Oh Cat, I can so relate. Larry has the same issues with food and weight loss, although he does not get nauseus or throw up. He looks very thin too - no fat on him! Like you I have tried everything. He has been to several doctors and had blood work, tests, etc. He also has the swallowing issue which compounds the problem. I am determined to put weight on him tho.

Let me know what you find. My prayers are for you and Mike.

Julie

Dan went through drastic issues -- as i am sure you remember cat-- as of late he has been eating again... i do know not eating ,begets more not eating.. dan has leaned towards much sweeter foods since the stroke- although he enjoyed sweets, but not like he does now... and if he is really dehyderated you do not feel like eating--- many times after dan would get a iv for dehyderation he would eat and drink and then lose ground again slowly.. also if constipation is in play at all dan didnt feel like eating... and then with dan it was also a behavioral thing... for your guy it could be meds making all tast funny ? or the stroke making it taste funny ? probably a combo of both.... my top suggestion would be the dehyderation issue - sometimes dans electrolytes would come back ok but we would iv in fluid and dan would feel better so he would eat... dans nuerologist assured me this is a common occurance with stroke people..that is why we did the peg tube-- which "broke " the behavioral part of the issue ( he now knows eating and drinking are not optional ) but sometimes i was told people never can stand food again-- in dans case it took a year and half to "break the vicious cycle".. and the peg tube wasent really the only thing that turned the corner for him... it was a shift in his attitude.. in our case not only the nuerologist was informative but our speech therapist was very crucial in his eating/not eating/food taste changes... but the key to that is finding someone speech therapist who has very specific interest in strokes-- and that can be difficult-- most want to work with kids and are just working with adults till a job with kids opens... but our therapist is living example that there are people who are dedicated in their fields... dan still drinks one boost a day - he does better with boost than ensure--- and only vanilla and strawberry-- never any other kind.. it can be expensive to taste test them.. i even tried making his own shakes with the magic bullet that didnt work either.. there isent much i didnt try in my quest to get dan eating and drinking ( and pooping) again.... the sad part what works /worked for us wont necessarily work for you guys and many times even for our selves what worked today didnt necessarily work again tomorrow... so just keep trying and like i said it has been - well actually closer to the 2 year mark that i am seeing improvement in that area... but it is still early on so i keep waiting for the other shoe to drop... i am thinking your guy feels like when i had morning sickness--- coke and saltine crackers ?? just another thought.... hopefully the doc finds something that can give you a clue and remember what i said about the electrolytes -- even if they are ok see if doc wont IV some fluid in to see if mike feels better, thus eats--- if that works at least you will have an idea of undelying cause.... there is also a appetite stimulant called magestrol -- you could check into this as well... the stuff did make dan hungry and it was a "bandaid" for a while -- dan had a lot facets to the not eating /drinking thing - hopefully you can narrow it down... prayers - i know how hard this hurdle is......nancyl

I will keep you in my prayers and hope that the tests and the docs can shed some life on this problem.

I know how heart wrenching it is watch that weight leaving. You need some weight. it is scary.

Ruth

Is this the season to lose weight for men??? First I had a slow heart beat, got that checked out, then I couldn't get my steroid injections with people dying from meningitis mixed in the injections!!

Meanwhile I'm eating everything my little wife put in front of me then this morning she gets out a suit for me to wear to church, low and behold it's way too big so I put my belt in the pants and they looked 3 sizes to big in the mirror but I wore them anyway God didn't mind I'm sure!!

So Cat I can't tell you what to try next, I don't know what I'm going to do, I just pray it's not cancer some place in my body!!! I'm due for my 10 year colonoscopy next month and a prostate test last of this month!!!

We hear so often of stage 4 cancers by then it's way too late so I pray I'm OK losing weight and still eating and drinking plenty water to cut down on getting constipation!!!

