Cystic Fibrosis Fatboy — Page 95 — The daily quest to gain weight

My Secret Weapon for Medicated Weight Gain

March 6, 2010

Over a year ago, I complained about a severe lack of appetite. “There’s nothing out there for me,” I said, “everything is all about appetite suppression.” That day, I filled a prescription for Megase. Reading the literature, it’s commonly used for cancer patients who’ve lost their appetite while on chemotherapy and AIDS patients who have chronic loss of appetite.

Megase is also a generic and only costs me $15 for 900mL of milky solution with my insurance. It’s semi-nasty in taste, but nothing that doesn’t quickly wash down with a swig of something nice.

How does it work? I’m not sure, scientifically, but I could look it up. Here’s how it works for me. If I take it 30-90 minutes before a meal, I’m absolutely starving when it’s time to eat. When I take it right before eating (or before), I don’t seem to feel full. The chemical from the stomach to the brain just gets lost somewhere. I would keep on eating if it weren’t so darn uncomfortable to eat 3lbs of food in one sitting.

When to use it to its best potential:

before a holiday meal (e.g., Easter, Thanksgiving, & Christmas)
before ordering a big pizza
before entering a friendly eating contest with your much larger friends
any time you just don’t feel hungry

Simple Tips for Extra Calories

March 5, 2010

Once you realize how easy it is to add hundreds, if not thousands, of calories per day, you’ll never look back. One of the most tiring parts of having cystic fibrosis is the massive amount of food that must pass through our bodies each and every day, just to maintain weight. Gaining weight is a whole new ballgame. The best way to turn the tables on this overwhelming task is to add calories to the food you’re already eating. Here is a run-down of my tips and tricks. Some are not going to be the best if you already have CFRD or are on a serious diabetes diet to avoid full-blown diabetes. Any massive amounts of sugar and starch in my diet is enjoyed as a treat rather than a staple.

Drink milk with your dinner? Add chocolate syrup to tack on an extra 200-300 Calories.
Cook with a bit more oil than usual. Olive oil is a huge source of fat calories. If you’ve got a “normal” spouse, this may necessitate preparing food in separate pans, but it’s well worth it to gain weight.
Drink extra calories with something like Boost Plus or Ensure. I hated the taste of so many drinks, but I finally found one I like. At 350 Calories each, three per day adds 1,050 Calories that can chase down a meal no matter how full you are.
Mayonnaise can be your best friend. 1Tbs of mayo is 110 Calories. It can go on sandwiches and makes a creamier sauce. Same goes for:
- Sour cream
- Butter
- Ricotta cheese
If you snack with low-cal or empty calorie items, replace them with things that get you the most calories per ounce (or even per dollar). Chips, Combos, Oreos, and Hot Pockets are my favorites at the moment. Roll with your taste.

What are your tips for adding extra calories without feeling like a human garbage disposal?

Start Your Day with a 1,000 Calorie Breakfast

March 4, 2010

970 Calorie Breakfast I try to start every day with a high-protein breakfast, loaded with as many calories as is reasonable so early in the morning. I grew up on cereal, but I’ve recently needed to switch to eggs because of the progressive nature of diabetes, and I am trying to stop the glucose trend I’m on with diet alone. So far, so good. Here is what my breakfast looks like:

Let’s run down what’s in this monster meal, shall we?

3 large eggs, scrambled up with 2 tbsp of cold water, 2 tsp salt, and 2 tsp of pepper. When I’m in the mood, I’ll drizzle some olive oil in, too.
3 slices of American cheese, not cheese food!
5 slices of thin honey ham.
12 oz of sweet tea.
Publix-brand Boost Plus drink (ice cold)

This takes me about 6-10 minutes to make, depending on how awake I am in order to condense steps… like turning on the burner early. I’d swear that one of these days the sheer weight of the omelet will break the glasstop stove when I flip it over. Grand total nutritional content: 970 Calories, 50.5g fat, and 53g of protein… and all before 7:30am!

On a cereal day, use whole, vitamin D milk, a lower-sugar cereal, like Corn Chex or Shredded Wheat, and drink something like Boost or Ensure for even more protein.

