For the past little while I have been having writers block and was unsure on what I could write about here in my PKU blog that would be interesting and valuable. I have been looking for suggestions and I got a reply from Jane McDonald this evening on writing a blog post about great vs nasty formulas and daily formula compliance. This gave me an idea to record my personal journey with formula.

My Journey with my formula has been a lengthy one and not always easy. I myself have been on many different formulas.  I began my formula journey on Phenyl Free.  I am assuming based on its name that it was a phenylade product. It was made to taste like potatoe starch and was unflavored. My mom mixed it up every night in our blender and flavored with Nestle Strawberry quick. I was on this formula until I was about 12 I believe. As it was discontinued. When I was 11 and 12 they first came out with the phenyl ade amino acid  bar, the crispy and the plain. They where AWFUL! It was the first non formula meal replacement bar . The crispy had rice krispies in them. Though I preferred the Crispy I much rather would not have either. It is still an on going joke between adults my age.

When I was admitted to BC Children’s hospital I trailed the new phenyl ade essential formulas. At that time there was only the 3 , the Vanilla, strawberry and Orange Cream. I was not a fan at all of the Vanilla and the strawberry. I am not sure how to describe the taste other than fake and chalky. I had trouble staying compliant with the formula as I got older , I found it separated to easily, I could only drink it cold and with a straw. Also I was chalky and had an after taste. I ended up pouring it down the drain alot. I stayed on this formula until I was 19. At 19 they finally had liquid formulas.  I tried the 2 flavors of the SHS XPHE Maxamum Forest Berry and Orange. I loved them instantly, and was thrilled they came in “juice boxes” I switched to both formulas in the beginning. However, I am very sensitive to formulas and they really upset my stomach. So even though I loved how they tasted , I started to notice I was re acting to the forest berry and had to switch to just the orange XPHE Maxamum. I stayed on the Xphe Orange Maxamum until I was 23 , when I noticed the taste had changed. I am very sensitive to changes in my formula and have had many arguments with my clinic. They don’t seem to believe me , They said they tasted them and noticed no change. but I am the one drinking it every day and it tasted awful and i began reacting to it too.  By this time there was many many new formulas. So I got samples of every formula available in Canada.  For a while I drank the Vitaflo coolers, but they smelt to strongly of fish oil and the omegas where to hard on my stomach. Then I tried the Camino Pro amino acid blend by Cambrooke. They came in tropical and berry blast.  They did not taste bad but I didn’t think they tasted great either. They where very gritty and had a strong after taste. I just was not satisfied with the formulas I had been trying.

On my next clinic appointment my dietitians had me trial almost every form of formula including ones i had tried previously just in case I could tolerate them or my taste buds had changed.  So I tried samples of the Phenyl ade essentials, 40s and 60s. I tried the powder forms of the xphe maxamums and those where so terrible i voted them the worst formula I had tried. Way to bitter, gritty and such a strong after taste. A strong second for the worst spot was the Vitaflo Express. Even though it was a smaller volume I couldn’t stand it. Very sweet and bitter, very watery or chalky depending on how much water you used. They came with a little shaker. Much to strong for me and I ended up pouring them down the drain at work a few times. I was to old to try the gels and squeezie as they are only for children but they seem like a very good and fun idea.

I eventually tried the bettermilk by cambrooke. It was so different it was an adjustment for me. It is creamy and does not have an after taste.  It took a while for me to get use to it. I did not like the unflavored flavor so I decided to go back to my roots and flavor it with the strawberry quick. I feel in love! Probably the best formula I have ever had,  I drank it for 7 months, But then they changed it too! I was heart broken. It was doing wonders for my sensitive stomach and my IBS. However, this time I was not alone! A lot of people noticed the change and we all wrote or called in to Cambrooke.  I was to upset. They did promise they where changing it back but I couldn’t wait that long and go with out a formula so it was back to the drawing board.

