Solution for Ensure haters, update and question

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I hated Ensure too, and, at first, I couldn't find a good high

protein substitute, because they were all too gummy for the syringe.

Here is what I found in the " Healing Jaw " book. This worked. I hate

milk straight anyway, so I don't know what this would taste like un-

doctored, but mixed with stuff, it was GREAT.

Fortified Milk: 1 quart milk, 1 cup Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry

Milk. Mix milk and powdered milk with beaters until dissolved.

Refrigerate. The flavor will improve after several

hours. " Fortified milk is very high in protein and nutrients. Use

in recipes and drinks in place of regular milk to boost nutrition.

Powdered nonfat milk adds an extra 8 grams of protein to each cup of

milk. 1 cup 2% milk contains 10 grams of protein. This totals a

whopping 18 grams of protein per cup, helping to make each bite [or

syringe push] count! Fortified milk is also a great source of

potassium, calcium, vitamin D, and a variety of other nutrients. "

Okay, now, also from the " Healing Jaw " book, here is my favorite

drink. It was sometimes the only one I could reliably get down:

Mocha Blast: 1 cup milk (fortified works great), 1/2 cup chocolate

pudding (pre-made works fine), 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream, 1 packet

milk chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast, 1 and 1/2 tsps. instant

coffee. Blend until smooth. At night, my teeth were very sensitive

to cold, probably because the nerves were messed up. Then, I had to

have thin soup, and, like some of you, it had to be THIN. Two things

that worked: Bean and Bacon soup blended with milk and

worchestershire sauce, and Cream of anything soup blended with 1/4

cup or so of Ragu cheese sauce and milk.

My surgery (palate expansion, lower brought forward, and genio) was

11/23. I have made good progress, but am still tired often and very

emotional. I can take the bands off and eat anything I want. But,

since I can still only open my mouth about half as far as I could

before, and because I am still tender, there are definite limits to

what I can eat. And I have a hard time managing the food in my

mouth, because I am still numb in places. I think I just need to be

patient.

My question has to do with mouth opening. For those of you who

already have or who are working on solving this problem, how did you

do it? My OS very briefly described opening exercises, which

basically involve prying your teeth apart with your fingers. Okay.

I can do that to an extent, but it hurts, so it's hard to do and hard

to hold for any length of time. And, seems to be of very little

use. Any advice?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I hated Ensure too, and, at first, I couldn't find a good high

protein substitute, because they were all too gummy for the syringe.

Here is what I found in the " Healing Jaw " book. This worked. I hate

milk straight anyway, so I don't know what this would taste like un-

doctored, but mixed with stuff, it was GREAT.

Fortified Milk: 1 quart milk, 1 cup Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry

Milk. Mix milk and powdered milk with beaters until dissolved.

Refrigerate. The flavor will improve after several

hours. " Fortified milk is very high in protein and nutrients. Use

in recipes and drinks in place of regular milk to boost nutrition.

Powdered nonfat milk adds an extra 8 grams of protein to each cup of

milk. 1 cup 2% milk contains 10 grams of protein. This totals a

whopping 18 grams of protein per cup, helping to make each bite [or

syringe push] count! Fortified milk is also a great source of

potassium, calcium, vitamin D, and a variety of other nutrients. "

Okay, now, also from the " Healing Jaw " book, here is my favorite

drink. It was sometimes the only one I could reliably get down:

Mocha Blast: 1 cup milk (fortified works great), 1/2 cup chocolate

pudding (pre-made works fine), 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream, 1 packet

milk chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast, 1 and 1/2 tsps. instant

coffee. Blend until smooth. At night, my teeth were very sensitive

to cold, probably because the nerves were messed up. Then, I had to

have thin soup, and, like some of you, it had to be THIN. Two things

that worked: Bean and Bacon soup blended with milk and

worchestershire sauce, and Cream of anything soup blended with 1/4

cup or so of Ragu cheese sauce and milk.

My surgery (palate expansion, lower brought forward, and genio) was

11/23. I have made good progress, but am still tired often and very

emotional. I can take the bands off and eat anything I want. But,

since I can still only open my mouth about half as far as I could

before, and because I am still tender, there are definite limits to

what I can eat. And I have a hard time managing the food in my

mouth, because I am still numb in places. I think I just need to be

patient.

My question has to do with mouth opening. For those of you who

already have or who are working on solving this problem, how did you

do it? My OS very briefly described opening exercises, which

basically involve prying your teeth apart with your fingers. Okay.

I can do that to an extent, but it hurts, so it's hard to do and hard

to hold for any length of time. And, seems to be of very little

use. Any advice?