I've been in the hospital now for about a week and probably have a week or so to go. It amazes me how unhealthy the food is. Tons of sugar, processed food, starch. Dietician will talk to you, but they won't make any changes because it's too much work to deviate from the norm. Every meal includes copious amounts of sugar. Cookies, cake, super sweet juice, etc. Almost never any fresh veggies, I've gotten one tiny salad in the week I've been here, ok make that 2 now. Never any fresh fruit, just the super sweet canned fruit. I can get healthier food in the store here than they bring me to eat. I've been buying salads and fresh fruit to supplement. The salad and veggie portions given are smaller than the dessert portions.

Of course everything is cooked to death and bland as hell, but that's to be expected given the numbers I suppose.

I would just think that if you're feeding sick people trying to get well, that you'd feed them good nutrition to help. We don't need tons of added and artificial sugars, we need healthy food. If I ate food like this at home, I'd be fat as hell.

And the meal timing sucks. Delivered at 7, 12, 5. So every 5 hours you eat, then you have to go 14 with nothing. Really?

My last hospital stay, I was lucky. Friends brought in real food and we shared meals and some wine -- we did not make a big point of informing the hospital staff about the wine. No point to it, as we didn't have enough of that to share with them.

Got a phone? Order a salad and a pizza.

quote:

Originally posted by kz1000:
Got a phone? Order a salad and a pizza.

I'd go broke having to buy every meal like that for so long, and pizza is hardly healthy to eat frequently,

All of my admissions here for the past few years have been to St. Thomas, a wonderfully patient-centric facility. They have a menu in the room from which you order (call down to kitchen) your meals for the day each morning...or just order breakfast and do the other 2 meals individually as the day progresses. They'll also keep you in beverages of your choice and popsicles/ice cream throughout the day. Even the housekeepers will bring you fresh coffee is you want it. Re food prep, you can get it just about any way you desire and some of it is quite tasty. The other hospital here that family members use, Vanderbilt, has pretty much the same arrangement for chow as well as wonderful overnight arrangements for family members who need them.

Hope you're feeling better.

quote:

Originally posted by Kadin:
pizza is hardly healthy to eat frequently

The four basic food groups: Pizza, beer, bacon, and ice cream.

Hospital food?
Yeah, best diet I've ever been on....
For weight loss.

I was in the hospital a year ago for cauterization of a bleeding duodenal ulcer. After surgery they kept me under observation for several days. I was put on a strict diet. I swear the cafeteria workers read the diet and expressly prepared my meals to include ONLY the items I was prohibited from eating.

It really depends on the hospital. Some hospitals have fantastic food, with a ton of options.

Two I remember because I spent quite a while in them.

THR Presby on Walnut Hill in Dallas (the Ebola hospital) was fairly good from what I remember from my week there. You had choices from super healthy to home cooking. I mostly got sandwiches with salads that were quite fresh.

Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa was quite good. Not as many choices (no sandwiches), but what they served was pretty good. And again options from healthy to home cooking complete with fresh vegetables if that is what you want.

Of course since I was in the Oncology wing of both hospitals they always had a snack room filled with juice, soda, candy, chips, other snacks, and fresh fruit.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Kadin:
pizza is hardly healthy to eat frequently

The four basic food groups: Pizza, beer, bacon, and ice cream.

The only thing in that list that is part of my regular diet is bacon. I don't drink, pizza is an occasional treat, and try to avoid sugars so very rarely eat ice cream.

I'm in the VA hospital in Dallas.

Part of the problem is the drug cocktail I'm on is making me ravenous, hungry all the time. But I'm also on a reduced sodium diet and have very strict liquid intake restrictions.

But next week I start chemo drugs, so won't have any appetite. It's not cancer, I have an auto immune disease that is attacking my kidney function and I gained nearly 60lbs in swelling and wasn't responding to the oral drugs, so I have 2 IV's and am about halfway towards losing that extra water weight. Pretty much feel like shit all the time from the drugs, but I am getting better. I think I have a great team of doctors and am getting very good care and attention. But I am so loopy and unfocused and out of it and in a general malaise all the time. It's getting so old and I've got 5 more months to go on the treatment. I hate not having my full faculties. But I am doing well, the doctors are happy, and they say I am tolerating the aggressive treatment well and will be cured. I will have to monitor my blood for the rest of my life to ensure no relapse occurs, but I will be back to living a normal life in 5 months. They are expecting to be able to release me in about a week and I'll go back entirely to the oral drugs.

There is a "patient nutrition" room across the hall, they have great ice, and there's coffee, but I can't have much, shouldn't have any since I'm supposed to stay under 20oz of fluid/day. I need that much just to wash down the huge handful of pills I have to take every day. Before all this I drank 2-3 gallons of liquid per day, mostly water and coffee. it is soooo hard for me to cut back this much, I'm thirsty all the time. It's just my brain telling me that, not my body, I'm in no way dehydrated. During the diagnosis stage I had to do a 24 hour urine collection, and turned in 6 liters, and that was just an average day for me. LOL There is nothing else in the room, although we can bring and store our own snacks and there is a fridge. But I didn't know what to expect, I've never been in a hospital before, and it's not like I can leave and make a run to the grocery store. But I'd be willing to kill for a good steak or some fresh fruit. I guess I need to call a friend and have them bring me some.

quote:

Originally posted by Kadin:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Kadin:
pizza is hardly healthy to eat frequently

The four basic food groups: Pizza, beer, bacon, and ice cream.

The only thing in that list that is part of my regular diet is bacon. I don't drink, pizza is an occasional treat, and try to avoid sugars so very rarely eat ice cream.

It's a well known fact that bacon can be used as a substitute for any other food group. The ultimate substitution would be four food groups: bacon, bacon, bacon, and bacon.

Auto immune diseases suck. Probably on lots of steroids as well which stimulate appetite and affect cognitive function.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Auto immune diseases suck. Probably on lots of steroids as well which stimulate appetite and affect cognitive function.

Yep, 80mg/day of predisone. It's got me so fucked up. Plus mood enhancers (yeah right) and a few others.

Hope you feel better soon. Prednisone has some very unpleasant side effects. I've had to take that stuff a few times and hated every moment of it.

quote:

...for a good steak or some fresh fruit. I guess I need to call a friend and have them bring me some.

There you go. Even if there isn't a fridge in the room, the nurses station will have one that they will keep patients goodies in as needed. There's usually a 3 day or so limit per container so tell your good Samaritan to keep it coming in relatively small batches.

Hope you get to feeling better soon.

I usually smuggle in a Care Package when anyone I know is in the hospital.

I spent almost two weeks at the Ross Heart Hospital at OSU in Columbus. Food was great.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike729:
Hope you feel better soon. Prednisone has some very unpleasant side effects. I've had to take that stuff a few times and hated every moment of it.

It sure does. Most people are prescribed 10mg, maybe 25 at most. I'm taking 80mg/day. I am so lost and confused most days. On wed that drops to 60mg/day, but I add 150mg of Cyclophosphamide (chemo drug) which is also a massive dose and has similar side effects, except it suppresses appetite. They say I'm about 50/50 for at least some hair loss, and probably around 80% risk of permanent sterility, which doesn't bother me at all.

The last two places I was in weren't bad, and one of them was pretty damn good... even giving you a menu and letting you select your own meals. They did have patients flagged for any dietary restrictions, of course.