I then tried the Cambrooke Restore. It tastes just like Gatorade or Powerade. Its liquid and tastes just like juice. Its thin and super easy to drink. However not enough protein equivalent for me. Id have to drink 6 of them and that was way to many calories and way to much liquid for me. There was no way I could get them all in in a day. I also tried the Cambrooke Complete bars. They seemed like a great idea and I had been hearing a lot about them. They are essentially a meal replacement bar you eat instead of drinking formula. However I did not like them either. They where super thick and chewy. I could barely get through one. I did not like the taste either or the flavors. I could not see myself eating them regularly.

In the end I went back on the Phenyl ade Orange cream with much reluctance. I was pleasantly surprised though. This time around i loved it! And I found it much easier to drink and to travel with. I use to mix it with water in a cup , stir it with a fork and drink it with a straw. This time around I shook it in a sports bottle and drank it with a straw. I had no problem drinking my full amount. It was more volume than I was use to and I stayed full longer. it really filled me up and tasted great. Only problem was that it was high in calories. I drank it again for over a year. I had decided not to go back to the bettermilk because I really enjoyed my formula again.  As the months went on though and my struggle with my weight loss persisted I started to get really concerned with my calorie intake. The clinic suggested I try the Phenyl ade amino acid MTE blend. You can add it to formula, water and juice. It cut my intake in half so I was having 1 scoop of my formula and 1 scoop of the MTE 3 times a day, of course that created another problem.. now I was hungry!!  I just could not seam to win!

Then one day a few months ago I was at a PKU friends house for lunch and I forgot my formula, She was on the bettermilk and I tried it again. Was sooo very happy that it tasted great again! So good I called my dietitian and made the switch back. They sent me samples of the new flavored bettermilk in the orange and strawberry.  I was not a fan of the strawberry, tasted like the phenyl ade essentials, fake and to sweet. The orange was not bad, it tastes like orange sherbert. I still preferred my unflavored. Since I am trying to loose weight though I was looking for something to add for flavour that did not have as much calories as the strawberry quick. That is when Cole suggested I use his MIO. When we moved to kamloops, Cole did not like the taste of the water and he began using MIO in his water. I prefer my water plain and ice cold. So I had not been using it. SO Cole and I went to the grocery store and we bought one of each flavor for my formula. I love it! Its been working out so great. I have so many different flavors now! Even more since I found crystal light and Disaini, and nestle flavors that do not have aspartame. AS I have mentioned in my previous blog posts. They do not use aspartame, they use surculouse. Which is unable to be broken down in the body and is excreted through urine. SO there fore there is no calories or protein. I am not adding anything on to my calorie intake and I am not taking away from what I can eat in a day! Finally , a win win situation. I am satisfied and happy once again , its easier to be compliant with formula when you enjoy it! I enjoy my bettermilk so much I drink it after a meal so I can savor it! another bonus is that I don’t need to use a straw either! I have drank my formula with a straw for as long as I can remember and was very dependent , id have to take straws with me every where and If I forgot I couldn’t drink my formula. I have stacks of straws every where, my house, my purse, my back pack, at work , at my in laws, and even at my friends houses!

I drink my bettermilk in a sports bottle with water and shake it up. I am suppose to have 1 package 4 times a day, but because the volume is smaller with bettermilk I have been doubling up and drinking 2 in the morning with breakfast and 2 with dinner.  With no formula at lunch.  Specially on night shifts since I am asleep through the day and miss lunch anyways this works out really well with me. As long as they don’t change the taste again , I am quiet happy to continue to stick with bettermilk for as long as possible.

My Journey has been long, but I am happy with where I had ended up. It is so important to have a formula you enjoy and that you can drink. I could not imagine not being able to choose. We are so blessed to have so much variety now. I am very thankful that my clinic has such great aces to formula. They are willing to bring in any formula that is available in Canada for me to try and I thank them for that.

My journey would not be complete with out  big shout out and thank you to Cambrooke foods for inventing formula . It really does help my digestive system health. It helps manage my IBS and my sensitive stomach is very happy :)