Fortisip for very underweight OH

I have been through this with my mum. There is SO much out there, but the things I found with mum...

- desserts are more expensive but they were a massive success - she could eat those. Flavours are broadly similar but Nualtra do Nutricrem Mint Choc and they were her favourite!
- you can also get yoghurt and fruity desserts but neither of those were a success for my mum
- she didn't like the milky drinks, but found some of the fruit ones more palatable (interesting that seems to be a theme throughout replies!)
- Cappuccino flavour drinks were her favourite
- Calogen can be used in cooking to increase calories

Have a look at the websites for Fresubin, Fortisip, Nualtra and Ensure, but I found Fresubin's website the most user friendly for exploring their range - you can narrow down by flavour or type of product too www.fresubin.com/uk/fresubin-range?#product-finder-filter - I was astounded at the range and number of flavours when I first researched (in desperation trying to find something mum could stomach after the first ones were a disaster!)

Thank you for all the replies. Most of the time he eats fairly well. But sometimes neither of us feel that hungry. Not often. On those occasions I thought a Fortisip would be a good idea together with a small snack.

62 Granny The six small high calorie meals a day is what I ate when trying to get my weight up before chemo started. And that worked. OH has never had a great appetite. I think I will buy the coffee flavoured one and see how he gets on with that.

I used to work in a Cancer day centre and the dietician used to recommend five or six small snack type meals often and all the things you are normally told not to eat. Just a thought you said he has COPD, check his tongue, sometimes the inhalers and oxygen and not eating can give them a furry tongue , oral thrush, and that can make everything taste metallic , encourage him to brush it when he does his teeth and you can buy something from the pharmacist for it.

My late partner had a repeat prescription and ordered when required. We started off with a selection box, chose what he liked and requested that flavour on the repeat prescription. He liked the mixed berry ensure and the chicken and vegetable soup both together and separately. You can also get them in a type of yogurt. So to recap, we had juices, yogurts and soups all on separate prescription on usual repeat. This is up to 1 months ago when my partner sadly died so should be current information but may differ as everything else does in the various LAs.

My mum tried them in hospital because she had lost weight. She hated them and said they were too sweet (and she had a sweet tooth, loved a cake!). There is some research about taste buds changing as people get older. There are cookbooks available. There is a free cookbook meant for people whose taste and smell have been affected by cancer. It's downloadable from 7th December lifekitchen.co.uk/

My partner was very under weight after illness and was prescribed these he loved them he liked strawberry ones. They actually smelt ok.

IMHO coffee flavour and chocolate flavour are the best closely followed by caramel. I hated banana flavour. There is an interesting pudding available too. After a bit all the food alternatives prescribed became boring but I mixed the drinks with tinned rice pudding and vanilla ice cream for a bit of a change. The aim was to get calories and nutrients into me. The drinks also freeze and can become ice lollies.

My DH has dementia and his appetite is very poor resulting in weight loss. His GP prescribed Food Link complete, which comes in various flavours he didn't like. I now request the natural flavour. I make a jug full at the beginning of the day and use it to make his coffee, hot chocolate and even use on his cereal. He tolerates it well and has put some weight back on.

If Fortisip tastes even remotely like the three different brands we can buy or get on prescription in Denmark, your husband will not like them (they are all yoghurt based and taste revolting) and will refuse to drink more than one or two a day.

So get in touch with a hospital dietrician at once and ask what else she recommends.

You can buy yoghurt and add full-fat cream to it, cocao etc. if your husband can eat dairy products.

Otherwise home made chicken, beef, or vegetable soups, strained carefully are a possiblity, but you need advice on judging how many calories a portion contains.

Mashed potatoes are a possiblity if your husband can eat any solid food, preferably with mince. Mashed carrots, turnip, etc are also possiblities. So is rice pudding or any other kind of milk pudding.

My husband could force himself to drink the coffee, vanilla and strawberry flavoured ones, but as they all have a metalic taste (and tasted them myself to make sure it was not his taste buds that were affected, there was no way I could get him to drink four to six a day.

If you have a Victorian or Edwardian cookery book in the house, it will have a chapter on invalid food, which you may find helpful.

