Re: Wired shut

[Guest guest]

Sorry to hear about your situation, and sorry to say I am in the same boat.

I also am having trouble with even slightly thick liquids..I couldn't even

imagine a milkshake! Right now I am enjoying a bowl of chicken and stars soup,

I

threw some crackers in and put it in the blender. I am using a very wide

straw from my sons sports bottle and although it's taking some time to get down,

it's the closest thing to a real meal for more than a week. I don't know if I

would recomend going for that spot in the back of your mouth where your wisdom

tooth was. I discovered I could split my meds in 4's and take them through

that spot way in the back, but today I was in excruciating pain and I think it

was from all the tugging and pulling I was doing to get the pill back there.

Looks crushing them is what I am going to have to deal with...YUCK!

Let me know if you come up with any ideas and I will do the same!

Good Luck!

Linnette

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the advice. Fortunately I do not have any stitches on the inside

of my mouth. I had a wisdom tooth extraction last May and the dentist broke

my jaw. My most recent surgery was due to chronic osteomylitis of the

mandible. They had to remove the metal bar that was inserted (under my chin)

into my

jaw. I am now wired shut for a minimum of 4 weeks. I will then have bone

grafting done and will be wired shut again. I have been encouraged to use

straws

for nutrition but it hasn't been easy, the wires are extremely tight and

don't give much room for anything to get trough. I think the pain I was feeling

yesterday and today was muscular, at least that's what my oral surgeon has

suggested. My cheek muscles have been stretched so much over the last few

months

and now they are finally back where they are supposed to be. Trying to get

the meds into the back of my mouth put even more strain on the muscles by trying

to open my mouth as much as I could. So, I learned my lesson and will have

to continue grinding those damn pills and the burning feeling as they are

going down the back of my throat!

Good luck to all...This too shall pass!

Linnette

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the support!

I have a wonderful team of oral surgeons working with me. It has been as

frustrating for them as well, because I have been a very unual case tio say the

least. If anything could happen, it has. It started 8 months ago during a

routine wisdom tooth extraction, the dentist broke my jaw and didn't want to

fess

up to this. After many return visits to him, E.R's and other practioners I

was finally diagnoised 3 weeks after the extraction at an excellent teaching

hospital in Cleveland. Everything went well at first but then the infections

started and have been chronic. They are doing everything they possible can to

keep things under control and give me my life back. I'm usually in good

spirits, but trust me, I have had my share of melt downs this week. Thanks

again

and hope all is going well with you!

Linnette

[Guest guest]

Okay, the strip of plastic between your teeth is called a

" splint "

and it is " normal " if your surgeon told you to expect it

after you

woke up.

It may be a little late now but I would have suggested that you

purchase

some " Zip-N-Squeeze " bags for feeding purposes.

It sounds to me that your surgeon did not (or you did not ask) what

to expect during your recovery.

I'm sorry that you are having a difficult time and I wish you

nothing

but the best in your recovery. My surgery is not until Feb 2nd but I

feel that I have gained invaluable information from this site and I

feel very prepared.

Take care,

> Okay, my mouth is wired shut and there is a strip of plastic

between

> the rows of my top and bottom teeth(is this normal??), and i am

> finding it VERY difficult to drink even the thinnest of liquids. I

> hate ensure and boost but as of now its the only way for me to

keep

> weight on. Someone please help me find a better and easier way to

get

> liquids in and maybe some thicker, blended food drinks that i

might

> be able to get through my teeth. I had my wisdom teeth extracted

as

> well in the operation so should i try stickin a straw way back

there?

> HELP!!!!

[Guest guest]

Okay, the strip of plastic between your teeth is called a

" splint "

and it is " normal " if your surgeon told you to expect it

after you

woke up.

It may be a little late now but I would have suggested that you

purchase

some " Zip-N-Squeeze " bags for feeding purposes.

It sounds to me that your surgeon did not (or you did not ask) what

to expect during your recovery.

I'm sorry that you are having a difficult time and I wish you

nothing

but the best in your recovery. My surgery is not until Feb 2nd but I

feel that I have gained invaluable information from this site and I

feel very prepared.

Take care,

> Okay, my mouth is wired shut and there is a strip of plastic

between

> the rows of my top and bottom teeth(is this normal??), and i am

> finding it VERY difficult to drink even the thinnest of liquids. I

> hate ensure and boost but as of now its the only way for me to

keep

> weight on. Someone please help me find a better and easier way to

get

> liquids in and maybe some thicker, blended food drinks that i

might

> be able to get through my teeth. I had my wisdom teeth extracted

as

> well in the operation so should i try stickin a straw way back

there?

