jaw wired shut!!

momma_roo
momma_roo Posts: 146 Member
edited October 3 in Food and Nutrition
You won't believe what happened to me yesterday! I went in for a routine tooth extraction and the root was wrapped around the bone. They broke the bone holding 3 of my teeth and sent me to oral surgery. After removing the original tooth that needed to be pulled the surgeon informed me that I could either lose the other two teeth along with a chunk of the bone or have my jaw wired shut.I chose the second option. So I'm back and on a diet of only liquids :( Any ideas for foods I could eat through a straw would be extremely helpful. Unfortunately I am newly lactose intolerant, so a lot of the foods I could eat make me sick :(

Replies

  • deathstarclock
    deathstarclock Posts: 512 Member
    Do what Bruce Lee did. Puree the hell out of everything and drink it as a shake :drinker:
  • lostsoul2216
    lostsoul2216 Posts: 57 Member
    eeeps ouch. I would go for things like the v8 fusion.

    YOu can always put things like fresh fruits into a blender and make smoothies or things like that too.

    I wish I had more help to give. You mentioned that you were back on liquid foods again. Has this type of injury happened before?
  • louisee294
    louisee294 Posts: 140 Member
    Oh my gosh you poor thing that sound horrific!! :(

    I would invest in a blender and make soups and smoothies from fresh fruit and veg.
  • meeperoon
    meeperoon Posts: 270 Member
    If you don't have a blender I suggest you get one quick and read up on some fantastic soups! Oh I feel for you I really do!
    how long is it on for?

    Best of luck xx
  • cygnetpro
    cygnetpro Posts: 419 Member
    Yikes! The obvious choice was to recommend smoothies/yogurt blends, but clearly that won't work for you.

    I had a friend once who ate babyfood for a while when she had to use a straw for a while. Babyfood tends to not have many chemicals or additional ingredients, which makes it nutritious (although she had to add spices and things to make it taste a little better).

    You may want to google "dysphagia diet", since a lot of people who develop difficulty swallowing have to eat their foods in a similar consistency. They may have good recipes, etc. posted online somewhere.

    Good luck! :-)
  • Skinny_minny_mo
    Skinny_minny_mo Posts: 1,272 Member
    ouch!

    wishing you a speedy recovery :)

    on the plus side, those last 7lbs of yours are likely to disappear pretty fast on a liquid diet
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    sometimes at night I wish I could wire my jaw shut, or put some headgear on with a timer on it haha. I would go with Protein shakes, puree fresh fruits and veggies. Roasted red pepper tomato soup is really yummy too!
  • BodybyPlants
    BodybyPlants Posts: 76 Member
    I am lactose intolerant as well and I have a lot of smoothie ideas.

    Example: Soy milk + Cocoa powder + Banana = Awesome (you could even through in some creamy peanut butter for added protein)

    Soy milk + spinach + strawberries (make sure you blend these well) + cinnamon and honey (to taste) = Yummy

    I have many more, message me if you need some new options. =)
  • leomom72
    leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
    :frown: that sounds awful..i guess do as everyone else says..try asking in google for more options..best of luck..how long do you have to live like that ??:flowerforyou:
  • LATeagno
    LATeagno Posts: 620 Member
    Campells makes really good "creamy" soups (no chunks) that come in boxes. I think they also carry the V8 label. They come in butternut squash, broccoli and some kind of tomato that is fantastic.

    I would get some Ensure as well. You need lots of protein, not all fruit sugar. It's high in calories and nutrients, and since you can only drink, that's extremely important. It even has fiber.

    Good luck! That's quite an ordeal!
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    almond milk (or soy milk or Lactaid milk) with a couple of scoops of protein powder and other stuff.

    use the vanilla powder with strawberries in it...chocolate powder with peanut butter in it...etc
  • cygnetpro
    cygnetpro Posts: 419 Member
    Here's a dysphagia recipe website (there are a bunch) to try:

    http://www.ehow.com/way_5212659_recipes-dysphagia-patients.html
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Oh my heart goes out to you! I am soooo sorry to hear that. If you have a juicer or powerful blender like the vitamixer you could blends your veggies and fruits. You could liquify soups. Whew, if you don't have the juicer or blender, then I would buy lots of organic juices and sip them. How long will they be wired?
  • BodybyPlants
    BodybyPlants Posts: 76 Member
    sometimes at night I wish I could wire my jaw shut, or put some headgear on with a timer on it haha. I would go with Protein shakes, puree fresh fruits and veggies. Roasted red pepper tomato soup is really yummy too!

