My mother has recently had to go on an all-liquid diet (for medical reasons). I am going to be visiting her all of next week. What are good things to cook and prepare for someone on an all-liquid diet? Of course, soup and broth are at the top of this list, but there's gotta be more that I can prepare for her (she's gonna be like this for a while - several weeks) Note: she is not allowed to generate any solid poop. That would be... bad. Also, she's not allowed to eat anything that might be constipating. can she drink V8 juice? can she eat mashed potatoes? can she eat grits? can she eat oatmeal? are there any powdered multivitamins she could/should take? can she drink a protein shake? (are these constipating?) can she drink an instant breakfast drink? can she drink a Slimfast type of drink? would this be a good idea? any other suggestions?
I would check with her doctor. I think soups are fine but not mashed potatoes or oatmeal. V8 should be good, fruit jellos.
Rather than rely on a bunch of anonymous Internet posters who have no real idea of your mother's condition and in no way can make definitive suggestions, you really need to talk to her doctor and have him/her refer you to a nutirional specialist who knows your mother's condition. Good luck.
The problem is that we cannot provide any definitive answers since we don't know the exact nature of your mother's condition. Even if any folks are medical nutrional experts or doctors, any info provided would not necessarily be reliable.
Any ideas posted here would be run by her doctor to see if they are viable. I'm not going to tell my mom she can eat mashed potatoes because bobrek on the internet said she could. You're not helping.
Her doctor will be your best source of information. As a result of cancer, my mother survived about 2 years on Ensure through a feeding tube. Don't recall if this was through prescription or off-the-shelf.
Double check whether it is a liquid diet or clear liquids diet. Then ask if products like Ensure are okay.
My mom lives out of town and I don't currently have access to her doctor. When I am finally able to speak with the doctor, I intend to ask him about anything that is posted in this thread.
even if she's consuming liquids, that doesn't mean that those things are going to come out in liquid form. protein shakes, Ensure, Boost, etc. can all come out in solid form. potatoes will definitely come out in poop form. your best bet is soups/broths and Gatorade.
yeah, but she's gonna be on this for several weeks. There's gotta be something she can live off of other than soup and Gatorade for that time.
In my experience, a liquid diet means exactly that: if it's liquid, then they can ingest it. BUT, things like Ensure/SlimFast/protein shakes might come out solid....it depends on the condition of the patient. They generally come out soft and mushy....as in somewhere between liquid and solid, which might be okay depending on her condition. They also shouldn't generally be constipating assuming the patient is ingesting enough fluids. Ask your doctor if this is okay. Oatmeal, grits, mashed potatoes, and similar edibles are most definitely NOT included in a liquid diet. V8 should be fine, but you might want to double check if there are any sodium restrictions as even the low sodium V8 still has a crap load of sodium in it. Ask about liquid/dissoluble vitamins, whether they are safe and whether they can make any recommendations. Ask about fiber like Metamucil, which is dissolved in fluid and then consumed. Fiber gives bulk to your poop, which it sounds like she can't have, but I'd ask anyway about fiber supplementation just to cover all bases. So to sum up: if it's liquid, it should be fine. It'll suck for her at first, but she will adjust to it. As others have mentioned, consult with her doctor or nurse and ask him/her to recommend a nutritional consult. This is your best source of information.
You're spot on. Supposedly, Ensure and Boost are good, but after researching it, it seems that Slimfast has stuff to curb an appetite and that's not something we want for my mom.
can she drink V8 juice? Yes can she eat mashed potatoes? Only if mixed with soup. can she eat grits? No can she eat oatmeal? No are there any powdered multivitamins she could/should take? Yes. can she drink a protein shake? (are these constipating?) No (yes) can she drink an instant breakfast drink? Yes can she drink a Slimfast type of drink? would this be a good idea? Yes, Yes Disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about.