> HELP!!!!

[Guest guest]

Okay, the strip of plastic between your teeth is called a

" splint "

and it is " normal " if your surgeon told you to expect it

after you

woke up.

It may be a little late now but I would have suggested that you

purchase

some " Zip-N-Squeeze " bags for feeding purposes.

It sounds to me that your surgeon did not (or you did not ask) what

to expect during your recovery.

I'm sorry that you are having a difficult time and I wish you

nothing

but the best in your recovery. My surgery is not until Feb 2nd but I

feel that I have gained invaluable information from this site and I

feel very prepared.

Take care,

> Okay, my mouth is wired shut and there is a strip of plastic

between

> the rows of my top and bottom teeth(is this normal??), and i am

> finding it VERY difficult to drink even the thinnest of liquids. I

> hate ensure and boost but as of now its the only way for me to

keep

> weight on. Someone please help me find a better and easier way to

get

> liquids in and maybe some thicker, blended food drinks that i

might

> be able to get through my teeth. I had my wisdom teeth extracted

as

> well in the operation so should i try stickin a straw way back

there?

> HELP!!!!

[Guest guest]

You have, I would think, unusually difficult troubles, and I am sooo

sorry. I hope your dentist can help you, as well as whoever is

dealing with the osteomylitis -- that is, from what I have heard, a

particularly troublesome set of problems, and I sympathise.

Did all these guys (or/and gals) who are treating you know about all

these complications?

Maybe they're doing what is the best that can be managed -- I hope

so. But you have, I would suspect, a highly unusual set of

complications. Not that such is any easier for you, but just that

most folks won't and don't have to face them, I hope.

You sound in good spirits, and I hope you are getting the help you

need to get through these hard problems.

C/

[Guest guest]

Aside from eating, I have resumed my daily activities. I'm a mom and

full-time caregiver for my elderly mom, so I don't have much choice around here.

If

I'm broken the whole house falls apart. I did give up my part time job while

the wires are on, I was a waitress. Hmmm, maybe I should have kept it and

gotten some sympathy tips!!!! I go back to school full time on Monday and I

shouldn't have any problems with that either, I'm just a bit hard to understand

at

times. The first few days were the hardest but you do get used to it and it

does get easier, physically and mentally!

Good luck to all!

Linnette

[Guest guest]

NO, I've been lucky and haven't experienced dry mouth. I'm also surprised I

haven't needed to use the wax on the bands. I am still in a lot of pain, but

it's not from the wires, it's from the latest infection of the very little jaw

bone in which I have left.

[Guest guest]

Can you do anything close to normal activity?

[Guest guest]

Being wired shut, do you experience dry mouth or anything like

that. After my first surgery, I was wired for maybe a day or two,

and seems that not to long after that I got an extreme case of

cotton mouth which made it really hard to do be at all comfortable

doing anything.

[Guest guest]

My daughter had surgery 3 weeks ago and we found some bottles that

are used for hair color work very well for squeezing in liquid. They

have a long thin pointy tip on them that can fit in between a small

opening in your teeth. The bottles have markings on the side for

ounces so that you can tell exactly how much you drank and keep up

with your calories easily. You can buy them at any beauty supply

store. We have a store here call Sally's beauty supply and they cost

$1.59 each. I bought several so that I could mix up the Carnation

Instant Breakfast and Ensure and pre-fill the bottles and keep them

in the refrigerator so that they are ready at all times. They have

worked very well for us.

Rhonda

> Okay, my mouth is wired shut and there is a strip of plastic

between

> the rows of my top and bottom teeth(is this normal??), and i am

> finding it VERY difficult to drink even the thinnest of liquids. I

> hate ensure and boost but as of now its the only way for me to keep

> weight on. Someone please help me find a better and easier way to

get

> liquids in and maybe some thicker, blended food drinks that i might

> be able to get through my teeth. I had my wisdom teeth extracted as

> well in the operation so should i try stickin a straw way back

there?

> HELP!!!!

[Guest guest]

Linnette,

I had difficulty getting pills down as well and couldn't really

stomach the taste of crushed pills - even in pudding. Every med my

OS prescribed also comes in liquid form (even hydrocodone) - so, I

asked him to write prescriptions for liquid meds.