Oh Cat! I am so sorry. Mike was progressing so well. And part of me is wondering if the "reality" of recovery, the difficulty and time involved didn't just hit him. Depression maybe. Bruce reached that point - not with eating, but in the physical recovery, which Mike does readily. But now, without eating, his energy levels are reduced. The one thing I do know is that he wants back on that motorcycle! He may have lost that vision, for now, but you know it and that can work for you.

Get through the medical issues. I am praying that some stuff is resolved, some suggestions as to recovery. Get those things on board. I am hoping it is a simple imbalance or med issue that can be resolved quickly. Then you reschedule his PT, continue the OT and maybe consider some Speech, depending on what is paid for.

In the meantime, take him to look at some flower arrangements for the wedding. I know he is not into dress clothes. But maybe a trip to Staples to just pick out some simple Thank you notes. This seems maybe ridiculous, with everythin else on your plate. But, honey, it is not stroke related, it is about your future together and your confidence in your relationship, that you want him involved in the move forward, beyond stroke.

When Bruce cut all therapies off this fall, I had to find something else. You look to what you know will work. Please do let us know. Praying for both of you. Debbie

I didn't even know he was back in OT! I'm thinking you might be saying things in chat that aren't' making it to your blog, and so if one doesn't make chat, they miss all the news. I'm so glad to hear that he got to have more therapy, great news. Cat, I hope you mean you cry INSIDE everytime you look at him, but please, be sure that you are not looking at him with this look of pity, it kills a man's pride and feeling of self worth. We let a therapist go because she had too much COMPASSION and always looked at him like 'you poor miserable soul'. Fortunately, for us, his hospital rehab had a happy cheerful bunch, that taught us that joy is the greatest tool. Even when I give Bob a shower and he holds the wand, squirting me in the face and all over the walls - I don't get mad or sad that he can't even take his own shower. There is a lot of wild laughter and screaming and we both actually get a shower in there, whether I need one or not! The best gift I can give him, is my joy. At times, it may be his one thing to hold on to, that is normal in his life.

Has his taste been off all along, or when did it start? Bob was greatly affected with taste in the beginning, but fortunately, it only lasted a month. Even so, his inability to eat real food for weeks caused him to lose a lot of weight.

I am a newbee here, and had my stroke just this past Sept 11, 2012. Great day for it, I have the same issues with eating and have to struggle daily. I finally gave up and just bought some very comfortable athletic gear. But I did change my diet. I went to drinking only distilled water, I love the WHATTAH waters they have many versions , my favorite is the one with electroltytes, and the metromints. They are expensive but somehow they have stimulated my taste buds. With 3 small kids at home I had gotten to the point since I did not eat I was not feeding them, and so I got a wrist watch and set a timer, for me a set 5 times a day, around the 3 times for the kids. Having them each help me prep dinner has helped, maybe have him take part. I lost 23 pounds and was dwon to 98 from 135 my weight in January. I get high protein shakes, if he likes weets this may help. I went to free range and organic , they taste much better and a fun actvity to go to the butcher to pick them out each day. I feel for you on the weight issue, I would go days on coffee and meds alone. But try the distilled water, it helped me a ton and now I eat pretty regularly and enjoy the food I am eating.

Have they run a copper urine test on him yet, that may be the cause that is what happened to me, everything tasted like metal, another reason I went to distilled. Regular tap water has too many metals in it. The shakes put the weight back on and you can find alot of fun with him in making hem..it is one of our daily actvitvites me and my 9 year old look forward to.

Not sure if you are still have the issues with taste mine have gone away, but they come back at random times. I myslef am still trying to find the answers to half of the stroke fallout. Tests come back with nothing. I still have about 15 pounds to go to be at a good BMI. BMI is everything, if he is within his range he should be OK, you just need to stop the weight loss before you get too low.

Hope this helps.

Also for energy level I went and did ion foot detox's, that is fun to watch but I have a ton of energy afterwards. Some people think they are wacky but they give me the energy I need to keep up with my kids.