Post transplant diet ideas

[crpa]

Hi Everyone:

I am writing to find out what everyone's favorite foods where after the transplants or when on the neutropentic diet ???
Any good ideas for different food choices.
We have to stay at an apt. away from home for 60 days after transplant so I am trying to pack up food choices for the trip.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
Christine

[Neil Cuadra]

After my wife's transplant we carefully followed a neutropenic diet. She had less interest in meat than before her transplant and she tended to want colder and sweeter foods like cottage cheese and canned fruit. We don't know why her preferences changed like that.

The neutropenic diet was a bit boring compared to our regular diet because you are limited to a subset of the regular food you are used to. Also, we were supposed to avoid keeping leftovers for more than a day or two, so if we made enough of something for multiple dinners, we'd eat it on consecutive days. No saving it longer for more variety throughout the week. My wife missed the fresh salads that were no longer allowed, and counted the days until she could have them again.

The key is to pick whatever you like best from among the choices permitted on a neutropenic diet. The post-transplant diet recommendations vary from one treatment center to another but I think the Neutropenic Diet from ACOR is a good reference. If you are used to fresh fruits and vegetables it's a bit of an adjustment. Other than thick-skinned fruit like oranges and bananas, they recommend cooked or canned fruits and vegetables.

There's a study in progress at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center on how raw fruits and vegetables affect patients on a neutropenic diet. A previous study showed mixed results. In the meantime, it's best to play it safe right after a transplant.