The liquid meds don't taste great, but you won't have to struggle to

get it in. You can use one of the syringes the hospital sent home

with you to squeeze it in and swallow.

Kassandra

> Sorry to hear about your situation, and sorry to say I am in the

same boat.

> I also am having trouble with even slightly thick liquids..I

couldn't even

> imagine a milkshake! Right now I am enjoying a bowl of chicken and

stars soup, I

> threw some crackers in and put it in the blender. I am using a

very wide

> straw from my sons sports bottle and although it's taking some time

to get down,

> it's the closest thing to a real meal for more than a week. I don't

know if I

> would recomend going for that spot in the back of your mouth where

your wisdom

> tooth was. I discovered I could split my meds in 4's and take them

through

> that spot way in the back, but today I was in excruciating pain and

I think it

> was from all the tugging and pulling I was doing to get the pill

back there.

> Looks crushing them is what I am going to have to deal with...YUCK!

> Let me know if you come up with any ideas and I will do the same!

> Good Luck!

> Linnette

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

You didn't mention exactly what you are using to get food in your

mouth, but it's not too late to get Zip-N-Squeeze bags. They have a

kit that has two types of bags - one for thin liquids and one for

thicker liquids. They also sell a kit for more durable bags. And

they have expedited delivery.

You won't have to suck - you just squeeze the bag and the food flows

out. You will need to insert the straw between your cheek and teeth

and get it as far back as you can without blocking the opening.

I don't think you can avoid getting food stuff in your wisdom teeth

area. I'm surprised they opted to do the extraction when they new

your mouth would be wired shut. It's so important to keep those

areas clean and food free to avoid air pockets. Anyway, what's done

is done and you have to eat.

I was also give a large syringe in the hospital with a long thin tub

attached to the end. The tube was small enough that it fit through

the space in the back and I could get it inside my mouth to eat. You

might want to ask your OS about one of those as well - keep in mind

you'll only be able to drink thin liquids through it bcs the tube is

so narrow.

If you don't have a blender - get one. You can make smoothies,

shakes, thin soups.. and make them as thin as you need. Think FAT

(half and half, cream, butter)..

Even with adding that stuff to your diet - you'll still need to drink

up to 3 supplements a day.. So, I don't think you're going to get

out of drinking Ensure/Boost, but varying your diet will help.

> Okay, my mouth is wired shut and there is a strip of plastic

between

> the rows of my top and bottom teeth(is this normal??), and i am

> finding it VERY difficult to drink even the thinnest of liquids. I

> hate ensure and boost but as of now its the only way for me to keep

> weight on. Someone please help me find a better and easier way to

get

> liquids in and maybe some thicker, blended food drinks that i might

> be able to get through my teeth. I had my wisdom teeth extracted as

> well in the operation so should i try stickin a straw way back

there?

> HELP!!!!

[Guest guest]

That strip of plastic, the splint, sure makes it difficult to eat or

talk. In addition, you're swollen all through the mouth, so not

much can get through. Finally, some sort of muscle fatigue takes

over after a few minutes of sucking during the first weeks...I dunno

what, but you suddenly can't get anything down at all. Don't panic.

I was wired with a splint, and for some reason NEVER managed to get

anything but thin, thin liquids through. However, you can thin most

everything with milk or broth (not to say that it will taste the

same).

I just pumped in Slim-Fast shakes (much tastier than Boost or

Ensure, and SlimFast has FIBER---which you will definitely need)

every two to three hours. Felt like a nursing baby. When I went

out, I ordered milkshakes from Burger King (thinner than Mc's)

and thinned out with more milk.

For some weird reason I got so attached to the SlimFast that even

after unwiring, I'd go back to the stuff when I was too tired to

chew. It's full of vitamins and kept me going strong.

Of course, this site kept me going even stronger. Never having

known anyone who'd had this surgery, and having little support from

my OS, I learned everything I needed to know fromt the kind people

here.

ANn

> Okay, my mouth is wired shut and there is a strip of plastic

between

> the rows of my top and bottom teeth(is this normal??), and i am

> finding it VERY difficult to drink even the thinnest of liquids. I

> hate ensure and boost but as of now its the only way for me to

keep

> weight on. Someone please help me find a better and easier way to

get

> liquids in and maybe some thicker, blended food drinks that i

might

> be able to get through my teeth. I had my wisdom teeth extracted

as

> well in the operation so should i try stickin a straw way back

there?

> HELP!!!!