March 26, 2008

When I was told in Houston that I needed to start thickening my drinks, I was quite a bit reluctant. The thickened drinks that I had every day for breakfast and lunch at the outpatient center were pre-thickened. The orange juice was too thick but tasted good, I didn't like the thickened milk, and I never even opened the thickened iced tea (without the ice). But the PA told me that even though I have just choked mildly a few times on liquids, that all my drinks need to be thickened from now on to prevent aspiration. So it may have taken me several weeks to get this in hand, but I think I have now. For me taste is very important and I have always been a person who gags easily, so texture is important too. Although they are less expensive and easier to find, I ruled out the powders like Thick-It very quickly. I then found someone on eBay who was selling leftover packets of Simply Thick and Hydra-Aid that she had used for her premature son. I was able to buy enough very cheaply to sample the taste and texture of these. To me they were very in taste, texture, and how easy they are to mix. I found a company called South Mountain Health Supply that was started to help people who need thickeners at a lower cost than regular medical supply companies. Simply Thick was less expensive in packets than Hydra-Aid, so I ordered those, but ordered Hydra-Aid in 64 oz. pump bottles for home, because Simply Thick doesn't sell in bulk like that and it was a better buy for home. There are some things that I do not like thickened, like iced tea, but I've never been much of tea drinker. I am trying to use this as a way to give up soda pop, because it doesn't taste bad, it just is not such a pleasure to drink thickened. I have used a small manual ice cream maker to make pop into a slush, but I don't know if it is still thick enough by the time it gets to my throat, or if it has mostly melted by then, which defeats the purpose of freezing it. I don't like water straight, so I put one Propel packet in 24 oz. of water and thicken it and the Propel is diluted, but I still get some taste to cover the thickener. Overall I think I am getting used to it, although I feel thirsty more now that my drinks are thickened, probably because I don't drink as much.