The case in summary • Monica Wickstrøm from Tønsberg has a rare intestinal disease which means that she has to eat large amounts of food to avoid losing weight.• She spends up to NOK 31,940 a month on food, almost ten times as much as the state estimates that a a woman of her age needs.• Wickstrøm believes she should have her food expenses covered on a blue prescription, in the same way as others who need medicine and treatment.• The Ministry of Health and Care confirms that it is not possible to get support for regular food through the blue prescription regulations. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content has been reviewed by news’s journalists before publication. – It destroys my entire economy. I can’t afford anything but to eat. Monica Wickstrøm from Tønsberg has a rare intestinal disease and despairs over the increased food expenses it entails. The Tønsberg woman has a very short intestine after several operations for Crohn’s disease. – I weighed 40 kilos when I left the hospital. Then I was very scared and unsure if I would survive. The short intestine means that Wickstrøm is unable to absorb nutrients from food as before. Thus, she has to eat enormous amounts of food in order not to lose weight. Monica Wickstrøm says that eating takes a lot of time, but that it has become a habit. Photo: Tom Ole Buaas Spends ten times more on food than normal In a doctor’s report, senior doctor Snorri Olafsson writes that her recommended food budget is currently up to NOK 7,985 a week, or NOK 31,940 a month. Here is the food budget for one week at NOK 7985 Norvegia cheese (2x1kg) Cream cheese (2x500g) Roast beef (8x90g) Cashew nuts (150g) Almonds (2x250g) Jasmine rice (960g) Soy sauce (500ml) Olive oil (500ml) Salt (1kg) Sushi (3×7 pieces) Company peas (250g) Celery root Kesam Low-fat vanilla (300g) Free-range eggs (18pcs) Tomato soup (2x119g) Corn cakes (10x130g) Crispbread (3x130g) Formloff (3x600g) Sugar (1kg) Yoghurt (4x350g) Skimmed milk (1 liter) Cream ((3 dl ) Kesam Mager (2x300g) Blueberries Bananas (2 bags First Price) Orange (4) Pineapple (3) Cucumber (2) Carrot (750g) Cabbage Tomato Sweet (500g) Super spinach (200g) Lemons (3pcs) Beetroot (2x500g) Arugula Salad (75g) Leeks (3pcs) Baking soda (150g) Potato flour (500g) Walnut kernels (3x200g) Popcorn (200g) Kick licorice (15x23g) French Fries (90g) Cauliflower (2pcs) Kale (150g) Apples (12pcs) Beef tenderloin (sx350g) Reindeer Medallion (3x300g) Leg of lamb (1kg) Carbonade dough (2x600g) Chicken fillet (650g) Yt Protein Yogurt (3x430g) Greek yogurt (4x350g) Sweet potato (3pcs) Game sauce (3pcs) Olive black (2x240g) Meatball sauce (2pcs) Norwegian Kombucha Mangomiracle (1 litre) Norwegian Kombucha Original (1 litre) Kombucha w/ginger (0.66 litre) Kombucha w/Peach (0.33 litre) Apple juice (3 litre) Råstad (0.33 litre) Kombucha Raspberry (0.33 litre) Norwegian Kombucha Gingerade (3×0.5 litres) Norwegian Kombucha Berryboost (2×0.5 litres) Evergood Classic (2x250g) Potato (2kg) Red paprika (300g) Frozen strawberries (3x400g) Iceberg salad (2pcs) Ginger shot (6x100ml) Cranberry drink (2 litres) Farris Lime (6x 1.5 litres) This is almost ten times as much as the state estimates a woman in her 50s needs. According to the overview of the state Institute for Consumer Research SIFO, a woman of Wickstrøm’s age living alone can get by on NOK 3,620 a month for food and drink. This is what the cart looked like when news took part in a shopping trip in the convenience store. Photo: Roald Marker When news joined Wickstrøm on a shopping spree in her convenience store, she is very particular about what food and drinks she should have. There is tenderloin and other clean meat, fish and nutritious vegetables in large quantities. And several bottles of Farris with minerals she wants to take in. – Many people comment that I eat and drink all the time. But I don’t have a choice if I want to function in everyday life, she says. – But some people will perhaps react to the fact that you eat so much expensive food, such as pure meat and fish? – I understand that, but I have to have clean food with a lot of nutrition. For me it is medicine just like others get asthma medicine or medicine for their heart. Wickstrøm herself believes that she should have her food expenses covered on a blue prescription, just like others who need medicine and treatment. Many have reacted to the fact that Wickstrøm must regularly take breaks to eat and drink. Photo: Tom Ole Buaas Medicine for NOK 2.7 million Senior doctor at Innlandet Gjøvik Hospital, Snorri Olafsson, is still working with Monica Wickstrøm to find the optimal diet and treatment for her. Also to find less expensive foods that can work. – Monica has a very rare and complicated disease called short bowel syndrome. Up to 90 per cent of the calories go straight through the gut and into the toilet, without being absorbed, he says. Snorri Olafsson is one of the country’s foremost experts on short bowel syndrome. He worked for several years with this patient group in the USA. Photo: Tom Ole Buaas / news Olafsson has previously worked with patients with short bowel syndrome abroad. He believes that too little is invested in these patients in Norway. Among other things, he wants a separate hospital ward for them, as is the case in many other countries. He also supports Monica Wickstrøm’s wish to have food covered as medicine on a blue prescription. – The cheapest and best will probably be to eat, he believes. If they manage that way. Another option is for Wickstrøm to receive intravenous nutrition. According to Olafsson, the cost is just under NOK 750,000. In addition to the price for home nursing twice a day and frequent hospital visits. Intravenous nutrition can be covered by the state, although it is far more expensive than the food she now eats. – But that can lead to complications. Blood clots and infections. She can also run out of veins eventually, says Olafsson. Another option is the expensive medicine Revestive. It is given in daily injections and, according to Olafsson, costs NOK 2.7 million a year. It is possible to get support for a number of different nutritional drinks, but they do not work for Monica Wickstrøm. Photo: Benedicte Goa Ludvigsen / news Gives support to nutritional drinks, not to regular food Department director, Siv Cathrine Høymork, says that Helse Sør-East is not aware of any health organization planning to set up a national treatment service for patients with short-bowel syndrome . In the Ministry of Health and Care, news receives confirmation that it is not possible to get support for ordinary food through the blue prescription regulations. In the ministry, they point out instead that it is possible to get support for a number of different nutritious drinks with different nutritional content. Senior doctor Snorri Olafsson, on the other hand, rejects that nutritional drinks can be a solution for Monica Wickstrøm and patients with short bowel syndrome. – There are many people who believe that these nutrient drinks can replace food, but it does not work for those with a short intestine. The drinks lead to increased diarrhea and are not an alternative, says Olafsson. Monica Wickstrøm says she now has to ask for social assistance from NAV in order to have enough money for food and housing. There is no solution she wants and she is fed up with the regulations. – It should have been possible to get food as medicine, since it is far more economically viable than the other alternatives. Dogs have been a big part of the life of Monica Wickstrøm, who has been both an instructor and a national team participant. Photo: Roald Marker / news When she now asks for social assistance, she fears that she will have to get rid of two dogs she has, which mean a lot to her. She has been involved in dog sports for many years and has been on the national team in obedience. – The dogs sat by my hospital bed when I was at my worst and have kept me up afterwards. They keep me active and going. So then I’d rather move out into the car than get rid of them. Because then I have no life, she says.
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Monica (56) has a food budget of 31,940 a month – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
