I am on pain meds due to spinal problems and also have problems with constipation. I am taking Miralax but still feel that my bowels are not emptying completely. I have tried many of the remedies mentioned here and they all help some but not enough _ so tired of the discomfort. I have just discovered something called Amitizia and see that jakmak52 is taking it. I wonder jak if you would be so kind as to tell me what your thoughts are on it and how it is working for you? Thanks so much!

Wow you guys are great. This thread has more responses than any I have had on GW. I thank all for your responses, and will keep all the info. It means more to hear personal experiences and what has worked &/or others tips. He is starting on supplements, but as most of us know they get old real quick. He has lost 70 lbs over the last couple of months. I am not going to save him my desire is to support him as long as possible so he hopefully dies at home with dignity rather than go into an institution. Anyway, I have been around so much cancer the last 6 years I thought I would share my thoughts also. Maybe another poor soul will someday be in the same boat & these posts can benefit them. Lindac: your shake idea is great. He has been eating mainly ice cream for the last couple of months, so adding the extra calories would be great. He has refused chemo, but I agree on the acidic stuff. I have helped another friend with meals and cancer, and the tomato stuff always causes indigestion. Fresh tomatoes seem to be less of a problem. Orange juice is a definite no sometimes apple juice helps. The Mexican food sounds good. I tried making cheese taquitoes (sp) yesterday with fresh tortillas from a tortilleria, but they flopped. I think I need to use the rolled ones. ginger_st_thomas: Great site. It will keep me busy for some time. The Individual Cheese Pies, Macaroni and Cheese, & Creamy Potato Salad will be at the top of the list. I cook by feel, & the recipes give me tips on how to add extra calories. He eats peanut butter, so the snack spread might work. woodie2: I really like your overnight breakfast casserole. I was making a meal for two people with cancer last night. Sometimes helping people with cancer gets tiring, & an easy meal helps the helper. The bacon bread is also a nice finger food, & the rice bake looks nice and different. Potpie: I find your post especially interesting, as my friend also has lung cancer. As I am sure you know, it is a particularly bad cancer, & your fil is lucky to be around. I will try the caramel apple idea. You also make an important point. When cooking for cancer, be prepared to have your dishes tossed out or not eaten as these individuals can be picky &/or too sick to eat certain things. The helper should not get upset about this, & not be offended. It is just part of the role of a helper. Daisyduckworth, I am so sorry to hear about your friend. What you describe your friend experiencing lies further down my friends path. He can eat a little now, but he has been warned his eating will be eventually affected. It is or can be part of living with cancer. Sometimes you work yourself to the bone hoping to see that unique recovery only to see death. You are so very right about letting him decide. Success in helping a person with cancer, in my opinion, is being there for that person in whatever manner possible so they write that last chapter. Your cutting up fruit is a very good tip. Sometimes people with cancer will not eat whole fruit, but having something cut up appeals to them. Lisbet, I think the brand you spoke of is down the street from me. I am going to check it out. It would be a break from the supplements if he likes it. I like the idea that he could take it with decreased renal function, as my friend has that problem. I will check this one with his dietitian, however. Potpie, medicinal marijuana is legal in California, although the state and federal government are always arguing as to whether it is legal. I agree, when living with cancer it is time to break the rules. Lindac again. Daisyduckworth makes a very important point. Sometimes the path is as the doctor predicts sometimes you never know the time the outcome etc. Sometimes the suffering is a long path, sometimes people that should completely go into remission suddenly die; sometimes those that are expected to die beat the odds. I have seen people recover, but I personally do not like the word "cured." It can come back, & I do not want to jinx any good fortune, nor add any more to the wounds of those who have lost loved ones to cancer. Having said all that, here is my very bland egg roll recipe: 2 carrots diced ½ head napa cabbage ½ onion 10 or so mushrooms Vegetarian oyster sauce I used a tad of msg on one batch, but its use is up to the user. I sauté all ingredients in order of cooking time & add them to the dish. I then stuff the egg roll, seal it with cornstarch liquid & fry it. It takes about 45 minutes for a small batch. It is not a sophisticated recipe but it worked. Here are some of the other things I have found to be helpful if that person can eat it. Hard boiled eggs. Easy to prepare, grab & eat. Cabbage dishes are another good idea, as well as sauerkraut. Good for digestion. Cooked popcorn can be less upsetting than microwave popcorn. Broccoli, broccoli, broccoli. Fresh fruits and snacks always available. High fiber cereals and a variety of liquids available for constipation. Oatmeal, if tolerated for a bland meal. Supplemental vitamins and digestive enzymes if possible. These people need all the help they can get. Consider decreasing the meat. If they are losing weight, one may need to break the rules & add more meat. Last tip break the rules now & then. Remember stubbornness can be annoying, but sometimes it provides the fight that can result in more time. Please keep adding your comments and tips if you think of more. Baci

