Older Cystic Fibrosis patient

I know I'm odd, but when I was 67 I was diagnosed with adult onset Cystic Fibrosis, after suffering from severe Bronchiectasis for about 10 years. It was probably actually the start of cystic fibrosis back then. I'm looking for someone in this older age bracket. I am now 68 years old and find that I am losing weight and cannot seem to stop this process; is there any magic that can help? I am wondering if the loss of appetite and weight loss are cystic fibrosis related or maybe something else. Look forward to hearing from someone!

There is no such thing as "adult onset" CF. "Adult onset" is something you would get with diabetes, because you would develop it later on in life, whereas CF is genetic, and you HAVE to be born with it. You would have been born with it - had it at birth, because you have such a mild form of it, your symptoms didn't appear until much later on in life. I've heard of many CFers being diagnosed in early/late adulthood. Make sure that you are going to an accredited CF centre for your care though.

As for weight loss and no appetite - that can be CF related. CFers are notorious for having trouble putting weight on, and appetite loss with some patients. I would suggest supplements for you. A lot (almost all CFers) of CFers are on supplements to help weight gain - shakes. You can get these at your pharmacy, local grocery store, etc. There are Scandishake supplements which come in vanilla, strawberry & chocolate, there's Boost which comes in mocha, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. There is also Enrich, Carnation Instant breakfast as well. These are all weight gain shakes. Here are a few links for more info. I highly recommend these. Boost also comes in puddings too!

http://www.axcan.com/scandishake_us.php?lang=1

http://www.boost.com/boostpluscons.html

http://www.carnationinstantbreakfast.com/

http://www.nestle-nutrition.com/product.aspx?objectid=2A77E1DA-2932-4AB1-A00D-F5D1A0B9F965

Hope this helps!

Yes high fatty foods are generally considered a crucial aspect of a CFers diet. Although I think it really depends on the individual, some methods work for some, and some just don't. I have always been told as high fat as possible, and this has been working pretty good for me, even though i'm still considered underweight. And yes you are right, its because the fat isnt digested as well so we need more, and because generally CFers use up so much more energy than others just to breathe and fight infection, so we need heaps more calories - usually the easiest way to obtain those extra calories is fat! Well that's what I've always been told at least. Hope this helps.