[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

@ Hitch If it is a problem with blood thinners medication (wich wouldn't surprise me as this stuff isn't a fountain of health as far as I heard) Mr. Hitch might consider taking alternative i.e. natural blood thinners. If they work efficiently enough on him the need for the pharmaceutical poison no longer be given.

Specifically I had Proanthocyanidin in mind. Its extracted from grape seeds.

Thanks, Free! (I tried to K all youze guys, but for some reason, my Win8 laptop explodes the K pop-up. Hm...wonder whom here at the forum I need to ask about that?) I'll look into that. The problem that would plague my mind would be--how could we know that it was working "efficiently enough?" I mean, without taking it (the heart) to the breaking point again? I will research it, abalooley. Mucho appreciated.

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Hitch - having dealt with taste bud changes in a patient after chemo ... try various flavors of the "Ensure" type supplements & breakfast replacement drinks - there's a wide variety - and what seems totally yucky to you can taste wonderful to 'sick' taste buds.

Also, try freeze-dried camping food -- sometimes food with that weird 'processed' aftertaste will appeal ... trail mix, etc.

And explore garnishes/sauces -- esp. if you don't ordinarily use them - teriyaki, other umami flavors, etc.

Well, we normally do use a lot of flavorings, from myriad cultures/cuisines; the issue now seems to be that we don't know what he likes. Hell, he doesn't know what he likes. I'm trying to figure out how to make it more of an adventure and less of a chore/trial.

We had three things go "right" today, so I have my fingers x-ed that perhaps, the buds are recovering. Oddly enough, I bought trail mix today. I had, before reading your note, nixed the idea of Ensure, because I didn't think he'd drink it, but I'll broach the topic. We're both losing weight, and I got a lecture from my own doc today about mine. I'd lost 8lbs when I (finally) was able to go back to exercising, which was fine; after my foot-shoulder-shoulder tribulations of the past 3 years were finally over (hooray), but now I've lost another 7, and believe me when I say that's too much. I've burned fat (again, hooray), but haven't added bupkus for muscle (boo, hiss) in the four months since I've been able to get back to it. Of course, 3 of those were just getting back into "normal" rather than atrophied shape, but still...bummer. (Who knew that it would get THIS BLOODY HARD to build muscle, just 'cuz the chassis has a few years on it?)

I'm also hoping that I can lure Mr. Hitch onto the Waterrower, given that it's SO damned easy for a newbie to use.

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

And add more Scoville

GOTCHA. :-) We keep a LOT of pepper sauces around, everything from your basic Tabasco on up. Now...I just have to find something he can manage, that I can put that on. Right now, it's cookies and pudding. Can't see peppers on pudding working out, as after all, he's post-cardiac-cath, not preggers. LOL. But he has always loved spicier foods, so maybe you're right and there's a route there. Thanks for that.

OTOH, today I asked him if he wanted Chili--one of our go-to fave dishes, although not routinely in the middle of an Arizona summer--and he said NO. That sort of....well, surprised me, that he didn't even want to try it. (Probably just being nice--knows that it's a lot of work, and didn't want me doing all that and then watching him not eat it, now that I think about it.)

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

Having dealt with heart attack mouth one year then chemo mouth 18 months later I learned to provide many condiments and gave up cooking because I couldn't do anything right. Now unless something is specifically asked for, I just feed myself. There are almost always leftovers, if they are wanted, then have at it

Yeah, I'm grumpy about the whole thing

Yes. I know exactly what you mean. It sounds ungracious doesn't it? To get vexed about it, which they can't help, not at all, but it is frustrating to watch good food get spit out. And before anyone says, yes, of course I understand it's not something he's doing voluntarily--his food tastes like crap and I also know he's just as frustrated as I am. (And hungrier, poor bastard). So, yes, KK, I totally get it. That much time? God, you must be cranky, to put it mildly.

Did you, KK, find any specific condiments that seemed more popular than others? (Wonder if I still have those chutneys around here?....)

Fortuitously, this is the V&R thread! So I can sound as cranky as I want. Thanks for letting me spew, and thanks for all the suggestions and sympathetic ears.

Hitch