My brothers broke his jaw. Any food suggestions or recipes ( in liquid form) would be greatly appreciated…
It’s gonna be a L O N G six to eight weeks…
Has this ever happened to you? How did you get through it?
Thanks tons…
Whose jaw did your brothers break?
There was a thread a while back about this where somebody was talking about trying to push small pieces of steak through a gap in the teeth - not a very good idea, as you not only can’t open your mouth to put food inside, but you also can’t chew it.
Can’t offer any great suggestions here except clear chinese soups (which are tasty) and ice cream milkshakes.
Smoothies would be good, and nutritious too. Plop yogurt into a blender or food processor; add fruit of choice (banana or something that complements the yougurt); bobbit in some wheat germ and juice and buzz.
Mangetout’s idea about clear soups is great. I’d imagine your brother will crave some savory stuff pretty quickly. Actually he could probably get away with thicker cream based soups too, like potato with cheddar, cream of broccoli, etc. They might help him feel like he’s eaten somthing rather than snacked on sweet stuff.
My brother broke his jaw several years go. Sure, it was during the summer, so there were a lot of milkshakes in his diet during that time, but he did find some things that were ok.
Cream based soups tended to be the best - but they still needed to be put through the blender. Cream of chicken was one of his favorites.
He hated the liquid meal things like Ensure - he’d drink them because he felt like he needed the nutrition, but said they were some of the nastiest stuff he’d ever had (my father made the same comment last year when he couldn’t eat much because of radiation treatments on his throat).
I had my jaw wired for 6 weeks. They (the hospital) arranged for me to see a dietician, to get advice on what to prepare. Maybe he should ask at the hospital, or your family doctor if there is someone like this he could see.
I found that most of the OTC supplement type things tended to be sweet - like milkshakes and so on, and as TVeblen says, the craving for savoury things soon kicks in. Despite receiving advice from the hospital, my weight became an issue after a while, as your appetite seems to wane after the initial hunger pangs subside. I found there was a limit to how much fluid I could get through, even though I was hungry. Many people suggested i just liquidize the same meal everybody else was having, but in all seriousness, the ability to enjoy that kind of dinner dies when you grow your first set of teeth!
Unless he has a gap between his teeth, somewhere for a straw, then any soups will need to be blitzed. Any ‘bits’ sure do lodge between your teeth if you just swill through your teeth, and flossing is obviously a no-no. My biggest cravings were for the things that couldn’t be blitzed in a blender - like the taste of a ham sandwich, or fish & chips (yes, Brit Alert).
Licking your lips is something you don’t miss until you can’t do it, and I found I needed a lip salve handy to stop them drying out too much. Yawning can be interesting too - you can feel your teeth ‘pull’ as you instinctively try to open your mouth. It takes a while to get used to not trying to open your mouth fullstop, and he might find his teeth ache.
I pity him the whole festive season. Family meals can be a real torture when you are unable to participate in the food. I expect he will feel torn between missing the chat and company, and avoiding the nightmare of watching people tuck in to all the goodies. Believe me, his soup doesn’t last anywhere near as long as a full on Christmas Dinner. I was wired up over Easter, and that was bad enough.
My sympathies to your brother - I hope he makes it through ok, and that they unwire him in 6 rather than 8 weeks!
SQ,
Oh Lord… I didn’t even think about YAWNING!!!
and to ALL, thanks for your help.
I ADORE eating, so I cant even imagine how hard this will be for him… I’m sure I would go mad…:eek:
any and all suggestions will be utilized I’m sure…
We will curtail the baking and eating this holiday season,
bless his heart…
ps. his jaw was broken during an ice hockey game
My brother had his jaws wired when he was a teen to correct a fierce overbite. After a few weeks of the usual liquid fare, he resorted to tossing just about anything in a blender to achieve his usual variety. I’m talking about cheeseburgers, fish sticks, cereals, brownies… you name it. A lot of the stuff looked like puke, but he sucked it all down with gusto.
I had my jaw wired shut for a month when I was 17 after surgery to correct and underbite. I tried blending up soups. I found that most soups are unappealing and take on weird flavors when blended, except cream soups, which looked and tasted fairly the same. I made a lot of fruit shakes (we didn’t call them smoothies back in the dark days of 1988) and blended up cream of chicken and mushroom. Tomato was also good. I couldn’t stand Carnation Instant Breakfast and the like-- way too sweet. He might want to think about protein shakes of some sort-- maybe adding whey powder to fruit shakes or something like Met-RX if he can stomach it (I can’t). Soups and the like don’t have much protein. I also found that a waterpik was invaluable. He won’t be able to brush the inside of his teeth, or floss. I used a waterpik and added listerine to the water, after every “meal”. My oral surgeon praised my good oral hygiene-- he said most people have breath that could peel paint off the table after a few days of being wired.
Add some soy protein powder to the smoothies and make them with soy milk because like people who have their stomachs stapled, getting enough protein is hard. Since he’s athletic he’ll need more than the average or he’ll be losing that muscle fast. This also helps satisfy that craving for more solid food. I like that nutty taste of the protein powder. Throw in some ice cubes before blending as well. For some reason it tastes better cold.
Muscle loss,
didn’t think about that either, the Dr has failed to mention alot of these things… at least not yet…
I knew I could count on you guys!!
Pray he doesn’t get a tummy bug and need to upchuck.
I suggest getting some nausea medication to have on hand just in case.
An old pal had all his teeth pulled, and he lost 15 pounds the first 2 weeks. Then he learned he could put everything he loved to eat in a blender. Steak puree and mashed potato shake didn’t stack up to the real thing, but it kept him going until he got his dentures.
Water Pic is your friend.