Farmer H had a regular appointment with his doctor nurse practitioner this week. According to Farmer H, his bloodwork once again showed that he had a low protein level.
"My protein was 6.2. She says normal is between 6.8 and 7.6. So it's just barely below normal. But that I should eat more protein."
"All you eat is protein!!! Well. Except for the morning donuts and candy bars when you stop for gas or a soda, and your cookies and Little Debbie Zebra Cakes in the evening. But really, all you ever want to eat is the MEAT part of a meal."
"I don't know. She always says my protein is low."
How is this possible for a guy who eats a towering bowl of soup, having dipped out an entire arm roast into his bowl, with no "juice" and barely a vegetable??? Every time we have a meal with meat, I have to tell Farmer H how much meat he is allowed, lest he take it all! Like when we have the pot of sausage/potatoes/cabbage. His entire bowl would be meat if I didn't give him guidelines.
If Farmer H had been invited to Mary Richards's dinner party, he would have wrestled Lou Grant for the Veal Prince Orloff, and Mary would have been faced with a worse problem than telling Mr. Grant to put back the mere half that he had taken off the platter. Farmer H would have unhinged his jaw like a snake, and swallowed Veal Prince Orloff whole!
In fact, the very evening that Farmer H was regaling how he was deficient in protein, implying that I did not feed him properly, he was having chicken wings and a salad. Except he was too full for the salad. But not too full for two slices of Nutty Oat Bread with butter. The serving of chicken wings I had made for him was 8 pieces. The package said that a serving was 3 pieces, with a calorie content of 270, and protein of 24 grams. So... Farmer H was having 2.67 servings, and getting 64 grams of protein just from the chicken wings.
Not sure how much more protein I can force into Farmer H. Perhaps his pernicious anemia affects his protein absorption as well as the B12 absorption. Perhaps not. Mrs. HM is not a nurse practitioner who works one day a week.
I know you probably have already thought of this but, are you sure this information is correct? Maybe he THOUGHT that i what she said, but wasn't. This is why I usually accompany HeWho hears things differently.
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteI HAVE considered that, especially about the numbers he gave. But he's mentioned before that his NP has said his protein is low. As The Pony says, it has to be something about the way his body is processing the protein, because Farmer H eats plenty of it. Not sure if his inability to get B12 out of food is a factor. He DOES get B12 shots, and supposedly that level is fine. Apparently the one-day-a-week NP isn't concerned enough to send him to a specialist.
It might be worth going with him next time and asking what foods he could eat the would help and perhaps what foods he should absolutely avoid until the protein levels are up again. Does he eat eggs? They have protein, which I bet you already know.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
ReplyDeleteSorry. Farmer H is an adult, and I am not going to accompany him to a doctor appointment. He can ask that question himself. He is not a child, and if he WANTS to remedy this protein situation, he must be invested in his own health.
I know that eggs have protein. I am not going to make eggs for Farmer H at 5:30 a.m. before he goes to town. He will STILL get donuts anyway. I think maybe if he backed off on the sweets and carbs, the protein issue might take care of itself, since he does eat lots of protein, and then the percentage would be higher.