Here are my top tips to survive eating the first week after jaw surgery:
When you're not sleeping/napping or attempting to sleep/nap, you should be eating. The less you're able to eat in a sitting, the more frequently you need to be eating. For example, in the beginning, I was able to eat 40 mLs in 10-20 mins, which meant I needed to eat basically every half hour. Once I was able to consume 125-250 mLs (or 1/2-1 cup) in a sitting, I only needed to eat every 2 hours or so.
Watch out for dehydration. Your #1 nutrition goal after surgery is to avoid becoming dehydrated. The good news is that all of your liquid foods count towards your hydration goal, so don't think you need to be drinking a lot of water.
Track everything. Keep a notebook to note down HOW MUCH and WHAT you're eating. Eating enough calories and protein is key to the healing process.
Prioritize liquid foods that have AT LEAST 200 calories per portion, if not more. My favourite meal replacements were 350 and 477 calories each.
Experiment with the temperature of your foods. A numb mouth is one of the many reasons eating after surgery is tricky. I preferred cold liquids because it was the only way I could feel where they were in my mouth. I found room temperature and warm liquids difficult to control because I couldn't feel where they were. They often would just dribble out or shoot to the back of my mouth too quickly causing me to cough and choke.
Be proactive about constipation. Don't wait until you're constipated to start making high fibre smoothies, incorporating probiotic supplements, and taking stool softeners/gentle laxatives. Most strong pain medications cause constipation. Couple this with a low volume of food and liquids and little to no activity, and you're basically just asking for it!
When family and friends offer to help or make soup, say YES! If you're lucky enough to have people who care, let them show their love.
Try different techniques. If you find syringes impossible, try condiment bottles. If you find condiment bottles frustrating, try a different brand of squeeze bottles. Or maybe you'll find slurping from a cup more effective. Bottom line - Don't give up if one method of feeding yourself doesn't work. You HAVE to figure out how to get water and food in.
Eat for survival. Remind yourself that you're not eating for pleasure or for taste right now, you're eating to fuel your body, to heal your body, and to basically survive. Eating is going to feel like a chore for a while. It's going to take effort, it's going to be messy, and it's going to be emotionally exhausting, but you HAVE to do it.
You CAN do this and you WILL get through this!
- Monica, the Jaw Surgery Dietitian
P.S. Are you Canadian? Cool, me too! If you're looking for additional food and nutrition support in your journey and you're a resident of one of the following provinces, feel free to reach out for an online appointment. I'm able to work with patients in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Contact me here!
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