    I probably would avoid most protein powders because they contain lactose! Unless they state they are lactose free! Soy protein powder would be an option!
  • lor007
    lor007 Posts: 884 Member
    Get a really good blender if you don't already have one.

    A friend of mine was on a liquid diet for 2 months after a palette surgery, and he ate basically everything..just in a pureed form. Some good options are mashed potatoes (blended with a little soy milk since you can't have regular, maybe? and some chicken broth), chicken noodle soup blended up, maybe some calorie dense protein shakes since I am assuming you'll have a hard time meeting your requirement each day.

    Good luck!
  • wendybrian
    wendybrian Posts: 23
    Wow, That must have been such a shock!!!! I would probably start off with protein shakes. I don't know how long you will be like this, but this I think is a great start. The higher the protein the better off your tummy won't be growling. I get 30 gram of protein in Costco's Premier chocolate shakes. You might want to try going to the Vitamin Shoppe or GNC. Ask them the questions about your condition. I would think about 60 grams or over for protein. Good Luck sweetie!!!
  • voluptuous_veggie
    voluptuous_veggie Posts: 476 Member
    So your surgeons didn't schedule any time with the staff nutritional counselor for you? They are supposed to do that any time that you are in a position where you diet needs to be modified. I would get in contact with your insurance agency right away, as this is something that you have a right to.
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
    I would invest in a juicer and an immersion blender. I'd also do what voluptuous_veggie suggested and talk to your insurance about seeing a dietician
  • momma_roo
    momma_roo Posts: 146 Member
    Thank you for all of your wonderful suggestions. I don't feel much like eating now, but I have to have something on my stomach for the meds, i was horribly sick last night. I will look into nutritional counciling, I'm sure they would have set it up, but it was emergency surgery. You guys gave me great ideas to work with, my husband is at the store now buying stuff for Gazpacho. I don't have a juicer, but I do have a food processor and a blender, hopefully that will get me through. I am looking at 4-6 weeks like this :(
  • momma_roo
    momma_roo Posts: 146 Member
    eeeps ouch. I would go for things like the v8 fusion.

    YOu can always put things like fresh fruits into a blender and make smoothies or things like that too.

    I wish I had more help to give. You mentioned that you were back on liquid foods again. Has this type of injury happened before?

    I love V8 fusion, I am drinking some now. What I meant was back on a diet. I have been maintaining for a few months now, which I am now thankful for because I've been eating what I want, and now I can't...
  • maria1113
    maria1113 Posts: 508 Member
    Om my goodness, that sounds horrible! I hope you find plenty of good recipes!
  • jemko
    jemko Posts: 91 Member
    As someone who had their jaw wired shut for 6 weeks, I can honestly sympathize. Definitely get yourself some Ensure, it is the best way for you to be sure that you're getting all of the vitamins/nutrition that you need. Pick up a good strainer if you don't have one, so that you can strain the foods that you puree and make sure there aren't bits that can get stuck in your teeth and clog the few openings you have to get food down your throat. Don't even think that if the bits are 'small enough', you can make it work. You probably can't. lol

    Some things that I relied on were watery mashed potatoes, protein shakes (whey protein and almond milk), soup run through a blender and strained, slightly melted milk shakes (you're getting SO few calories as it is, a milk shake is a good way to bulk up your calories), Ensure (at least 1-2 a day).

    It's going to be hard, I won't lie, and by the end you'll be DESPERATE for flavor (I got to the point where I would stick my finger in a container of BBQ sauce and suck it off of my finger because I just wanted something with flavor!). You can do it, though, and remember - it's only 4-6 weeks.

    Now, remember, when the time is up, DON'T go pig out because you're so happy to be able to eat. You need to ease back in to chewing food and start slow. Otherwise your stomach will revolt and you'll be left with a very sore jaw afterwards from all of that chewing.

    If you have any other questions, feel free to drop me a message!
  • momma_roo
    momma_roo Posts: 146 Member
    Thank you Jemko that is very helpful
This discussion has been closed.

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