethelper/

 




I dont think Stauff meant you could only eat the same things day in day out , he did it to prove a point . I too have hit on this problem , that while my appetite varies from eating nothing for a few days , to eating all day long , the hospital too only see weight gain as a 'fluid' gain for some strange reason ??. I get fed up with them pressuming i have been drinking more instead of eating more ..hence any gain and i think stauff was saying that by eating the same things all the time his weight didnt vary, but to be honest i'd rather vary my weight than eat the same stuff day in day out , i know the difference between what i put on in fluid and what i put on in weight !

[jbeany]

I dont think Stauff meant you could only eat the same things day in day out , he did it to prove a point . I too have hit on this problem , that while my appetite varies from eating nothing for a few days , to eating all day long , the hospital too only see weight gain as a 'fluid' gain for some strange reason ??. I get fed up with them pressuming i have been drinking more instead of eating more ..hence any gain and i think stauff was saying that by eating the same things all the time his weight didnt vary, but to be honest i'd rather vary my weight than eat the same stuff day in day out , i know the difference between what i put on in fluid and what i put on in weight !

Precisely why it is so important to set your own dry weight and UF goal every time you go to in-center.  It's crazy to expect anyone to weigh exactly the same thing every time, and how much you eat and what you eat  makes a huge difference.

[stauffenberg]

You're very lucky indeed to go to a dialysis center which allows the patients to determine their own dry weight!  Of the five centers where I was dialyzed, one in the US, one in Canada, and three in England, not one allowed patients control over their own dry weight.

[monrein]

They do at the Toronto General.

[del]

My husband always determined his own dry weight. It is much easier now that he does home dialysis.  He doesn't have to fight with someone!!!

[jbeany]

You're very lucky indeed to go to a dialysis center which allows the patients to determine their own dry weight! Of the five centers where I was dialyzed, one in the US, one in Canada, and three in England, not one allowed patients control over their own dry weight.

Well, I had to argue with some of the nurses and techs, but I'm stubborn enough to persist and win the argument, stauffenberg!  Not many of the other patients at my center ever said much about the nurses setting the UF goals, but I got sick of crashing, and starting insisting they do it my "weigh". 

[Zach]

Sometimes taste is affected.  I have used Chelated Zinc--25 or 50 mg/day and it has helped.

As far as appetite goes, comfort foods have always helped me when I just don't feel like eating.  But remember to take those binders.