Zenpep, the New Enzyme on the Block

March 3, 2010

Since I’ve been battling gaining weight for so long, I mentioned my desire to fatten up every time I go to clinic. I’ve had some really rough bouts with intestinal blockages this year. I had two in just 3 months, and one put me in the hospital overnight after spending all night and all day in the ER because regular medical staff can’t wrap their heads around the fact that I had two feet of my small intestine removed at birth. I did some calculations and came up with figures that call that 25-40% of my small intestine. There is scar tissue and some bottleneck in there that binds from time to time.

After my last episode, I was messed up for weeks. I was in pain for over a week and my normal body rhythm was all out of whack. There was bloating, gas, discomfort, chronic bathroom breaks, etc. One evening with family over, I went to the bathroom 10 times after dinner. Something had to change! Eventually, things returned to normal, but I was still deadlocked at 108-111lbs.

I went to clinic on February 19th and mentioned to my coordinator that things were still “not right” and told her my 3 main complaints were still bothering me. She said that a new enzyme just got approved and she had a sample bottle available for me. It’s called Zenpep. If I liked its results, my aerosol supplier ships the enzymes, too.

I went home and tried it that afternoon. That evening, no excessive bloating or bathroom trips. The next day brought the same good news, plus some added bonus of gaining 1.2lbs. The next time I weighed myself, I’d gained 2.5lbs. Things were on the move in the direction I wanted. During the time between running out of the samples and my new shipment arriving today, my old enzymes were their usual mess, shall we say. Today, I’m all better again.

Enzymes can really make a difference in your life.

Here is my theory on why Zenpep is working so much better for me than Ultrase MT20 and Creon MT20 have been: the amounts of enzymes within each capsule is vastly different. For example:

Ultrase MT 20:
lipase 20,000 USP units
amylase 65,000 USP units
protease 65,000 USP units

Zenpep:

lipase 20,000 USP units
amylase 109,000 USP units
protease 68,000 USP units

You’ll notice a nearly two-fold increase in the amount of amylase in Zenpep. Now, I haven’t done any research on why they use this formulation, but here is what my research about those enzymes came up with:

amylase – Amylase is an enzyme which helps digest glycogen and starch. It is produced mainly in the pancreas and salivary glands.

lipase – Lipase; an enzyme secreted in the digestive tract that catalyzes the breakdown of fats into individual fatty acids that can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

protease – Enzymes acting on peptide bonds. EC 3.4.-

Given the nature of much of the nutrition we eat trying to gain massive amounts of calories (complex carbohydrates), it stands to reason in my head, dangerously educated by 2 semesters of chemistry and a growing understanding of my body chemistry with the advent of diabetes risk, that my diet requires higher concentrations of amylase to process those complex carbs.

I would highly recommend asking your doctor or clinic coordinator about Zenpep. They even offer up to a $50 rebate on your co-pays through December, so long as you have private insurance, not gov’t insurance. I’ll be getting these for free!

My Secret Weapon for Medicated Weight Gain

March 6, 2010

Over a year ago, I complained about a severe lack of appetite. "There's nothing out there for me," I said, "everything is all about appetite suppression." That day, I filled a prescription for Megase. Reading the literature, it's commonly used for … [Read more]

Simple Tips for Extra Calories

March 5, 2010

Once you realize how easy it is to add hundreds, if not thousands, of calories per day, you'll never look back. One of the most tiring parts of having cystic fibrosis is the massive amount of food that must pass through our bodies each and every day, … [Read more]

Start Your Day with a 1,000 Calorie Breakfast

March 4, 2010

I try to start every day with a high-protein breakfast, loaded with as many calories as is reasonable so early in the morning. I grew up on cereal, but I've recently needed to switch to eggs because of the progressive nature of diabetes, and I am … [Read more]

Zenpep, the New Enzyme on the Block

March 3, 2010

Since I've been battling gaining weight for so long, I mentioned my desire to fatten up every time I go to clinic. I've had some really rough bouts with intestinal blockages this year. I had two in just 3 months, and one put me in the hospital … [Read more]

Time Elapsed Since IVs