Zip-n-Squeeze is no longer in business or manufacturing their products. We have developed a new product that works a lot like them, the NutriSqueeze pouches. You can find them at https://www.craniorehab.com/
I hope this is helpful for those of you looking for feeding options when you're undergoing surgery. If you do order this product, please write a review and send it to me. I will post it here, or link to it if you have written it on your site.
Thanks and good luck to all of you on your surgeries and recoveries!
8 comments:
hello =). I have been reading your blog for quite some time now, to get ready for my surgery! i have made a bog myself ( with only one post right now HAHA), but i thought I would let you know incase you wanted to link it on the side with the many others!
Hello! I am 34 and 3 months away from double jaw surgery. I just started a blog, which I'm still trying to figure out, to keep my friends and family posted. When I came across your site, I thought I'd drop my name and you could add me too your list of pre-ops. I plan on coming back here to read up on everyone's stories in preparation for my surgery.
journeyofajaw.blogspot.com
Smiles,
Nichole
Oh, I used them!!!
I actually found one that I didn't use recently. I went thru surgery in early April, 2008. I used these starting week 3 or 4 after surgery to about 3 months after surgery. Mostly helpful for taking lunch/meals to work.
I highly recommend these! But note that you need to WASH these out really well, BY HAND. Do NOT stick them into the dishwasher.
And FULLY PUREE everything you put into it. And don't pull hard on the tube that connects to the bag itself while you're eating. That's how you pull it apart to clean it. You don't want to end up w/ your meal all over your hands, the bag, the floor, you, your friend, your pet...
Remember that you need to SQUEEZE the bag at a rate you can swallow w/ your swollen throat and your mouth. It takes a bit of practice. I found that very liquid things were harder to control, so mashed potatoes pureed w/ a soup was a good consistency, not too thick, not too liquidy.
Also, DO NOT, under any circumstance, try to suck on the catheter part (the tube is made out of medical-grade catheter material). Or try to use a straw...I learned painfully that sucking liquids up w/ a straw is a full-mouth endeavor and when you have stitches all around your upper and lower gums and at the back of your mouth, sucking means LOTS OF PAIN and even some blood, depending how healed you are. My doctor saw me trying to drink my broth w/ a straw in the ICU and he took it out of my bowl and threw it away and told the nurse to stop giving me straws b/c I pull on my stitches when I try to use it.
I didn't use the Zip-N-Squeeze bags much at home b/c it was hard to clean, but really helped me w/ eating at work. I couldn't drink a full bottle of Ensure or Ensure plus w/out feeling extremely nauseous. Pureeing soups and mashed potatoes w/ veggies through this device was a great way to consume the much-needed calories.
Hope my review/report on use of the Zip-N-Squeeze helps!
I still use my blog as a place to vent (I started b/c I was in week 2 post-op and couldn't talk and it was driving me nuts!). I vent on it still, but now more about my bar review class and how much I dislike the law/study of the law, etc. I think I'll get over it once I'm done w/ the bar in July.
Thanks for the comments, Grace and Nicole! I'm adding you both to the links on my sidebar :)
Hi...
I have read through your blog and I'm very happy to know that you have made a successful recovery. Most people that have commented here are those awaiting their own surgeries. But in my case, I'm a surgical technology student who had to contact a person on a blog to answer a few questions I had. I was able to answer questions from the bio you had provided. Thank you so much! When I read about you giving high-five to the surgeon, I could not help but laugh. Thank you once again for sharing your surgical experience with us!
Thanks so much, Vineeth - so glad I could provide information as well as entertainment :)
Hi Bella, this site is AWESOME!
So helpful and informative.
I was wondering.. I have been reading blog after blog, and some people swear by their feeding pouches, and some say you don't need it.
I am about to purchase the recovery kit from Craniorehab, but I just am wondering if it is really worth it?
Again, thank you so much for this blog. Your humor and detailed information has really helped me get psyched up for this.
Looking forward to meeting "George"
The company that was distributing this product is out of business, but the manufacturer has bought the rights from the inventor and is now back in production and will be selling the Zip-N-Squeeze product line direct and setting up new distributors. You can visit their website at http://com-pac.com/catalog/zip-n-squeeze/ for more information and to order.
Post a Comment