Ensure® You Get The Right Nutrition

For thirty plus years of existence, I've never had experienced being hospitalized. Never had surgical procedures in the past until few months ago. Now, I know how it feels when you're not allowed to eat due to medical condition. Not because I used to work as a nurse but I personally experienced being placed on NPO (nothing per orem). It was terrible! I was hungry and thirsty.

Last April, I was hospitalized for eight days. I had a major operation due to ruptured appendicitis with localized peritonitis. They say appendectomy is a minor surgical operation. Post-operatively, usually there's a small incision on the right lower abdomen. But mine was different, because of the localized peritonitis they have to open midline just below my navel down and clean the peritoneum.
Six hours passed, I woke up and did not realize the NGT (nasogastric tube) connected. I thought pain would be my major post-op complaint, no it was actually the NGT - painful when swallowing and uncomfortable. The next day, I'm still groggy and sleepy. The doctor came and ordered ONS (oral nutrition supplement). Initially, I wanted to refuse. Swallowing saliva was very painful because of the NGT so I don't think I can eat or drink. In the afternoon, the doctors do their rounds and checked fluid intake. Mom said almost nothing, because I could hardly drink. So, they have no choice but feed me through the NGT. I was afraid! Again, I told the doctors I will try by mouth. I'm afraid of aspiration and besides, I'm still bloated.

I was begging the nurses and interns to remove the NGT then Dr. A came and explain why it's needed - to check if colon are back to normal. No pain, no vomiting or bleeding. He's also very straightforward,strict but he's a good looking young surgeon.

I can't explain how it feels during the feeding via NGT. I felt the fluid passing my throat going to the stomach. In reality, I cannot consume 220cc of milk in one sitting. Afraid of aspiration, I remain upright for several hours.

I'm glad to have a brilliant surgeon! He was able to prevent further complications and possible long stay in the hospital. I'm thankful that the operation was successful and I'm on my way to recovery.

Abbott's Ensure Bloggers Conference

Fast forward, about a week or so. I attended a talk about Oral Nutrition Supplement supported by Abbott and Ensure. They reveal new Study Demonstrates Oral Nutritional Supplements Are Associated With Significant Reductions in Length of Hospital Stay and Cost. Based on personal experience, the study was true.

Dr. Jose Rodolffo Dimaano Jr. MD Abbott Nutrition International (Philippines) and Dr. Marianna Sioson, president of the Philippine Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition

If I wasn't fed via NGT or given ONS perhaps hospital stay would last more than a week. If that happens, I'm also at risk of developing nosocomial infection. A total of P150K went to hospital bill and doctor's fee including other expenses and miscellaneous (food, supplies, transpo etc) I don't like to think anymore.

Benefits associated with patients provided oral nutrition supplements during hospitalization included 21% or 2.3 days reduction in length of stay and 21.6% reduction in patient hospitalization cost.  

Additionally, there was a 6.7% reduction in the probability of a 30-day readmission in patients who had at least one known subsequent readmission and were provided oral nutrition supplements during the previous hospitalization.

″Impaired nutritional status, especially in patients recovering from serious illnesses or surgery, can result in longer hospital stays; an increase in complication rates, higher readmission rates, and associated health care costs, ″ says Dr. Marianna Sioson, president of the Philippine Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.   

″Research shows that using oral nutritional supplements can help reduce their length of stay and associated hospital costs.  This is indeed good news for the 4 out of 10 hospitalized Filipino patients who are nutritionally at-risk since most of them shoulder their hospital expenses out of their own pockets.”

 ″Because oral nutrition supplements are formulated to provide advanced nutrition and calories for compromised patients and are relatively inexpensive to provide, the sizeable savings they generate make supplementation a cost-effective therapy,″ said study co-author, Tomas Philipson PhD, Daniel Levin Chair of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

I love the chocolate flavor Ensure

Ensure as Oral Nutrition Supplement

Ensure helps in fast recovery and stronger immunity. It rebuilds strength, energy and vitality. One glass of Ensure Gold provides the same nutrition as: 

Calories: 230Kcal as 900ml of milk essential to carry out day-to-day activities. 

Protein: 8.5 grams as 1 medium egg

Carbohydrates: 31.21 gm as 3 slices of white bread

Vitamin C: 36.8 gm as 1 1/2 bowls of fruit salad

Vitamin D: 25% of the RENI as 3 tuna sandwiches

Fiber: 1.93 g as 1 cup cabbage, cooked

Iron: 2.3 mg as 9oz of beef steak

Calcium: 0.15 gm as 2.4 fl Oz of plain yogurt

Ensure has several variants. There's Ensure Gold, the new Ensure Acti-M2, Ensure Fiber and Ensure chocolate flavor.

Oral Nutrition Supplement such as Ensure has been part of my diet after surgery until recuperation. A glass of cold chocolate flavor Ensure has been my favorite drink between meals. There's a significant improvement few days after incorporating ONS in my diet. After surgery, my weight went down to 38 kilograms, after three days of taking ensure plus regular meal I gained 3kilos and another 3 more kilos after several days. It's been almost three months now and I'm drinking Ensure to Get The Right Nutrition. Because I love it's chocolate flavor and it's non-irritating to my tummy, it will be included in our grocery list.