We are breakfast eaters. Most mornings that is cereal with fruit and 1% milk and a cup of coffee. Often we'll have an English muffin or toast when DH returns from walking our Westie. Sunday is eggs over easy or scrambled, bacon, a Danish, OJ and coffee. And the Sunday paper. I love eggs! My GM had two soft-boiled eggs on toast every morning of her (long) life. I like soft-boiled or poached best, but DH likes fried, so that's what I make. When I was a schoolgirl, I often had Egg 'n Orange and toast. (OJ with a raw egg beaten into it.) Now, onboard ship DH, DS and I would order 'the works' delivered to our cabin -- eggs, bacon, sausuage, French toast, juice, coffee, hot chocolate...I may have left something out!

Hi msdorkgirl: I love your username !! I'm a dork myself, like wearing pajamas in my garden. Yes, it's Francis Meilland with tons of buds in a big-pot at Menards store. I would had bought it, except I got tons of pink-roses already. What type of soil do you have in Hawaii? Roses are water-hog & nutrients-freak and they do best in nutrient-rich soil. Plus they bloom best if the water is slight acidic, like rain water at pH 6 in my Chicagoland. Rain water is more acidic at the east coast, at pH 5.6. If you use tap-water to water your roses, they won't bloom well since tap-water is treated with calcium hydroxide, which raise the pH and make nutrients less available. My tap water pH is 8.6, and roses don't bloom with that. I have to lower the pH with sulfate of potash (26% sulfur), or soluble gypsum (17% sulfur). Now I use a rain-barrel to collect water, and my roses bloom lots more. Francis Meilland is a Romantica (French roses). French roses are water-hogs and bloom best if OWN-ROOT, rather than grafted on Dr. Huey rootstock. My Frederic Mistral (French rose) used to be stingy for 2 years , then on the 3rd year, I put sulfate of potash in my tap-water, and it gave me 40 buds for spring flush. Roses won't bloom if there isn't enough potassium or phosphorus in the soil. So 3 things that prevent roses from blooming: Wrong pH: either soil or tap water too alkaline (pH above 8), or too acidic (below 5). Not enough potassium or phosphorus in the soil. My own-root Comte de Chambord is 8 inches tall, 1 foot wide ... really tiny rose, but it has 7 buds. I put grind-up sunflower seed in the planting hole, plus alfalfa pellets. My 2nd Comte de Chambord is much bigger, but only 4 buds ... I put only alfalfa pellets. My 3rd Comte de Chambord is GRAFTED, and it's tiny, only 2 buds. All 3 get some chicken manure on top. Too high nitrogen in fertilizer. I once put blood meal on my marigolds, and they shot up to 3 feet tall, zero blooms for the entire year. I did that to my roses too, using NPK 10-5-4 (too high nitrogen), and they didn't bloom for 3 months !! Lesson well learned, I stick to LOW-NITROGEN, like alfalfa pellets at NPK 2-1-2 (equal ratio of nitrogen to potassium). Good luck.