But you do need professional advice as to what your husband may and can eat and drink and unless you are a trained chef yourself advice about the amount of calories in anything you make.

at the weekend i bought some high protein drinks in lidl.
225ml i think.
in the chill cabinet, near the greek yogurt.
about a pound each.
coffee flavour.
also vanilla.
there were some called U_Fit in the grab it and go section too, near the sandwiches.
salted caramel, strawberry, chocolate.
have you tried nurishment cans, available in most corner shops. various flavours.
so check out those aimed at the fitness market, widely available commercially, not just medically needed supplements.
cast your net wide.
good luck.

My son prefers vanilla.

At the moment I don't see OH requiring this all day every day...just on the occasions he isn't that hungry.
Slimfast looks interesting. Thexwife. I shall compare the ingredients.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I will leave the thread now.

Buttered cream crackers with cheese as snacks was what I found boosted my weight.

I know it sounds odd but slimfast are a good meal replacement too, it has about the same calories as ensure and good vitamin and mineral content. There are many flavours, soups and shakes and are easily available.

That sounds like a much better system and more cost effective Callistemon21. Fortunately we managed not to waste any and a few surplus I passed to the district nurse. She said she’d be able to pass them on “under the radar” to one of her patients.

HelterSkelter1

Has anyone tried these and can recommend flavours? Successful?
OH is under the GP and I would like him to give these a try before he requests them from the GP

My experience of both FORTIJUCE and FORTISIP is that the juice drinks are more tolerable than the rather sickly-sweet milk-based ones, which are rather overpowering in both taste and consistency.

A preferred flavour is so personal tho' - it depends on your OH's palate.

I'm sure your GP can arrange for a sample of both juice and milk drinks - the dieticians in hospitals have boxes of samples in their offices.

What I personally found so off-putting when I was dependent on these drinks after surgery was that a continuous diet of sweet-liquid becomes intolerable after a while.

There are also build-up soups available to counteract this - they are rather 'thin' - but the taste is OK... maybe he could also be prescribed these as I'm sure he'll become heartily sick of the sweet stuff on a daily basis!

Oh, that's interesting.
With a GP repeat prescription we had to pick it up from the chemist. Just as well because DH didn't like them.

Unfortunately I found that wasn’t possible Callistemon21. In our case the order was delivered directly from the manufacturer’s depot and they stipulated at least a 4 week supply.

HelterSkelter1
Having delivered bags and bags of cans of food supplements to a neighbour with cancer who died not long after, I dont want OH to have a wasted prescription if he doesnt like them.

You could ask for just a weekly repeat prescription so that they wouldn't be wasted if your DH didn't like them. They're not to everyone's taste!

Fortisip and Complan gave my father chronic diarrhoea .
Some people can't tolerate it .

I made endless small mini meals and gave him vitamin supplements .

There is also an online company called Proteinworks which sells good quality protein powders in loads and loads of flavours like cherry Bakewell, chocolate mint, peanut butter etc. they also do a hot chocolate one. Fitness fanatics/weight lifters use them to bulk up. They also do meal replacement ones I believe. I’ve used them a lot and they are very palatable. Good luck I hope you can find something useful.

HelterSkelter1 you might also find some useful tips here to help increase calories. We were given this food fortification advice from an NHS dietician a few years ago. The advice to fortify milk by adding Marvel dried milk was easily done. A pint made up and stored for the day in the fridge to use in coffee, porridge, custard etc was helpful in adding calories.
www.wsh.nhs.uk/CMS-Documents/Services/Dietetics/Food-fortification.pdf

Thank you Grannynannywanny I will look at this one.

Love your name!

Crossed posts HelterSkelter1. That’s hopefully the link to a coffee one in my previous post.

Another option maybe worth considering for anyone not with a sweet tooth are Ensure drinks. As well as the usual milk shake fruity flavours they have some savoury flavours such as chicken or mushroom which can be heated. They also do a coffee flavour.

www.nutridrinks.co.uk/ensure-plus-coffee?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAx_GqBhBQEiwAlDNAZvjzHf4wjc-bSIE0ftd6j1iplb-GlSq8PhFU84mP6VXZ8ofV0WhjbxoCf6UQAvD_BwE

I will see if I can get Vanilla in a 4 pack. Will look on line. He would drink a coffee flavour if they have that....but all the fruit ones especially strawberry would be a no no.

He is not at spoon feeding stage. I just want to get some more calories in like I did myself when blood cancer and anaemia made me lose weight. thanks for the flavour recommendations.

Cancer has been ruled out in his case. He hasnt got dementia.
He hasnt got much of an appetite. Thanks for your replies